Short answers, pulled from the story.
Santiago Argüello Moraga established a cattle ranch on a Mexican land grant in 1829 and named it Rancho Tía Juana. The name derives from the Kumeyaay word 'Tihuan', meaning 'by the sea'. Historians agree that the city's name comes directly from the Kumeyaay language of the First Nations people who inhabited the San Diego-Tijuana region for centuries before European arrival.
Urban development officially began on the 11th of July 1889 when descendants of Santiago Argüello and Augustín Olvera signed an agreement to establish the city. Tourism became a central economic driver from the late 19th century onward during the California land boom of the 1880s. By 1911, revolutionaries loyal to Ricardo Flores Magón briefly seized control of the city during the Mexican Revolution.
President Cárdenas decreed an end to all gambling and casinos in Baja California in 1935 causing the complex to close. The Agua Caliente Touristic Complex opened in 1928 with a hotel, spa, dog track, private airport, golf course, and casino. A year later, the new Agua Caliente Racetrack joined the complex and Hollywood stars and gangsters flew into the resort during its eight-year operation.
Statista reported Tijuana had the second highest homicide rate globally at 138 per 100,000 inhabitants as of May 2022. OECD data from 2018 recorded 2,253 homicides equivalent to 129.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. Homicides peaked in 2010 when 844 people were killed compared to 355 in 2004.
The 1982 opening of the Tijuana Cultural Center marked a milestone shifting the city image toward culture rather than just vice. CECUT includes an OMNIMAX cinema showing IMAX films plus exhibition halls for contemporary art and a bookstore. Graffiti is widespread across walls with large colorful murals adorning buildings from both native Tijuanan artists and visiting writers from California.