On August 5, 2017 I saw a publication by Alfredo Ortega Trillo on Facebook regarding the islands of Tijuana, being the brother of Alejandro, a high school classmate of mine, I contacted him immediately and we made an appointment to discuss the topic in the coming days. He told me that he was writing a book called "La bitácora del guardafaros", that he had spent 10 days living in the south island and a series of other details, or rather many, since he is very talkative and he is passionate about the subject of the islands. We ended the meeting agreeing that we would make a trip to the islands the following Saturday, August 12, and he agreed when I told him that I would invite Antonio Frias, a friend who is an excellent photographer and diver. We met early in Popotla and set sail for the islands. Alfredo had a camera, notebook and more in his backpack. My son Aristeo also accompanied us, as well as Antonio's two sons, who brought a couple of cameras and a drone.

I remember all this because last Friday, February 5, Alfredo came by the office to visit me and bring me the book he had told me so much about. I was very happy to see that the photo that appears on the cover of the publication edited by the Centro Cultural Tijuana, was taken on the trip I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but I was even happier to see the finished work, since it is not easy to write a book. I told him I would read it over the weekend and soI did, here are my comments on it.

"La bitácora del guardafaros" is a novel based on real facts and data of the Coronados Islands, yes, in plural, since its name is in honor of the four crowned saint martyrs: Severo, Severiano, Carpóforo and Victorino, thus Sebastian Vizcaino renamed it on November 9, 1602, since Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the European navigator sent by Hernan Cortes 60 years before (1542), had baptized them as the "Islas Desiertas" (Deserted Islands). Many people refer to them in the singular thinking that something has to do with Coronado, that neighboring city of ours that is part of San Diego County, California, but nothing of the sort.

I found the 146-page book to be an excellent concentrate of the best compilation of information on our islands. For starters, you will know that the four islands are part of the municipality of Tijuana, that they are located in the Mexican Pacific Ocean at 32 degrees north latitude and 117 degrees longitude; thirteen kilometers from the Baja California coast, seven kilometers from the dividing line with the United States and ten kilometers from San Diego. Also that the southern island (the largest) is 3.2 kilometers long and no more than 300 meters wide, but also that it has two lighthouses, one at each point.

During the reading of the text, Alfredo reminds us in detail of the 10 days of his stay on the island in June 2006, where he went to gather information and write the novel, accompanied by a small table that he placed on top of the island. While you learn about all the adventures he lived through, you will learn that there is no water on the island, that there are many rattlesnakes, how they managed to get rid of so many goats, the group of Chinese that were stranded there, also that during the decade of the 20's, when the "dry law" was in force in the neighboring country, the south island had a lot of movement, it is said that even from there the barrels of liquor that were smuggled to California, which arrived in Ensenada from Canada, left in speedboats. It is even inferred that Al Capone financed the liquor smuggling operations and that he visited them.

It is highlighted in the publication that in the 30's he operated a two-story hotel, with 60 rooms, that had a gaming table, restaurant and cabaret called "Coronado Islands Yacht Club". The investors were Mariano Escobedo Gonzalez and Manuel Metions, who obtained from the Mexican government the concession to exploit the site, probably with the idea of attracting visitors to an exotic Mexican island, close to their country where you could drink alcohol and have a good time betting at the gaming tables, at a time where there was a "dry law" in the United States. In addition, they surely saw that the Agua Caliente Complex, where the Tijuana Casino operated, was a success and competed with the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, which was the best in the world at that time.

The publication states that there is a record of several Hollywood artists and important businessmen from California who visited the hotel and casino that operated in the Tijuana islands, and even mentions their names, but it also tells us that the influx to the Casino dropped considerably when the amendment that abolished the "dry law" was signed on December 5, 1933. Although the final straw came when President Lazaro Cardenas banned gambling in Mexico, which happened in January 1935, which may have happened to affect his predecessor, General Abelardo L. Rodriguez, who as we know was a partner of the Agua Caliente Complex and promoter of gambling in our country, but was also close to his fellow Sonoran, Plutarco Elias Calles, who was an enemy of Cardenas.

The pleasant reading of this well-written novel by Alfredo Ortega also reveals that after the casino on the islands stopped operating, a couple of Americans continued to promote it and rent its rooms, so the Mexican Government sent a group of soldiers to put order, who were later replaced by some sailors, who for more than 60 years have guarded the sovereignty of the islands accompanied by the lighthouse keeper, who at times had an assistant. Arturo Sumuano Savin was the last lighthouse keeper of our islands by virtue of the implementation of a "modern information system of maritime signaling", he left the south island of the Coronados in 2017 and with him, went the practice of writing down all the news of the day in the corresponding logbook.

Very few people know that during the Second World War an airplane crashed on one of the islands, here I transcribe what the logbook of the lighthouse keeper refers to the facts:

“Coronados Islands, October 17, 1944.
I have the honor to inform you that today at 5:45 a.m. a Catalina type military plane crashed in the middle part of this island, carrying 15 men, all of whom were killed and most of the plane was burned.
The Lieutenant Commander of the party gave notice to the 2nd Military Naval Zone and at 10 o'clock 3 speedboats came from San Diego and picked up all the dead”.

Signed Miguel Ortiz Garcia, lighthouse keeper.

But also little diffusion has been given to the fact that the south island was bombed during a military exercise by an American navy ship, on June 28, 1943, the ship was commanded by Ron Hubbard, who was strongly reprimanded by his superiors and even removed from his post, due to the energetic protest of the Mexican government. After the World War, Hubbard gained much notoriety because he wrote several famous books on Dianetics and Scientology.

"La bitácora del guardafaros (The lighthouse keeper's log)" also teaches us that Coronados have a fauna that includes several species of birds typical of the islands, such as the Xantus murrelets, which is a species of small penguin with wings capable of flying, due to its black and white plumage, short legs and its way of swimming underwater, is nocturnal and unique in the world. Also nesting are seagulls, gannets, waterfowl called cormorants, petrels and pelicans, especially the brown pelican, the one that dives into the sea for its prey, but also come several types of ducks and many other migratory birds throughout the year.

Since December 7, 2016 it was published in the Official Journal of the Federation that the islands are being considered within the Biosphere Reserve "Pacific Islands of the Baja California Peninsula" and therefore are in charge of CONANP, National Commission of Natural Protected Areas. This does not prevent one from taking a boat ride and seeing the large colony of seals and sea lions that have made the islands their natural habitat, with luck even elephant seals can be spotted. In addition to a good number of birds of various types and sizes.

I believe that the book should be read by all young Tijuanenses because it is necessary for them to have more knowledge of their city and its history. In addition, I think we should value the fact that we have four islands: the south island (the largest), the north island, the middle island and the lump of sugar, as they call the smallest one, the one that looks white because it is covered with bird droppings, but, above all, because Tijuana is one of the few cities in Mexico that has islands.

I end by highly recommending reading "La bitácora del guardafaros" because it highlights important parts of Tijuana's history that are little known, such as those mentioned above and others, such as the fact that there are records of the birth of several children on the islands, that several people died and, consequently, that there is a small cemetery there. The publication is well documented and therefore becomes a source of information that enriches our culture.

Text by Alvaro Montaño Rubio (Author of "Welcome to Tijuana"
Photographs by Antonio Frias.

PS. The book is available at Librería El Día and at CECUT.