BajaNews
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Artists join to transform Tijuana alleyway
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/02/artists-join-...
By Omar Millán González
May 2, 2010
The midafternoon light filters through the green and yellow sheets that make up the high ceilings of the Pasaje Rodriguez and give the place a surreal
air, as if passing suddenly into another time or another land.
For the last three months, a group of local artists has been at work in 18 spaces in this narrow alleyway that crosses from the legendary Avenida
Revolucion to the busy and noisy Avenida Constitucion, between Third and Fourth streets in the city’s downtown district.
In this place, built 64 years ago, about two-dozen painters, photographers, performance artists and graphic designers transformed small storefronts —
which used to house sellers of Mexican crafts — into studios and galleries.
And so they created one of the largest independent cultural centers in the city under the name Pasaje Rodriguez Arte y Diseño (Rodríguez Passage Art
and Design, or PRAD), which opened April 22.
“We backed this project because these are artists dedicated to plastic and other visual arts who have been working in the city for a long time,” said
Teresa Riqué, director of the Municipal Institute of Art and Culture.
Tijuana is home to 40 alternative galleries, in addition to other spaces in cafes, forums and theaters.
The art institute has registered about 400 artists who show their work at official spaces, like the Centro Cultural Tijuana or the Casa de la Cultura,
and alternative galleries.
The alleyway has 24 small spaces that the owners (close to 50 members of the Rodríguez family) rented out for more than 50 years to tenants who sold
Mexican crafts to American tourists.
But in the past 10 years, tourists began abandoning Avenida Revolucion and its alleyways and arcades, and dozens of shops closed.
Roberto Robinson, manager of the Pasaje Rodríguez, said many events affected the border.
They were mainly the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the violence that has plagued the region, the global economic crisis, the requirement for Americans to
have a passport to cross the border, and recent travel alerts issued by the U.S. government about Mexican border cities, he said.
So, of the 724 retail shops on Avenida Revolucion registered with the Tourism and Convention Committee of Tijuana, only 45 percent remain open.
When a group of artists approached the owners of Pasaje Rodríguez late last year with the idea of creating an arts district there, 18 of the 24 spaces
were vacant.
“The owners liked the idea; they wanted to promote culture,” Robinson said. “They lowered the rents by 60 percent and committed to holding those
prices for up to three years.”
In the midst of bad news in Tijuana, creating an arts district was imperative, said Antonio Escalante, a painter and multidisciplinary artist who
created a gallery in of the available storefronts in the alleyway.
“We didn’t issue a written invitation; we just passed the word among the artists, and this group formed,” he said. “Our goal is to reach all the
public, tourists and residents alike, with a unique cultural proposition.”
The galleries in the Pasaje Rodríguez will offer original paintings, photographs and sculptures, shirts, handbags, puppets and other items with custom
designs. There will also be live performance-art events and street exhibitions in the mold of San Diego’s Art Walk.
Luis Eduardo Díaz, a graphic designer who occupies another gallery in the alleyway, said the different artists who settled in this spot share a
similar vision.
“We can’t wait for the climate of insecurity and economic crisis to ease before we open our first project. We are a group who has the hope, the faith,
that we ourselves can change the city.”
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k-rico
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There have been several articles about the new art/music scene in Centro. Good to hear about things coming alive again. I (like many) have been
staying away for the past few years, think I'll check it out this weekend. Calle Sexta, Revo, I'll even wander north a bit.
[Edited on 5-17-2010 by k-rico]
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Nan&D
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K-rico, I'd love to see some pics if you go.
Nan
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DianaT
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What a great story----and I really hope it works well!
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Woooosh
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artists know pain and have guts- which is exactly what it takes to start the revival of Revolucion. Good for them. And good luck to them too...
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Woooosh
artists know pain and have guts- which is exactly what it takes to start the revival of Revolucion. Good for them. And good luck to them too...
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Good one---didn't really think about that but so many blighted downtown areas in the US have been revived by groups of dedicated artists----
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Nan&D
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We had an interesting visitor in the gallery yesterday. Originally from El Salvador, he and D chatted about a number of things---travel, construction,
strawberries, art---On that last topic he had an inspiring comment:
"an active arts community is a good sign of freedom"
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wilderone
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good news is so refreshing
hope, faith, creative gifts - can't be extinguished
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Eli
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So good to read something so hopeful and positive about T.J.
May their efforts be rewarded.
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Woooosh
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Eli
So good to read something so hopeful and positive about T.J.
May their efforts be rewarded. |
"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has"... Margaret Mead
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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Eli
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Thanks Wooosh, that was a mighty tasty quote. I hope, I hope.
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nancyinpdx
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Eli
So good to read something so hopeful and positive about T.J.
May their efforts be rewarded. [/quote
I agree!!! i hope TJ rebounds/comes back soon!!! |
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