Imperial Beach
In California, three miles from Mexico, lies Imperial Beach. It is a town on the border between North and South, East and West, Sea and Sand. We can choose to live inside borders or on top of them. In "IB" people choose to surf.
Rosa Adams
Rosa Adams has lived in Imperial Beach, California since 1990. "I was born in Mexico City. I was there until I was 23 years
old," says Rosa. "When I was there, I liked it. But then when I came here, I loved it!" Her older brother invited her to come
and live near him in San Ysidro, a city on the Mexican border just east of Imperial Beach. "That was 1975," adds Rosa. "He
wanted us to come over here to live close to him."
Rosa and her husband Arthur have three sons, Albert (27), Arturo (23) and Alex (18). "Albert has three kids, two girls and
one boy. Sometimes I baby-sit them," says Rosa. "The oldest grandchild is 10, the other is 7 and the youngest is 3. They
call me 'Abuelita.' It means 'grandmother' in Spanish."
When she first married Arthur the couple moved to Baltimore, apparently at the wrong time of year. "We lived there for a
little bit, like for five or six months, but I didn't like it because it was too cold!" Rosa adds, "It wasn't much fun
and I told him I wanted to come back to the San Diego area. It is my favorite place."
They moved back to San Ysidro and stayed about ten years before settling in Imperial Beach in 1990. Visiting the beach
became part of her routine. "The name of the beach is Silver Strand. It's a little north of Imperial Beach. I used to
go four times a week. It's really nice. I'd take the bus and stay there for a while. There're a lot of people there.
Sometimes they have events and parties. They play music, people swimming in the water." Except when the rains come and
wash sewage from Tijuana into the ocean. "The water comes in from Mexico to the beach over here," says Rosa. "They call
it black water. It's contaminated. They try to keep people away from the beach during that time."
Rosa did not spend all her time at the beach and began selling Avon in Imperial Beach 11 years ago. "I went to the
supervisor and paid $10 for the set to start selling," says Rosa. "Little by little I started to like it because it was
fun. At the same time I sell things, I can buy things for myself." Selling Avon comes with some of the trappings of owning
a small business. "Sometimes I don't make that much because sometimes people don't pay and I lose money and I have to pay
for the merchandise myself. Sometimes I feel like I want to quit but I want to keep trying. I want to keep busy. I meet
people that way."
Recipes: Mexican Spaghetti with Shrimp | Shrimp Soup | Carl's Criss-Cross Rib-eye | 10 Pepper Pork