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Arts & Culture

Only Here Podcast: The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Is Helping Rebrand Tijuana

In this photo taken October 2018, Tijuana artist Daniel Ruanova shows a tour group with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego his exhibition at Centro Cultural Tijuana.
Kinsee Morlan
In this photo taken October 2018, Tijuana artist Daniel Ruanova shows a tour group with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego his exhibition at Centro Cultural Tijuana.
Today, we hop on a bus with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and take a guided tour of art and culture in Tijuana. It’s the kind of tour that shows off the cool side of the city — the kind of tour that’s kept tourism alive in a border city with a reputation for violence. It’s a story about fear, and an industry that’s blossomed from it.

It takes just minutes to get to Tijuana.

And yet, many San Diegans don’t go. Some cite the violence. Others are intimidated by the border itself.

It’s fear.

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But the reality on the ground can be much different. And those who do get over their concerns and cross the border looking for good food, art, and culture in Tijuana will find it there.

In this photo taken October 2018, a tourist explores an exhibition at Centro Cultural Tijuana.
Kinsee Morlan
In this photo taken October 2018, a tourist explores an exhibition at Centro Cultural Tijuana.

In this episode, I hop on a bus with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and take a guided tour of art and culture in Tijuana. It’s the kind of tour that shows off the cool side of the city — the kind of tour that’s kept tourism alive in a border city with a reputation for violence.

Only here can you find a San Diego museum that’s become an unofficial ambassador for Tijuana, helping tourists get over their fears of visiting a city with a skyrocketing murder rate.