Archivo Histórico de Tijuana (México)

The Archivo Histórico de Tijuana holds VHS and CD recordings, audiocassette tapes, vinyl records, photographs and other documents dating back to the late 19th century. These rare materials record Tijuana’s history, documenting images of people, buildings, political activism and public events, as well as documents from the City’s administrative office (Oficialía Mayor).The images show the vibrant society and community of Tijuana that most people today would not associate with the border region. These collections will give viewers quite a different perspective of Tijuana. Users may want to look across collections to gain a broader understanding of Tijuana and the US-Mexico border beyond the stereotypes and spectacles that are more typically featured in the news and other media.

The collections can also help us better understand the region's development and find documentation of places and spaces that have since been transformed into something different. Images of the border, for example, depict a dramatic shift from the time of a more porous gateway that allowed community members to travel easily between Tijuana and San Diego to a significant barrier (wall) that can sometimes require many hours to cross and even impacts animal migration. Likewise, one can find images of the same intersection or neighborhood through several collections and note the changes and developments.

Host Institution: San Diego State University (SDSU)

A MEAP-funded digitization project(opens in a new tab), the San Diego State University (SDSU) Sage Project and the University Library partnered with Tijuana’s Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura (IMAC) to organize, inventory and digitize materials from the Archivo Histórico de Tijuana, located at IMAC.