Art and Artists of San Diego-Tijuana Border and the Economic Impact The Mexico/U.S. border has been an area of focus in both countries politics because of the increased concerns regarding the impact of immigration to the United States. Securing this border has been a major priority of both governments to help in curbing several crimes, especially drug trafficking. While this border continues to dominate immigration policy debates and agenda, its cultural production has been increasingly diverse and fruitful throughout the history of these two countries (Prieto par, 1). Art has emerged has an important activity in the cultural production of Mexico/US border, especially San Diego-Tijuana border. The emergence of art in this border can be traced back to the early 80's when it was explicitly used to address border politics. Since then, art in the San Diego-Tijuana border has continued to develop to an extent that it has considerable economic impact.

Art in San Diego-Tijuana Border

San Diego-Tijuana border is an international metropolitan area that is characterized by large towns and urban areas with a high population growth. This border is adjacent to the coastal cities of San Diego, California and Mexico's Tijuana, Baja California. Throughout the years, San Diego-Tijuana border has experienced tremendous population growth to an extent that it currently accounts for the largest bi-national area that is shared between the U.S. and Mexico. Given the bi-national nature of this international metropolitan...

Cultural production in this border has been diverse and fruitful and contributed to the use of art as a political strategy. When art emerged in this border in the early 80s, it was primarily folk art that was largely influenced the diversity of cultures in the border and was also utilized to explicitly address border politics (Prieto par, 2).
Art in San Diego-Tijuana border in the 1980s was also influenced by the Chicano movement, which was usually dominated by immigration politics. During this period, Herman Baca, the Chicano leader, emphasized on the significance of addressing the immigration debate (Sheren, p.1). However, Baca highlighted the significance of this issue through examining it from an international system of inequity. Immigration issues soon took center-stage in art in San Diego-Tijuana border as artists of the Chicano movement were forced to act as mediators. Through their work, artists sought presented visions of a borderless world to the public while seemingly advocating for a Chicano area in southwest regions of the United States. One of the first artists to include border issues in their work was Rupert Garcia, a graphic artist. In his work, Garcia advocated for an end to the unfair treatment of migrant workers in the United States. Garcia's work is an example of the Chicano artworks that highlighted the predicaments of immigrants beyond the borderline. Over the next decade, many…