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bIeNNaLS / TIJUaNa TRIeNNIaL [pageS 82 TO 89] I talk to Ana Hernandez, an elementary surveillance is practically monitored by
school teacher who says she hopes that, this drones. Part of the wall was built or restored
TIJUANA: VIOLENCE year, Mexico will have a president who will during Donald Trump’s administration, and
& CULTURE reduce violence in the country. “It’s a special other sections were built in 1991.
moment in our lives, I believe in a woman’s In recent decades, the Mexican
WITH THREE MILLION INHABITANTS, THE determination and her commitment to government has implemented an ambitious
MEXICAN CITY, CROSSED BY THE WALL ON THE fulfilling her promise.” The election is cultural project, aiming to alleviate Tijuana’s
BORDER WITH THE USA, TRYING TO ESTABLISH scheduled for June 2 and the former mayor negative stigma and also present it as a
ITSELF AS A CULTURAL POLE of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, leader city dedicated to the arts. Among other
bY LeONOR aMaRaNTe with 50.5% of voting intentions, from the initiatives is the International Banner
same party (Morena) as President Andrès Salon (1996), designed by Marta Palau,
thE ProtESt Song Canción Sin Miedo , Manuel López Obrador, is in the running. who participated in the 19th São Paulo
by Vivir Quintana, brought energy to And senator Xóchitl Gálvez, with around Biennial in 1987, and later transformed
the beginning of the Women›s March 28.8% of voting intentions. The only man is it into a Biennial. Still with this purpose
gathering in Tijuana, Mexico, on March Jorge Álvarez Máynes, with no chance in the comes InSITe, an international exhibition
8th. In the voice of local singer Giuliana, competition with just 4.8% voting intentions. created by the Intersection Gallery in San
guitar in hand, the composer›s blunt Tijuana faces a significant challenge: the Diego, California and which took place
message resonated like a call. With verses constant flow of a population on the move, simultaneously at the Tijuana Cultural
like “every minute, every week / they steal crossing the city in a desperate attempt Center (Mexico), built with a bold project,
our friends, they kill our sisters / They to clandestinely cross the border. Many within this restructuring program, and
destroy their bodies, they disappear”, seek employment in the Maquiladoras, opened in 1982. In the opinion by Roberto
Quintana denounces the injustices and industries that hire workers for flexible Rosique artist, critic, professor and
violence faced by women. Her music is periods – an hour, a week or a month – member of the curatorial board of the
a call to action and memory, calling on depending on demand. It is a frenetic dance Tijuana Triennale, InSITe was driven by the
politicians and society to recognize and of opportunities and uncertainties, where business vision of Michel Krichman and
combat this brutal reality. Giuliana says some settle temporarily, while others insist Carmen Cuenca, with resources from the
she is outraged and is marching for the on the search for the much-desired success National Council for Culture and the Arts
right to life, for the tireless search for in crossing the border. These individuals, (Conaculta), in addition to businesspeople
children who disappear every day, for rooted in hope, build a vibrant and diverse from the North -Americans. To legitimize
women who are silenced and for those community in Tijuana. With its 130 years of the project, international artists and
who have already lost their lives. “Here history, Tijuana stands out as a pulsating curators were invited. Brazilian critics
people commit crimes and just get away center, home to an impressive population Adriano Pedrosa, curator of the Venice
with it, no one is held accountable.” of three million inhabitants. Biennale 2024, and Ivo Mesquita, former
Quintana›s song is a warning letter Men do not participate in the March, they director of the Pinacoteca do Estado, were
to the population and, therefore, has are intimidated by their safety. A photo curators of this event in different editions.
become an anthem present in several reporter was hit by protesters with paint With the aim of fostering and promoting
demonstrations. and had to leave. Overall, the demonstration local art, in addition to stimulating
At another point in the concentration, I was controlled, although a group of women international exchange in the city, Álvaro
find a firm and decisive voice: the activist dressed in black, with their faces covered, Blancante, a renowned Mexican art critic,
and theater actress, Adriana Millanés, who carried hammers and baseball bats in was one of the visionaries in the conception
is an integral part of the Manos Entrelazadas their hands. With slogans, among others, of the Tijuana Triennale: 1. International
Foundation. This institution has been “We are bad and we can be worse”, “Not Pictorial, 2021. Although not witnessed its
tirelessly dedicated to preventing child one more”, the movement fulfilled its completion, having passed away in 2021,
sexual abuse and intra-family violence purpose. One of the impactful feats was the project flourished. The second edition,
for 17 years. Adriana, with unwavering the exhibition of photos and photocopies, in which is being worked on under my general
determination, highlights: “Those who deny the Tijeras (scissors) square, of the faces of curatorship, will open on July 26th this
the existence of this problem are, without rapists, aggressors and exploiters, whose year. The event will feature the presence of
a doubt, accomplices to discrimination list included teachers, priests, politicians, established and emerging artists helping
and violence against women”. She shares and relatives of the victims. the Tijuana Triennial to consolidate itself
an alarming statistic: 1,426 women went Even with its problems, Tijuana attracts as an important milestone in the region’s
missing in just the first two and a half Mexicans from other states and Latin cultural calendar, reaffirming the city’s
months of this year. On a significant day Americans from several countries. Ranked commitment to celebrating and promoting
for the demonstration, such as International as the second most populous metropolis art in all its forms, with the participation of
Women’s Day, she highlights that people in Mexico, it is considered the gateway to artists representing 15 different countries.
are on the streets because they no longer Latin America. Like a scar that doesn’t close,
accept this situation. However, she laments the city is cut by a wall of more than 700 CULTURaL WaR / ReSISTaNCe [pageS 90 TO 99]
that the next day, March 9, everything kilometers that divides and crosses other
will remain unchanged, highlighting the cities. While bathers try to relax on Tijuana A BREATHER IN THE
ongoing crisis facing women in Mexico. beach, the abominable wall rises imposingly, SEMI-ARID NORTHEAST
After the march, Adriana Millanés goes to dominating every angle of the landscape
her work, taking the stage at Antiga Bodega and advancing through the sand for more In Cariri, a cultural center built on the ruins
de Papel, a renowned local theater, where than a hundred meters towards the sea. of a seminary and a hospital shows that
she performs in Eve Ensler’s iconic play, The Unlike what happened on the coast in will, respect and political intelligence can
Vagina Monologues . So, after fighting on East Germany, during the Cold War, create a lung of art and environmental
preservation
the streets, she continues her mission of where armed guards carrying powerful
awareness and empowerment through art. binoculars observed everything, in Tijuana bY paTRICIa ROUSSeaUx
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