Tijuana's Parque Teniente Guerreo, west of Av. Revolucion

Virtually all Mexican cities have a parque, park, or plaza, or whatever you want to call it, and Tijuana is no exception to that equation. Tijuana is proclaimed to be the most visited border city in the world, yet how many of the millions of toursits have visited, yet heard about Parque Teniente Guerrero, a few blocks west of the tourist strip? I have to admit, as a seasoned traveler to Tijuana, I hadn't of this park until a friend of mine told me about the place. Naturally, I had to check it out.

Left: Parque Teniente Guerrero, as viewed from Calle Altamira, in the foothills above the park. You can see the brown hills of San Ysidro, CA in the background. Right: Every Mexican park features a bandstand and Parque Gueerrero is no exception.

From the tourist zone of Av. Revelucion, I took a hike west on Calle 6, also known as Calle Flores Magon. As an aside, the numbered streets in Tijuana, such as Calle 6, also have other names, such as Flores Magon, and are marked as such on the street signs. That is something that I don't understand and neither do the locals as, when asked, they just shrug their shoulders and say they don't know. Anyway, Calle 6 is not the direct way to the park, as it lies between Calle 3 (Felipe Carillo Puerto) and Calle 4 (Salvador Diaz Miron) so if you're heading to the park from the tourist madness of Av. Revelucion, I'd suggest taking either 3rd or 4th street. Whatever route you choose, it's a five-block hike to the west, with landscape that changes from the tourist- oriented, crazy madness of Av. Revelucion, to the business district of Av. Constitition and Av. Ninos Heros, and changes again to the working-class residential neighborhoods found west of Av. Mutualismo. All of these radical landscape changes is within five city blocks. Quite remarkable.

Photos: As you enter the well-kept grounds of the park from Av. Ortega, you'll notice the bandstand and the Mexican flag.

Parque Teniente Guerro occupies a full city block. It is situated between the numbered streets of Calle 3 and Calle 4 and bordered on the east by Av. Cinco de 5 and on the west by Av. Gonzalez Ortega. The northwest corner of the park is anchored by one of the most beautiful Catholic cathedrals you'll ever see, the Iglesia San Francisco. It is a truly impressive structure, although sadly marked by graffiti on one of the towers. Although Tijuana, and Mexico in general, is marked by graffiti, this is the first time that I've ever seen graffiti on a church; I guess it goes to show that those who choose to blight the neighborhood do not believe in God, and they don't have a problem painting His House with their cryptic markings. I really wanted to take a peek inside the church, as I had heard that the interior is beautiful, but a wedding was taking place and it would have been in poor taste to intrude. So I just took photos outside of the beautiful building.

The neighborhood surrounding the park is interesting in that it totally surrounded by pharmacies, doctor offices, dental offices and private clinics. I have never seen such a concentration of this type of business in an area. As an aside, as you walk east on Calle 4 toward Av. Revelucion, you will see clinic after clinic after clinic. I think most of the clinics in northern Mexico must reside in this area! However, you'll see clinical workers flock to the park during their off-hours, many of them are beautiful young women. I have been warned that this neighborhood is not safe at night; however there are not many parks that I would choose to be in after dark in Tijuana, Calgary, San Francisco, or any large city.

Left: Pigeons, a fixture at any city park in North America, floursh at Parque Guerrero. Right: Across from the park, on Calle 3, a.k.a. Salvador Diaz Miron, there is a beautiful catherdrial. I suppose there are some Mexicans who are non-believers, as, sadly, the towers are marked with unsightly graffiti.

Like every other parque in Mexican cities, Parque Teniente Guerro features a bandstand at the center of the park, and all sidewalks lead to it. The grounds are well attended to, as I observed numerous workers about trimming bushes, raking clipping, cutting grass and picking up trash. Oh yes, there are lots of places where you can just lie down on the cool, green grass, under the shade of a tree and just, well, relax and watch Mexican society pass you by... I never cease to marvel at the fact that most mundane chores in Mexico are low-tech, in other words, humans do the work, rather than machines. The grass is green and well-trimmed, the sidewalks are clean, and the trees are quite green. You can just feel the pride that the landscapers have from tending to this park, it's simply beautiful.

At the west end of the park there are restrooms available. As in all of Mexico, the relief comes with a price; $5.00; about U.S. fourty cents at the time of this writing, August of 2005. Yet for your relief, you have a attendant who will attend to your needs and you'll find a very immaculate place to relieve yourself in, as the attendant's job is to keep the place clean. Yes this is weird by U.S. standards, I know, but Dorthy, you're not in Kansas anymore! I like to take photos, but I "passed" on this opportunity.

Left: Citizens of Tijuana relax at the park. Right: At the east end of the park, on Av. 5 de Mayo, there is a stature depicting the familiar figure of the "George Washington" of Mexico, Benito Juarez.

Parque Teniente Guerro is a wonderful place to rest, relax, people-watch, photograph and get a glimpse of every-day life in Tijuana. It is only five blocks from the tourist--mecca, yet it is worlds away. You will not see gringo tourists, as you are far away from the tourist zone, yet you will see children feeding pigeons, families relaxing together, locals socializing, lovers walking arm-in-arm, people napping on the well-kept grass under a shady tree; in whole, a microchasm of contemporary Mexican society. It's a wonderful place to just sit, relax and experience what Mexico is all about.

At the east end of the park they have a couple of small ponds, with a sprinkler in the middle of each that acts as an aerator. There is a walkway where you sort of walk between these ponds and next to each pond is a sign that advises you not step into the water as there is a danger from electrical shock. Why did I not take more photos of all this?? On closer observation, they have run electrical cords underwater, enclosed in PVC pipe, leaky at best to the fountain that provides the aeration. So basically the sign warns you that if you step into the pond, that you could be the victim of electrocution. I can attest to that fact, as I observed a few dead pigeons near the side of the pond. Could this be a Tijuana plot to control the local pigeon population? Who knows, as I saw many pigeons at the bandstand, encouraged and fed by the locals. Pigeons are alive and well in Tijuana and particularly at Parque Teniente Guerro.

Left: I managed to photograph this ice cream vendor, as he crossed Calle 3, from Av. Cinco de Mayo. Right: This vendor sells sugar cane at the the coner of Calle 3, a.k.a. Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Av. Cinco de Mayo. The neigborhood surrounding the park is populated by all varieties of street vendors.

If you're visiting Tijuana and you want to experience Mexico up close and personal, I will highly recommend the five-block hike to visit Parque Teniente, as you will get a glimpse on contemporary Mexican culture up-close and personal. Check it out and enjoy Mexico the way it really is...

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