Turista Libre Mexico Tours

Border update! The U.S.-Mexico land border reopened to non-essential travel and tourism on Monday, nearly 20 months after the global onset of COVID-19 in March 2020.

Nevertheless, Turista Libre will continue to postpone all tours in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico City and surrounding regions until further notice. This will allow us time to reassess the areas in which we operate and the types of tours we offer, too, after nearly two years of hiatus during the pandemic.

We thank you for your patience, understanding and support as we strive to move forward after such a lengthy pause caused by unparalleled circumstance.

¡Saludos!

Muchas gracias, , for sharing these pre-pandemic memories of in . 🌼💀🌼

¡Feliz , turistas!

As a queer-owned company, this year's Pride month is especially joyous for Turista Libre, with the recent — and long-awaited — passing of marriage equality in our home state of .

As a tour provider, we are proud to be inclusive, welcoming and accepting of all walks of life regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, race, age or social-economic status.

It is with much respect and love that we invite you to join us in getting to know Mexico like a local (albeit virtually for now).

Así que, ¡todos digan amor! Everybody say love!

It's been a big, beautiful week for the LGBTQ+ community and our allies here in Tijuana. The city's annual Pride march happened yesterday, and same-sex marriage was at long last legalized in the state of Baja California last week, too.

This is a photo of the Antiguo Palacio Municipal de Tijuana the night of the passing of the marriage bill. Built in the early 1920s, it's one of the oldest remaining pieces of architecture in Tijuana. For some 60 years it served as the city hall building; now it's a cultural center and history museum.

I randomly happened to drive by on my way home that evening and was lucky enough to have a second at the traffic light to take the photo.

To think of all the mayors who've stood upon that balcony over the past century to give "El Grito" in honor of the eve of the country's independence day each September 15. If only they could see this now. How would they respond?

I'd like to think at least one of them – hopefully more – would say, "Ya era hora."

It's about time.

#🏳️‍🌈

More photos — muchas gracias, fotógrafa ! — from our recent history walking tour with the staff of the US Consulate General Tijuana.

(This was our first tour in nine months!)

The leisurely lap around Zona Centro took us to some of the city's most historic spots both on and off the beaten path, most of which were built during the city's Prohibition Era boom in the 1920s and 1930s:

Palacio Jai Alai, Mercado El Popo, Pasaje Rodriguez, Antiguo Palacio Municipal, Templo San Francisco de Asís and Parque Teniente Guerrero.

Then we headed for eats and drinks with our friends at .

Also! This is a perfect DIY daytime itinerary if you'd like to get a better feel for Tijuana on foot. Feel free to shoot us a DM with any questions about the route map.

¡Saludos y a caminar!

¡Muchas gracias, ! We missed you, too!

Saturday was Turista Libre's first trek in nine months, a private tour with the U.S. Consulate General Tijuana staff. More photos más al ratito by , who so beautifully documented the amazing day we had walking around Zona Centro together.

But first, a word on Turista Libre's operations at the moment:

Due to the pandemic — as of June 1, 2021 — all Turista Libre public tours in Tijuana, Baja California, as well as Mexico City and all surrounding regions have been postponed until further notice. We are accepting private tour groups under the condition that each person is either a Mexican national, a foreign permanent resident or a temporary resident, with proof of residency in Mexico (a current INE, FM1, FM2 or FM3).

And a word on crossing the border in general right now:

While U.S. citizens and most other foreign nationals are currently able to cross the U.S.-Mexico land border with a valid passport — which isn't the case the other way around — we at Turista Libre believe this privilege is intended to apply only to essential trips such as work-related reasons, doctor visits and other medical services. And doing so greatly helps to curb the infection rate over here on our side of the border.

Turista Libre will resume full operation only when the border is reopened by both the U.S. and Mexico to nonessential travel. That date is set for June 21, but this has been the case for the 21st of every month since the beginning of the pandemic. Each month, the three countries extend the closure for yet another month.

We thank you for your patience and support during all of this.

And we miss you all, too.

✌️😌✌️

May the 4th be with you! Yoda mural by .

We close this week's thread of migration- and immigration-themed posters by Activate Labs () at Espacio Migrante () with two final submissions:

Photo 1: "Quisieron enterarnos pero no sabían que éramos semilla. (They wanted to bury us but they didn't know that we were seeds.)"

Photo 2: "Sprout hope. Que nazca la esperanza. Freedom for migrant children."

Activate Labs is a graphic design nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Espacio Migrante is an NGO migrant shelter and community center in Tijuana. So often over the years they've opened their doors to Turista Libre tours, allowing us an approximation and better understanding of the reality of what it is to be a migrant on the southside of the US-Mexico border.

Albeit simple, the message here is sadly controversial: let's not politicize. Politicizing only deepens the already existing social-economic and cultural divides that we navigate each and every day.

Rather, let's humanize and empathize. Each person residing on the American continent — and on any continent, for that matter — is either a migrant or the product of migration. That's a fact.

Remember: Open hearts lead to open minds, and open minds lead to open arms.

Peace be with you.

As we continue this week's thread of migration- and immigration-themed posters by Activate Labs () on the walls at Espacio Migrante (), it's crucial to remember that these are Trump-era works. But their message still resonates.

Photo 1: "Freedom for migrant children."

Photo 2: "End immigrant child detention now. ."

Activate Labs is a graphic design nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Espacio Migrante is an NGO migrant shelter and community center in Tijuana. So often over the years they've opened their doors to Turista Libre tours, allowing us an approximation and better understanding of the reality of what it is to be a migrant on the southside of the US-Mexico border.

While the days of kids in literal cages may be over, the fact is that current migrant detention facilities in the United States are extremely overcrowded and not intended to house children.

Earlier this week, reported more than 5,000 unaccompanied minors are currently in border patrol facilities "waiting for beds in more appropriate shelters built for children."

Per :

"The Border Patrol official told reporters Friday that agents are trying to discharge the children from warehouses and jail-like holding cells as quickly as possible, but there's a bottleneck because the government can't open child shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services fast enough to accommodate everyone who's crossing."

It's the beginning of Semana Santa and the end of Lent, a time of year that often coincides with the arrival of many US-bound migrants here at Mexico's northern border.

In the next few posts we'll be sharing photos of migration- and immigration-themed posters by Activate Labs () from a pre-pandemic, pre-Biden visit at Espacio Migrante ().

Photo 1: "The place where you are is called here and you must treat it as a powerful stranger." / "Migration is beautiful."

Photo 2: "Nuestra existencia es resistencia. (Our existence is resistance.)"

Activate Labs is a graphic design nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Espacio Migrante is an NGO migrant shelter and community center in Tijuana. So often over the years they've opened their doors to Turista Libre tours, allowing us an approximation and better understanding of the reality of what it is to be a migrant on the southside of the US-Mexico border.

For those in the US or any developed nation around the world that receives migrants and refugees, regardless of whichever party gets your vote, a quick word:

Let's not politicize. Rather, let's humanize and empathize. Because in the end — like it or not, debate it and deny it
all you like — in one way or another, we're all migrants.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for opening your heart.

¡Que no se te olvide! Don't forget! We're hosting Zoom hangouts en español every week.

Come practice your Spanish in our beginner sessions 7:30 pm PST Thursdays or our intermediate sessions 7:30 pm PST Fridays.

RSVP for a specific date or dates via the link in our bio, and feel free to DM us with any questions.

¡Saludos!

Practice your Spanish online with Turista Libre + Duolingo! Join us virtually for our new series of Zoom hangouts 7:30 pm PST Thursdays and Fridays. Click here for more info: https://www.turistalibre.com/virtual-talks

Jacarandas! These purple-petaled giants are to Mexico what cherry blossoms are to Japan. And Mexico City specifically is full of them.

Native to Latin America and the Caribbean, these days they thrive in many tropical and subtropical areas around the world: Southern California, Mediterranean Europe, many African countries and Oceana (Australia and New Zealand), growing up to 30 meters (approximately 100 feet).

The name "jacaranda" (ha-cah-rahn-dah) means "fragrant" in Tupi-Guarani, the most widely spoken indigenous language in South America.

Now well on their way to peak bloom, this year's blossoms began sprouting in late January. They'll last until the beginning of summer, when seasonal rains send them fluttering down to carpet the city streets and sidewalks in a grand finale like none other.

If you ever happen to visit Mexico City in the springtime, be sure to take a break from all the hustle and bustle to simply stop and look up. Or down. Either way, it's beautiful.

Thanks to the pandemic, we here at Turista Libre haven't been feeling so “libre” lately. And we know we're not alone.

That's why we're teaming up with Duolingo to offer weekly Zoom hangouts en español, a series we're calling “Turista Libre Talkabouts.”

If you're learning the basics like everyday vocab and conjugating verbs in Spanish, join our beginner sessions 7:30-9 pm PST Thursdays. These will involve a brief grammar lesson followed by exercises that will put into play what we've just learned.

If you already have some formal instruction in Spanish, you feel comfortable carrying a conversation in Spanish and just want a safe, fun space to chat with others in a group setting, join our intermediate sessions 7:30-9 pm PST Fridays. These will be held entirely in Spanish.

We're hoping to reconnect with familiar faces from past Turista Libre treks and to meet some new ones, too.

It's free to participate; tips for your host or hosts via PayPal or Venmo are greatly appreciated.

Our first sessions happen March 4 and 5.

RSVP link in bio!

Since love's in the air today, let's talk about how to say you love someone in Spanish.

There are two basic ways of saying "I love you":

"Te quiero" and "te amo."

Knowing when to use which is something most non-native speakers have a hard time grasping, especially at first.

Generally speaking:

For significant others, you can use both "te quiero" and "te amo." But you're more likely to say "te amo," which automatically includes a "te quiero."

For friends, "te quiero" is usually the way to go. But that's not to say some friends don't say "te amo" nor does it imply that you love your friend less than your significant other. Simply put, it's a different type of love.

For family, it can go both ways but it's usually "te quiero." If you're a parent, you and your little ones are more likely to say "te amo." That is, until the awkward years of teendom arrive and things all of the sudden get weird.

All this to say, every person has different rules, whether we're aware of it or not. But that's one of the countless beauties of language. Each of us is free to adapt it to our specific needs and wants.

But if you're in doubt when the moment to say one or the other (or both!) arrives, don't be too shy to ask:

"Te quiero" or "te amo."

  !

In Latin America, instead of saying "Feliz Día de San Valentín," it's just as likely — if not more — for folks to wish each other "Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad." Happy Love and Friendship Day.

And while without a doubt Saint Valentine owns February 14, in 2011 the United Nations declared July 30 "Día Internacional de la Amistad" or International Friendship Day. 

Nevertheless, the actual date of Friendship Day varies from country to country. In Peru, it's July 1. In Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay it's July 20 but known as "Día del Amigo." In Bolivia, it's July 23. In Paraguay, July 30. In Colombia, it's the third Saturday in September. And in Chile, it's the first Friday in October. 

It may seem like nothing more than a simple marketing move, adding friendship to the mix. But it really makes me think: Love is far greater than romance. And — as many of us know all too well — romance doesn't always involve true love.

Over the past year, much of the world has experienced loneliness like never before. So wherever you are, be sure to send your love to your friends, wherever they are, today and every day.

In honor of the lunar new year, here's a throwback to one of Turista Libre's annual Mexicali Chinatown treks, which, in a Covidless world, also usually coincide with the lunar new year.

This tour has been among my favorite TL experiences ever since the first run a couple years before these photos were taken in 2016. Not only because it happens only once a year. But because Mexicali — from Tijuana a two-hour drive over the mountains and deep into the desert — has one of the most fascinating but (in my personal opinion) overlooked or unknown histories in all of Mexico. Before becoming the Baja California capital, Mexicali was home to the highest per capita population of Chinese immigrants in the country. At one point in the city's early years, for every person of Mexican ethnicity there were approximately 10 Chinese.

The first Chinese migrants to arrive in the late 1800s and early 1900s were nothing short of true pioneers. As laborers they built the railroad that allowed access to — and safe passage through — this harsh desert world. Then they built irrigation systems that allowed for crops to grow in the arid Imperial Valley. Then they took to farming the land; in those days cotton was the major crop in the region. It's undeniable that Mexicali would not be what it is today without their efforts.

Along with some amazing food at one of Mexicali's countless Chinese eateries, the tour includes a visit to the Asociación China de Mexicali, which for more than a century has served as a community and cultural center for Chinese residents and new Chinese arrivals in Mexicali, as well as a Mandarin school for Chinese children and the Mexican-born children of Chinese immigrants to attend on Saturdays. It also houses a small museum. The director (far left, gray jacket) and his wife (far right, pink scarf) have always been so kind to welcome us over the years, allowing for an approximation with the community, their culture and their history in a way that we wouldn't be able to achieve on our own.

I really hope we'll be able to visit again one day soon.

感谢您的阅读!

And, in case you were wondering where exactly those 10 most populated cities in Mexico are located on the map, swipe left!

10. Torreón, Coahuila: 1,434,283
9. Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua: 1,512,450
8. Querétaro, Querétaro: 1,594,212
7. León, Guanajuato: 1,924,771
6. Tijuana, Baja California: 2,157,853
5. Toluca, Estado de México: 2,353,924
4. Puebla, Puebla: 3,199,530
3. Guadalajara, Jalisco: 5,268,642
2. Monterrey, Nuevo León: 5,341,177
1. Ciudad de México, CDMX: 21,804,515

The 10 most populated metro areas in Mexico, according to new numbers published in January 2021 by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography ("INEGI").

This list is based on the 2020 census; in Mexico, censuses happen every 10 years.

Altogether, we're now a grand total of 126,014,024 living in los Estados Unidos Mexicanos — up from 110,991,953 in 2010 — which makes Mexico the most populated Spanish-speaking country in the world.

Here they are in order of city, state and total population:

10. Torreón, Coahuila: 1,434,283
9. Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua: 1,512,450
8. Querétaro, Querétaro: 1,594,212
7. León, Guanajuato: 1,924,771
6. Tijuana, Baja California: 2,157,853
5. Toluca, Estado de México: 2,353,924
4. Puebla, Puebla: 3,199,530
3. Guadalajara, Jalisco: 5,268,642
2. Monterrey, Nuevo León: 5,341,177
1. Ciudad de México, CDMX: 21,804,515