Tijuana no longer life of the party

Violence has further sapped tourism from the famously tacky town
By Richard Marosi
February 24, 2008
TIJUANA, Mexico

Marcos Rojas, a waiter at Mr. Tequila Restaurant, roams the Plaza Viva Tijuana, eager to pour double-shots for partying tourists. This downtown gateway once was crowded with Southern California day- trippers, Midwestern families and busloads of German and Japanese tourists.

But empty bars and shuttered businesses now outnumber people.

Rojas, who earns tips by making a show of slamming tequila shots on the table and pouring them down customers' throats, says it has been a week since he performed one of his signature tricks, twirling a tourist on his shoulders. "Look around, it's dead," he said.

In the sleepy plaza, down the lonely pedestrian promenade leading to the heart of the tourist district on Avenida Revolucion, bored waiters and strip-club hawkers compete for the trickle of customers, while old-time merchants wax nostalgic for the days when a downtown dotted with attractions drew millions of visitors.

Tijuana's recent wave of violence appears to have driven another nail into the coffin of a tourism industry already hobbled by its reputation for tacky tourist traps, rowdy bars and long waits at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing.