The bullring that has been a landmark in Tijuana's central section for generations is being torn down despite an outcry from bullfighting fans and
historical preservation groups.
...Bullfighting fans say the bullring, built in 1938, has been the scene of historic fights between famous matadors and bulls, and at its peak it
attracted Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardner.
...City officials have declined to identify the owner.
...The Cultural Institute of Baja California had determined that the bullring qualified as a historical site...
...Despite the bullring being a recognizable part of the city, it's not clear who owns it...
[Edited on 7-4-2007 by BajaNomad]BajaNews - 2-21-2007 at 03:35 AM
Baja Resort Advisors, LLC, (BRA), a La Jolla-based housing and resort development firm, has acquired the remaining 70 percent of The Falls at Puerto
Nuevo, a 92-unit luxury condominium project located at Km 43.7 on the Rosarito-Ensenada Toll Road.
Gabriel V. Robles, managing partner of BRA, announced the signing of the agreement with project owners. At the same time, Robles announced the
creation of expanded benefits for people who purchase condos at The Falls.
The project, valued at U.S. $35 million at sell out, is a welcome addition to the BRA portfolio of developments, which includes Ventana al Mar, north
of Ensenada; the old bullring site in Tijuana; the Cinco Playas mega project in La Paz, Baja California South; and the Rancho Barril
mega project near San Francixquito on the Sea of Cortez.BajaNews - 2-21-2007 at 04:08 AM
A Tijuana institution is being torn down. Wrecking crews have begun demolishing the city’s bullring. The “Toreo Tijuana” has been a landmark for
nearly 70 years. Some in the city are fighting to preserve the historic stadium. Others say the dilapidated structure is an eyesore and should go.
KPBS Border Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
The bullring rises alongside one of Tijuana’s main thoroughfare like a diorama of decades gone past. Use your hands to block out the modern buildings
on either side. You can almost picture how it was back in 1938 when10,000 fans filled the stands, including movie stars like Ava Garnder and Marylin
Monroe.
For more than 50 years, Don Joaquin Descroche Penicilino recorded radio ads like this one for the bullring.
Don Descroche cut a handsome figure. Six-two and even taller with his sombrero. Every Sunday, he’d saddle up his horse. He’d lead the parade of
matadors into the ring to begin the afternoon.
That was the last ad Don Descroche recorded.
Three years after his death, his son Jorge Diez Jackson says he’s glad his dad didn’t live to see the destruction of the bullring that defined his
life. On a recent afternoon, Diez Jackson came to the bullring to rescue a plaque, commemorating his dad’s half-century of service.
Jackson: Part of my house is the bullring.
Diez Jackson says his whole life he’s lived just three blocks away.
Jackson: When I was nine years old, I used to go with my dad to put the bulls in their pens for the corridas. And, I remember people from the United
States, especially the women, they were very impressed when they’d see him dressed like a cowboy, with his gun, his moustache.
Diez Jackson is heartbroken that this piece of Tijuana will soon disappear. A handful of preservationists share his disappointment. They want the
bullring to be labeled an historic site. However, despite the pleas, the city has allowed the wrecking ball to come in.City officials won’t disclose
who owns the land, which is one of the most valuable plots in the city. And they won’t say what will take the bullring’s place.
About a quarter of the once proud landmark is already piled on the side of the street. Throughout the afternoon, a steady stream of Tijuana residents
stops by the bullring to snap their last shots.
Valerino Salceda Giraldes is bemused by people’s nostalgia.
Giraldes: Everyone has the right to come take photos, take dirt from here, they can even cry.
But, he says…
Giraldes: This is the ugliest bullring I’ve ever seen in Mexico, and I’ve seen them all. If there’s someone who thinks I am exaggerating, I defy them
to show me a photo of an uglier bullring.
Giraldes’s voice is almost as much of an institution as the bullring itself.
He’s announced the corridas in Tijuana for 36 years. He has his own radio show and covers bullfighting for local newspapers and TV. Giraldes says the
bullring has lived a long life. And its popularity has waned in recent years. He says on a good day it pulls a crowd of maybe 3,000. Giraldes says
he’s heard a new shopping center may go up. He thinks that may be better for the city anyway.
Giraldes: Imagine all the jobs it could create. Maybe 80 or 100 people work at the bullring on the days there are corridas, about six or eight days a
year. With a shopping center, think how many more jobs you create. Besides, it’s not like Tijuana doesn’t have another bullring that’s way better than
this one.
But Tijuana resident Javier Hernandez, who stops by to take a photo, disagrees.
Hernandez: This is a lot better than a shopping center. This is history. Period.
History that Diez Jackson, the son of the bullring’s radio ad man, grew up with.
Jackson: So for me the Toreo is something beautiful. For me, it’s a museum that we, as the people of Tijuana, should preserve.
Bernie on another post thinks its the one in Playas, no its the 1930's
wooden "El Toreo de Tijuana" downtown
you really believe hank rhon (is that who owns it??) would be more
interested in pesos than in safety?