[1950s 16mm Film - Preaching in Tijuana, Mexico Slum]

Genre: amateur film

Year Published: 1950s

Creator: John C. Merino

Description:

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16mm film by John C. Merino showing a slum area of Tijuana in the 1950s and the preachers who plied their trade there. Merino's sister-in-law Beth provides this context:

The time was from approximately from 1956–1960. My mother and I were members of the Pacific Beach Church of Christ. A young preacher, named Reuben Chavez, had recently been discharged from the Army. He wanted to preach in Tijuana. He was bilingual. He formed a group of teenagers from the church to accompany him every Sunday to the slums of Tijuana. I volunteered immediately not to proselytize but to practice Spanish, which I was studying. We left early on Sunday mornings, piling into his old car, crossing the border at San Ysidro—then a very short wait. We headed immediately into the worst of the worst sections of Tijuana. Locals would gather and Reuben would teach the faith. Gospel songs were sung in Spanish and the sermons were in Spanish, too. Clothing and food were distributed. We visited their hovels to chat and learn about them. One area we often visited was called Cartolandia where all the shacks were made of big cardboard boxes. I can’t remember we ever went to downtown Tijuana or the better places. We were there all day coming home in the late afternoon.

One memory I have still haunts me. A woman invited me into her tiny place. On the little table was a dead little girl—about three—surrounded by a few flowers. She wanted me to see and admire her child before she was buried.

In the end, only one young Mexican woman wanted to be baptized, so she was brought up to the Pacific Beach Church of Christ for the baptism. While she was being assisted into her gown in the back, she was found to be transgender. Naturally this caused quite a stir. She was baptized nonetheless. One convert from all that time and effort!

Tijuana was then a safe place—long before the cartels. I wandered around and in all those years I met many friendly, good people and was never afraid once.
I began college, and Reuben moved on to other causes. My Spanish is still passable. I still have fond memories of those days of such a different world.

Alot of time, effort, expensive equipment, and technical expertise goes into scanning these films and posting them for all to see. If you're interested in licensing this footage for use in your own video or film project, email phix@optigan.com

Complete Record: Found 1950s 16mm Film - Preaching in Tijuana, Mexico Slum This channel is not monetized. If you like what you see here and would like to help me continue sharing cool stuff on my channel, please consider making a donation via Venmo @Pea-Hicks. 16mm film by John C. Merino showing a slum area of Tijuana in the 1950s and the preachers who plied their trade there. Merino's sister-in-law Beth provides this context: The time was from approximately from 1956–1960. My mother and I were members of the Pacific Beach Church of Christ. A young preacher, named Reuben Chavez, had recently been discharged from the Army. He wanted to preach in Tijuana. He was bilingual. He formed a group of teenagers from the church to accompany him every Sunday to the slums of Tijuana. I volunteered immediately not to proselytize but to practice Spanish, which I was studying. We left early on Sunday mornings, piling into his old car, crossing the border at San Ysidro—then a very short wait. We headed immediately into the worst of the worst sections of Tijuana. Locals would gather and Reuben would teach the faith. Gospel songs were sung in Spanish and the sermons were in Spanish, too. Clothing and food were distributed. We visited their hovels to chat and learn about them. One area we often visited was called Cartolandia where all the shacks were made of big cardboard boxes. I can’t remember we ever went to downtown Tijuana or the better places. We were there all day coming home in the late afternoon. One memory I have still haunts me. A woman invited me into her tiny place. On the little table was a dead little girl—about three—surrounded by a few flowers. She wanted me to see and admire her child before she was buried. In the end, only one young Mexican woman wanted to be baptized, so she was brought up to the Pacific Beach Church of Christ for the baptism. While she was being assisted into her gown in the back, she was found to be transgender. Naturally this caused quite a stir. She was baptized nonetheless. One convert from all that time and effort! Tijuana was then a safe place—long before the cartels. I wandered around and in all those years I met many friendly, good people and was never afraid once. I began college, and Reuben moved on to other causes. My Spanish is still passable. I still have fond memories of those days of such a different world. Alot of time, effort, expensive equipment, and technical expertise goes into scanning these films and posting them for all to see. If you're interested in licensing this footage for use in your own video or film project, email phix@optigan.com