Zona Norte | |
|---|---|
Neighborhood of Tijuana | |
| Colonia Zona Norte | |
  Zona Norte Location within Central Tijuana | |
| Coordinates: 32°32′20″N 117°02′44″W / 32.538876°N 117.045572°W | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Baja California |
| Municipality (municipio) | Tijuana |
| Borough (delegación) | Centro |
| ZIP Code | 22000 |
| Area code(s) | 664, 663 |
Zona Norte (officially Colonia Zona Norte, "North Zone (neighborhood)") is an official neighborhood, as well as a red light district located in Tijuana, Mexico. It is among the largest red light districts in North America known for its brothels, which present themselves in public as strip clubs and bars, similar to gentlemen's clubs in the United States.
Many bars and strip clubs in Tijuana's red light district in which women are the feature entertainment also operate as brothels, which offer attached hotel rooms for short intervals of time. Many other bars, styled "lady bars", function as less explicit social clubs where prostitutes and nude sex shows are not accommodated on site, but fichas (drinks for the working ladies) are offered at elevated prices, and freelance prostitutes look for clients.
These compare in most respects to the hostess bars in Japan. The red light district in Tijuana is also known for street prostitution, particularly behind the main strip clubs on Calle Coahuila, in a large high-traffic alley named "Primer Callejón Coahuila".
Illicit drug sales are also common to the red light district, which happens night and day in plain view because the local police tolerates it in the form of collecting their commission. The dealer's selling phrase is "¿Cuantos?" meaning "How much?" in Spanish. Heroin use and theft, not common elsewhere in Mexico, are rampant here.
Due to its proximity to San Diego, California, it is frequented by Americans, as well as locals. The district is also known as La Coahuila for the name of the primary avenue that runs through it.