09:43:11 PM 10/17/07

Inspiration

Let me first start by saying ... again, the Zona Norte is NOT the place for cameras so please DO NOT do like me and try and go down there and take pictures or shoot video. I can GUARANTEE you that if you do ... you will have MAJOR "broncas"! Thats Spanish for "problems" a.k.a. "DEEP TROUBLE!" ... LET THIS BE A WARNING FOR YOU!

Now .... my love for travel and lust for adventure has taken me to many far away places that I've shot all over the world ... But to think that I had this quick and easy access to another country with all of this incredible culture RIGHT HERE IN MY OWN BACKYARD WHERE I COULD BE HOME THE SAME DAY was mind blowing to me ... I was hooked! But ... this is what it's like living in a bordertown ... This is Borderlife!

Over and over throughout the years people have always thought I was crazy for going to Mexico all the time. "Why are you so obsessed with Mexico?" ... "Because Mexico rocks that's why." If you haven't figured it out by now ... I love Mexico! And unfortunately ... most people just don't realize what Tijuana has to offer them beyond Avenida Revolucion.  Ever driven the coastline? So anyway ... back to INSPIRATION ...

About 9 years ago already I was hanging out at this fancy bar in Old Del Mar which is located in North County coastal San Diego ... about 40 minutes north of the U.S./Mexico border crossing at San Ysidro. I, like the late Betty Grable, have a love affair with Old Del Mar that goes back to my early childhood where I was raised. I was sitting at a table with a good artist friend of mine from New Mexico when this attractive hispanic girl walked into the bar and stood by the hostess stand waiting to be seated. I took notice of her but never thought she wasn't from the area ... I mean I see a zillion hispanic girls all day around here right?? ...

A couple minutes later, two more girls showed up, one of whom turned out to be her Mother, and the other a close friend. I watched them talking for a minute and then the hostess just so happened to sit them at a table right next to us ... FATE!! I don't know what it was but I was immediately intrigued by this "trio" ... And I remember asking my artist friend "Who are they?" ... And so we just sat there trying to figure them out and not look too obvious. But I could tell they were on to us ...

So ... after a few more minutes of talking with my friend, I thought enough is enough! My curiosity was killing me and I just had to meet this girl. At the time I was really shy and just couldn't get myself to walk over and introduce myself. So my very dear artist friend INSISTED ... and practically took me by the hand and walked me over to the table ... LOL! And in the very next moment ... history was made!!

I sort of awkwardly and nervously stood there like a total "sub" while we both introduced ourselves and started in on the "chit-chat." I began to talk to the girl I had noticed who first walked into the bar. However ... before I could get a complete sentence out, her friend interrupted and said, "She doesn't speak English." ... and being as shy as I was at the time ... I was immediately "stumped" and tongue-tied and just began to chuckle thinking she was just feeding me a line or a joke. However, in this moment, I also began to realize that maybe this wasn't just a line ...

I quickly took another look at the other girl sitting next to me who appeared slightly older and it all hit me! She looked at me and introduced herself as the girl's Mother in perfect English ... but I could tell it wasn't her native tongue. By now as you can imagine I was in shock and totally tripped out ... Was this a new episode of Candid Camera the first reality TV show?? And what was I going to say now?? I mean her Mother was young and attractive also and looked like she could have been a friend so I wasn't completely sure if they joking with me again or not ...

By now we we're all laughing and the girl's friend just sort of finally mercifully blurted out, "Her name is Patty." What Spanish I knew at this point in my life was really starting to come in handy ... Patty was the real deal! (And her story is not much different than many others ... Some family on the Mexico side, some family on the U.S. side.) So we managed to sort of say hello and chat a bit. And needless to say ... by now I was very intrigued! Who was this girl and where was she from?

Intrigued as I was we really didn't get to talk that much. It was really loud and busy in the bar but I was amazed to learn that they were all from Mexico. And to make a long story short, I wasn't really sure what to do when it came time to say goodbye because I wasn't really sure how to ask for her phone number since she was from TJ ... So I simply said "Why don't we exchange emails?" So we all scribbled down our emails on napkins and then my friend told them we were having a party the next night down at his rental on the beach and invited them to come. So we gave them directions and everything ... but I never really thought they would actually show ...

From here we all took off and we escorted them out to their car, said "Adios" and I honestly thought that was it. Little did I know that my life had just changed forever and I was about to be shown a world I never knew ...

My friend and I went to another bar and I couldn't stop thinking about how interesting and neat it was to meet Patty and her Mother and friend who were all so cool and different. So the next night rolled around and we threw this huge party down at this beach house in Del Mar and much to my surprise, they all showed up with their friends! And they also generously brought a nice bottle of Don Julio Silver Tequila and joined in on the evening festivities ... Can anybody say "El Crudo?" ... (Look it up or ask a local. You're safe. They'll laugh.)

The end of the night meant a decent drive back to Mexico for Patty. So we all said our goodbyes and they said they'd invite us down to go out for dinner sometime ... and amazingly enough .... that's exactly what they did the following week! I was impressed! These Spanish girls weren't flakey! So they invited us down to this place that at the time was called Guadalajara Grill which is now known as La Cantina De Los Remedios ... It's an awesome place and since then I've made a zillion memories there ... or better yet ... a zillion blackouts! LOL! What can I say? It's Mexico! ....

Fastforward a few months and Patty and I were an item. And thus began a very special and unique relationship ... Patty on her side of the fence, and me on the other. But we managed to work out the logistics, talk on the phone, and carry on like a normal relationship only with a special and unique twist. And before I knew it ... I had the place wired! Best times to cross, which lanes were the fastest ... the whole 9 yards ... Good fun to learn about this place!

So I basically just fell in love with Patty and fell in love with Mexico! I was having so much fun dating a local girl who basically gave me the key to Tijuana so to speak and introduced me to a whole new world ... And in a way opened a lot of doors for me down there.

So we'd go out and party in the Zona Rio area which is well away from the Zona Norte and the tourist zone ... and it was so much fun to hang with all the locales and be the only Gringo around. And my Spanish was getting really good! I was having a blast and felt really accepted by everyone ... We were raising hell and getting away with it! You have no idea the stories we could tell ...

One night ... we were out partying and Patty said "Quieres ir a la Zona Norte y ver las prostitutas?" ... which translated means "Do you want to go to the Zona Norte and see the prostitutes?" ... "Shut the **** up" I thought. "You gotta be kidding me!" ... Here I was in Mexico and this had never occurred to me I was so enamored with Patty. But without hesitation I said "Claro que si" which translated means "Yes of course." ... I mean I had heard of the Chicago Club and Adelitas and everything ... but had never actually been to the Zona Norte myself ...

I was of course very excited and interested to see this place. Afterall ... It was the red light district in Tijuana! So we stopped by the liquor store and headed on out ... I guess you could say this was my first "mission" even though I didn't realize it yet ... And she drove her car Mom. ;0 So about a 5 minute drive west ... and there we were ... La Zona Norte! Flashing lights everywhere ... tons of people ... loud thumping music coming from every direction ... narrow streets ... shoe shiners ... taco stands ... Cops ... and prostitutes everywhere of all kinds! Just an absolute Zoo and a real trip! I was just totally blown away and it all just hit me again right there ... I HAVE TO MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT THIS PLACE! Of all the places I had been in the world ... HERE IT WAS RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE THE WHOLE TIME! And I knew right there right then that meeting Patricia was no accident ...

I truely felt like this was all meant to be. Everything that was happening in my life at this point was all starting to make sense. My life had taken such an amazing turn ... falling in love with Patty, Mexico etc. ... I went from being clueless about TJ to getting the royal grand tour! The red carpet rolled right out for me! And hence was born ... Borderlife!

In the coming months I continued my relationship with Patty and frequent visits to Tijuana. And as fate would have it ... Patty and I ultimately did not make it which was a very painful loss for the both of us. As a matter of fact ... it affected me so much that quite frankly it really fueled the fire of inspiration in me to just go for it with this video ... There was no way this whole "Mexico" experience was for nothing! I knew meeting Patty was no accident. And losing her and everything only served to further inspire me to do this. I mean seriously, I wasn't ready for it all to end with Patty ... and I felt so touched by this whole experience and hadn't had enough of Mexico. So the video was really all that I was left with to make sense of it all, and I really believed in my Borderlife concept and didn't want to stop. Again ... I was inspired ... and honestly ... heartbroken at the same time. There were a lot of challenges for us and I don't blame her for anything. She is a very good and special person whom I am so proud to have had such a special peice of history with ...

In the months and years to come ... my obsession with Mexico continued ... and so did my shooting ... about 75 hours worth of footage from the city of Tijuana itself, to countless bullfights and of course ... La Zona Norte! I couldn't shake the whole Borderlife idea and as I began shooting and putting the whole concept together in my head, it also helped me in some way to heal all the pain I went through with losing Patty and letting go of this fascinating new world I had discovered. And even though she and I don't know each other anymore ... Patty and I will always be connected ...

Vaya con Dios, y espero que siempre suenos con Los Angelitos ... Patty