Tijuana Dreaming: Life and Art at the Global Border
Edited by Josh Kun and Fiamma Montezemolo
2012, Duke University Press
387 pages, paperback, plates
IN A confident assertion of their city’s authentic hybrid identity, the writers, artists and cultural commentators of Tijuana paint a detailed portrait of the fluid reality in the bustling border towns along the world’s largest frontier. Whereas once for many Mexicans and US citizens the city was dismissed as a mere pleasure dome that somehow stood apart from the “genuine” cultures to both north and south, this volume demonstrates the rich and creative truth. Tijuana is the global city of future where south meets north – and the contributions to this book champion a vibrant, imaginative type of civilisation not without serious problems but crying out to be noticed and understood. Tijuana Dreaming represents a primer to the city that includes personal narratives, explorations of urban, demographic and environmental challenges, and cultural commentary. It provides a perfect introduction for further explorations of the culture of globalisation by documenting the important artistic and social expressions of a city that is constantly reinventing itself.
