Yes, welcome to Baja San Diego--extending along he beautiful coast from Playa Tijuana to La Bufadora. It was inevitable, the development, modernization and westernization of the scenic,natural coastline of Baja California. And the timing was right with the overdevelopment and overpricingof southern California, where less than ten percent of the population can afford homes and with a shortage of ocean front and ocean view properties for those who can afford them. For better or worse, the march is on and the boom is here, Baja California is moving in new directions.
And please, don't be offended by my humorous terminology, in addition to callimg this region Baja San Diego, I call San Diego Tijuana Norte. In reality, there is a lot of truth in the names and references. For instance, I call myself an American Mexican, but I don't have an ounce of Mexican blood, rather a Mexican by osmosis-(figurative)-a gradual, often unconscious, absorbing or understanding of facts, theories, ideas and the like. I was born here in this region which is in fact, the Kumeyaay Nation, not really Mexico or the United States, but that's another story. So, I call this region, extending from Los Angeles to Ensenada, MexiCal--the hybridization zone! Not to be confused with the Twilight Zone, MexiCal is actually a blend of several cultures and is separate from the First and Third World countries--thus The Second World--a blend of the others.
Now, I hope I haven't driven you into an identity crisis at this point, but think about this. Here we are: Mexican Americans and American Mexicans living together peacefully in MexiCal, a Second World country within the Kumeyaay nation. We are a non-imperialist nation of taco loving people driving low riders and SUV's, conveniently switching flags on our car antennas as we cross the border, some of us running to US dollars and some of us running from US dollars. And to further complicate matters,someone wants to build a wall to separate us. Excuse me, but is there any way you can move your wall north of Los Angeles, because we seem to have worked things out well for ourselves here in MexiCal.
Ok, here's my point. We've actually created our own country either by mistake or osmosis, no revolution--it just happened. And it just might be a solution to a major problem. If Mexico would give us MexiCals the land from Ensenada over to Tecate and back along the border to the coast in Tijuana--the Mexican government wouldn't have to spend any money on this region and could keep more for themselves. And if the US government would give us the area of San Diego from the coast north to Oceanside and east down Highway 15 from Corona to Tecate-it would resolve the border crossing issues. Our new country, MexiCal, within the Kumeyaay nation would have a strong economy and nobody would need or want to leave--thus no immigration problems. The Kumeyaay get their land back and our casino/tourism economy begins to grow.
Furthermore, it would give President Bush an opportunity to look good and make friends along the our new border. Instead of spending millions or billions of dollars on a fence, we'll buy his portion of MexiCal and use our own legal labor to build a wall completely around us. Thus he saves money and can spend more on his wars and we gain a new nation. And of course, Mexico's two presidents wouldn't have to worry about the border issues, and can focus on other problem areas. I see it as a win/win situation for everyone--viva MexiCal!
Actually, this isn't too far from reality. There is a Baja San Diego, Tijuana Norte, MexiCal and for sure, theKumeyaay nation. It's just a question of perspective, definition and articulation. We MexiCals are a reality. For example, I was at a wine party a few months ago in Guadalupe Valley, wehn a local mayor jumped up, grabbed the microphone and started singing Beetle songs. I didn't say anything because nobody understands my Spanish, but I was thinking to myself, "What the hell is going on here!" (The only other time I saw a mayor sing The National Anthem as he marched teh City of San Diego into Bankruptcy court.) I later found out that the Mexican mayor was educated in San Diego, marched with Caesar Chevez, knew Bob Dylan, and has a home in Baja and San Diego. It made me think about the Beetle song that goes something like, "I am you and you are me and we are all together.". . .And this is just one of a thousand examples of the blending of our cultures in the hybridization zone--Baja San Diego or MexiCal. We are all together-enjoying the blessings of our cultures and we are family.
If anyone plans to build a wall to separate us, it will have to be about a million miles into the sky, because it's too late, we are already one nation in our minds and hearts. We don't need no stinking wall and in my opinion, "the most effective weapon against terrorism, drugs and fear is just a little love and understanding." Walls separate--Love unites.
Steve Dryden, a staff writer for the Baja Times, has been loving life in Baja California for over fifty years....he has given me permission to post it.
Roberta Giesea