When you think of museums in San Diego, Balboa Park probably comes to mind; it’s home to 18 of them.
But this year, for the first time in San Diego Museum Month’s 35-year history, it’s no longer confined to the United States.
It’s gone south of the border, to include museums and cultural institutions in Tijuana, including the Museo de Historia de Tijuana, the Tijuana History Museum. The multi-story museum opened in 2010.
“We have videos (in the museum). We also have the archive of the history of Tijuana, which the citizens can also come and investigate anything they would like to know about the city from the beginning, and also our binational history from San Diego to Tijuana," said Daniela De Leon, the binational liaison for arts and culture for the city of Tijuana.
It tells the story of our neighbor to the south in many ways — from the history of sports, to the development of the city, to its music.
One new display shows the different kinds of music that have found a home and flourished in Tijuana. Included are not only the pictures of musicians, but also their hands cast in plaster; the modus operandi of music making.
The history museum is one of eight museums in Tijuana that are participating in San Diego Museum Month.
“You have CECUT, they have like different sites in the development, it’s also El Cubo — that’s one of the spaces, it’s like contemporary art and then you have the aquarium. You also have the Museum of Las Californias, you have theater there also," Berenice Martinez said.
The Tijuana native, who teaches graphic design at Xochicalco University, is steeped in the arts and culture scene south of the border. She said the addition of her city’s museums dovetails nicely with the fact that the San Diego/Tijuana region is the World Design Capital for 2024.
The World Design Organization selects cities for the honor every two years. The San Diego/Tijuana region is the first binational World Design Capital in the program's history. On its website, the WDO says the selection was a result of the region's "commitment of human-centred design and legacy of cross-border collaboration."
“I heard about World Design Capital and saw it as the perfect opportunity to start incorporating those museums with our museums to make San Diego a cultural destination," said San Diego Museum Council Executive Director Bob Lehman.
KPBS interviewed Lehman outside the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum on 3rd Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter.
The building itself is part of the story of Chinese people in San Diego.
“There was a lot of evangelization of the Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s, and so this building was built to house them in the back," said museum Executive Director Jacinta Wong.
Wong showed us around the museum, pointing out the stunning pieces of art.
“We’ve got donations of cloisonne and paper cuttings and you know textiles such as this beautiful dragon robe that we have here," she said.
But there’s another kind of history here that is anything but beautiful.
“The Chinese are the only nationality, you know people, who are specifically listed on an act, a government act, the Chinese Exclusion Act. It’s the only one that was targeted against one specific population," she said.
That population was largely excluded from society and its commerce. Wong said that’s how Chinese laundries came about, because it was a niche that wasn’t being filled.
The Chinese Historical Museum is one of more than 60 institutions offering half-price admission for the month of February, with a San Diego Museum Month pass.
“Go to any of our 85 libraries all over the city and the county of San Diego and pick up a pass," said Lehman, who added that they're also available online, along with links to all the participating museums.
