Charlie Chaplin

Galicot is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and president and founder of the nonprofit Tijuana Innovadora. He lives and works in San Diego and Tijuana. To ...

The going rate is $15 on both sides of the border, but in Tijuana $15 covers an entire workday and in San Diego $15 covers one hour of work. In the 1960s, business leaders discovered that Tijuana was a free-trade zone and, like new Marco Polos, they began to go to the East and to Europe to set up import stores. All these activities that the American society judged and complained about found a space back in the United States, gradually reducing Tijuana’s livelihood. To understand Tijuana’s economy, you have to understand the reflex events of America’s economy that change course every decade. The casino was closed by then-President Lázaro Cárdenas and converted into a school in 1935. Agua Caliente Casino was visited by the famous public figures of the time, including Al Capone, who, according to legend, lost half a million dollars in one night.