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| Venus, the Goddess of Love and protector of prostitutes |
Conceivably, the lure of Tijuana during its golden era became the origin of the sensational appeal when it was the location of choice by the rich and famous during the U.S. Prohibition Act of 1918. This was especially true during the Depression when Americans were eager for a diversion of the gloom and doom of the day, which was the cause for Tijuana being the solution to have a drink, gamble and have sex without strings attached.
Prostitution: the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money
This is often considered a subject of questionable character but let's face it, prostitution is often regarded as the oldest profession known to our civilization and has been accepted socially throughout history.
Tijuana's prostitution business is perhaps the avant-garde version of the selling of sex, in that its methods, practice, acceptance by the government and by society and surely its sophistication which is fashionably contemporary. Tijuana - sophisticated? You may question this statement - keep reading. You see, Tijuana was once, the bomb in the '20s and '30s when it came to cabarets, sex, and bordellos. Ultimately, history does have its way of repeating itself and now more than ever the industry of sex is booming in Tijuana. La Coahuila, Tijuana's Red Light District has reclaimed its right as a city that can offer a venue of behavior that some consider less than being a character of virtue.
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| Raquel Welch was a very active prostitute in Tijuana in the 60s according to her family |
To illustrate this statement the Hong Kong Club of Tijuana, considered the top gentleman's club in the world is quite a distinctive venue. The extravagant strip club and bordello has established Tijuana's Red Light District ranking as number 2 out of the top 7 red light districts in the world.
HK of Tijuana has packaged the sex for sale trade with sophistication, class, and style, being very "Latin-esque" and very voguish at once. Save the hundreds of women which are as beautiful as imaginable, the Hong Kong Club has raised the bar of what strip clubs offered their patrons. The overwhelming popularity of the club is the product of the elegant decor, the alluring party and friendly ambiance, the first class hotel with astounding amenities, the sound system along with first-rate DJs, the private limousines for customers, and the abundant staff which affords customer service that outranks anything that Las Vegas, Bangkok, Copenhagen, or any night club the world over has to offer.
Don't take my word for it - Read STRIPLV's article - Hong Kong Gentleman's Club and Hotel Cascadas. "What could be more of a knockout than a first-class, upscale club and a high-end hotel, all under one roof? —How about some amazing ladies?!"
Necessity is the mother of Invention and the birth of prostitution was no exception. Prostitution is dated back to the earliest civilization where the interaction of men in need of female company would barter for sexual favors and willing women in need of a solution to sustenance - "means of living, a livelihood," all became a part of human culture. In the 3rd millennium B.C., the Sumerians on Mesopotamia worshiped Ishtar - the goddess of love, symbolized by the Planet Venus - a deity that would remain constant throughout the Mesopotamia’s Babylonian and Assyrian empires. The Babylonian goddess Ishtar performed the first documented "striptease" when she descended into the underworld in search of Tammuz.
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| Sex and prostitution in Pompeii, ancient Rome's Red Light District |
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| Salomé, the biblical stripper who danced the dance of seven veils |
A biblical striptease, around 30 A.D. in King Herod’s palace in Jerusalem; a princess named Salome danced the "Dance of Seven Veils" in exchange for having John the Baptist's head on a silver platter. Prostitution was widespread in the Roman Empire with Pompeii being completely consolidated in the sex trade. Prostitution flourished in an established area located where there were bars that served alcohol with the world's oldest known brothel, the Lupanare being the crown jewel of Pompeii's ancient red light district. The trade of prostitution continued throughout Egyptian, Hellenic, Greek, Roman periods, the Middle Ages, the Islamic, Asian and Anglo Saxon Cultures eventually becoming a part of modern human culture and society.
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| Hong Kong Gentleman's Club and Strip Bar of Tijuana |
The History of Mexican and Tijuana Prostitution.
During the colonization of the New World, the Spanish were not immune to the acceptance of prostitution. The settling of statehood and the Industrial Revolution saw great stresses on society especially regarding the social well being of the female populous and their economic state. The solution, as throughout history was prostitution became widespread, and in part socially accepted.
As in other cultures, the enterprise of sex was tolerated in a political manner as in an economic sense at least and over-looked in fashion surely due to its accustomed place in the society. As in many other countries, the tolerance of prostitution in Mexico found its way and has been regulated since 1885 eventually becoming decriminalized under governmental supervision.
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| 1950s Photo of a Mexican Prostitute |
The allure of what was becoming the best place in North America to have a real good time was enhanced - the result of U.S. Prohibition from 1918 to 1933, which was starving Americans for booze, gambling, and sex. The border towns of Mexico capitalized on the desires that men were having regarding carnal fascination and the craving to have fun with vice tourism increasing as much as 3000% from 1918 to 1919. The roaring twenties seemed to have a lackluster semblance - which became greatly amplified at the end of the decade when financial catastrophe struck. Men and women wanted to have a drink and put aside the feeling of despair of the agony of a continued worldwide depression from 1929 through the following decade. Men not only wanted a drink they more than ever wanted to satisfy their sexual passion and Tijuana was the perfect solution.
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| The World Famous Molino Rojo Bar Tijuana Circa 1922 |
The Agua Caliente Complex which incorporated natural hot springs was financed by four American entrepreneurs, 3 of which were connected Mafia Dons - cabaret, casino, and race track owners that were anxious to circumvent U.S. Prohibition and reinvent their businesses south of the border. The 4th was the owner of the U.S. Grant Hotel in San Diego. The four invested a total of 10 million dollars in the development of what would be the greatest resort and casino, 2nd in the world to Monte Carlo.
The success of Agua Caliente earned them the title of "border barons", a result of the frequent visits by Hollywood's most famous actors of the day. Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, John Barrymore, Babe Ruth, Wallace Beery, Buster Keaton, Rudolph Valentino, Robert Mitchum, Al Jolson, Constance Collier, Jean Harlow, Douglas Fairbanks, and Bing Crosby all visited Caliente and as well many of the lurid bars and bordellos of Tijuana during its heyday. In Tijuana, they could miss-behave without the threat of being seen by tabloid and newspapers photographers or journalists.
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| Agua Caliente Race track and Casino - Tijuana's golden age |
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| Tivoli Casino and Bar Tijuana Circa 1920 |
The most famous and largest whore house in the world was Tijuana's Molino Rojo which dominated the town's reputation of vice from the early 20s. Hollywood's leading men and Agua Caliente's jockeys including Red Pollard and George Woolf who both rode the epic racehorse Sea Biscuit, frequented the Molino Rojo. Agua Caliente's jockeys were well known as hell-raisers starting their nightly escapades at Molino Rojo and then hitting clubs and casinos like Tivoli and the Capri on Avenida Revolucion. Molino Rojo was the home for hundreds of prostitutes that took their customer service very seriously; with names like Velvet Tongued Velma and Chi Chi Grande, little was left for imagination.
The growth of Tijuana's Vice Industry from 1908 - 1935 saw it's demise when U.S. Prohibition laws were repealed and laws were enacted by Mexican President Cardenas outlawing casinos and gambling in the State of Baja California. Prostitution was still legal which continued to experience a strong appeal from Americans, especially concerning the navy in San Diego. The gambling laws have been relaxed since 1989 and more-over since
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| Adelita Bar, the Largest Bordello in North America 1960 - 2010 Tijuana's Red Light District |
Across Mexico "tolerance zones" became established where the "black eye" of prostitution could be tucked away out of sight for tourists and moreover out of mind for the aristocratic Mexicans that found a sense of shame in the business of sex for sale as a means of financial equilibrium for many of the underprivileged. Tijuana was no exception to the plan to control where the sex business would be conducted.
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| Hong Kong Gentleman's Club of Tijuana |
Since the late 50's prostitution has been permitted in Tijuana's red light district, Zona Norte or La Coahuila - designated a Zona De Tolerancia, or "Tolerance Zone." This designated area permits strip bars, and bars that are bordellos with hotels that are not attached physically to the clubs ( separate entrances ) and a couple of streets for Tijuana street whores to advertise their services.
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| Adelita Bar Tijuana's Red Light District |
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| Zona Norte Tijuana Red Light District |
Carlos Santana grew up in Tijuana, turning to the rock and roll guitar from concert violinist. He performed in Tijuana strip clubs in his teenage years before he moved to San Francisco with his family eventually forming the Santana Blues Band in 1966. There is something to consider when realizing the influence that Tijuana's wild nightlife had on him and his swanky Latin style of rock music.
In 1972 the Chicago Club opened and was soon rumored to be the secret meeting place for Japanese Spies and US Naval Officers with intelligence for sale. These clandestine activities were known to be occurring in the years prior to, after, and during WWII at the Molino Rojo Brothel and other establishments.
Click this YouTube Video to view vintage classic black and white photographs of Mexican Prostitutes
As illustrated in Wikipedia: The Red Light District of Zona Norte ranks among the top 7 red light districts in the world. It is the largest red-light district in North America known for its brothels, which present themselves in public as strip clubs and bars, similar to gentleman's clubs in the United States. Many bars and strip clubs in Tijuana's red light district in which women are the featured entertainment as paid for dance partners also operate like brothels, which offer attached hotel rooms for short intervals of time. Many other bars, styled "lady bars", function as less explicit social clubs where prostitutes and nude sex shows are not accommodated on site, but "lady drinks" are offered at elevated prices, and freelance prostitutes look for clients. Read more about Tijuana's Red Light District in Wikipedia
A recent article in the San Diego Union illustrates the controversial sex trade in Tijuana: On any given night, scores of U.S. visitors mingle with a Mexican clientele crowded inside bars named Adelita, Hong Kong, Chicago Club and other establishments that line Calle Coahuila and a series of smaller side streets. Tijuana's street whores are
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| La Coahuila, Tijuana's Red Light District |
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| Hotel Cascadas Hong Kong of Tijuana  |
The city of Tijuana has recently shown a controversial interest in the development of the sex trade. The Tijuana Conventions and Tourism Committee was planning to promote sex tourism through a program called "Tijuana Coqueta," or Flirty Tijuana. Opposition to this plan had become quite political and the program has been scrapped.
None-the-less, as has been a practice all along the clubs have promoted their neglected tourism attraction by the government tourism authority. Since the failure of Flirty Tijuana, they have greatly elevated their efforts of public relations, promotional media campaigns and the enhancement of the area with the elaborate lighting of newly planted palm trees, improvements to sidewalks, street lighting and the hiring of security officers to roam the area. Adelita Bar has answered the Hong Kong challenge by creating perhaps the most extravagant digital display in the world that incorporates a zipper along a sweeping facade that rivals Times Square and Las Vegas digital signage and lighting.
With the popularity of prostitution in Tijuana flourishing; Hong Kong and Adelita Strip Bars have greatly increased their presence in Zona Norte's La Coahuila with re-designed expanded interiors with state of the art lighting and VIP areas. Adelita Bar, the Chicago Club has joined the Hong Kong club adding limousine and chauffeured service to and from the border. A complete renovation to the Hotel Cascadas part of the Hong Kong Club which included adding a ten-story development with absolutely sensational rooms that offer jacuzzis, in-room pools, and other amenities that would be hard to match even for Las Vegas. Additionally the Chicago Club, at one time a very popular bar is experiencing a resurrection with an all-new renovation creating a wild and sexy ambiance and new girls.
None-the-less, as has been a practice all along the clubs have promoted their neglected tourism attraction by the government tourism authority. Since the failure of Flirty Tijuana, they have greatly elevated their efforts of public relations, promotional media campaigns and the enhancement of the area with the elaborate lighting of newly planted palm trees, improvements to sidewalks, street lighting and the hiring of security officers to roam the area. Adelita Bar has answered the Hong Kong challenge by creating perhaps the most extravagant digital display in the world that incorporates a zipper along a sweeping facade that rivals Times Square and Las Vegas digital signage and lighting.
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| Adelita Bar giant digital signage |
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| Paraditas, Tijuana Zona "De Tolerancia" Street Whores photo credit - James Whitlow Delano |
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| Hong Kong Gentleman's Club of Tijuana Mexico |
The Red Light District of Zona Norte Tijuana has regained it's "golden era" reputation with business booming. In light of the continued attraction of the sex trade in Tijuana, the future and prosperity of Tijuana's Red Light District is quite significant.
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Sea Biscuit Agua Caliente Tijuana |
