Titanic: where in Mexico was the hit film shot

During the midnight of the 14th and the early morning of April 15, 1912, one of the most remembered maritime tragedies in world history occurred. And this Friday marks the 110th anniversary of the shipwreck of the Titanic, in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This, while making his first trip from Southampton to New York after colliding with an iceberg.

It is estimated that some 1,496 people died in the shipwreck, of the 2,208 who were on board, making this catastrophe one of the largest shipwrecks in history. Since 8 April, the Titanic Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been exhibiting one of the six life jackets that survived the sinking of the legendary ocean liner, coinciding with the 110th anniversary of this tragic maritime accident.

This is the first time that this article has been seen on the island of Ireland since it was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett, one of the first ships to respond to the call for distress issued by the Titanic in the early morning of April 15, 1912.

Built at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast, the ill-fated White Star company ship was launched from the port of the Northern Irish capital on 31 May 1911. However, less than a year later, the luxurious Titanic, described as “indestructible”, went deep into the cold waters of the North Atlantic on its inaugural voyage to New York after hitting an iceberg.

It should be noted that the tragedy inspired one of the highest grossing films in history, which bears the same name as the ship: Titanic. And although very few know, the landscapes that appear in the film are part of one of the most emblematic corridors in northern Mexico.

During the months of recording, this iconic venue hosted Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, as well as three-time Oscar-winning director James Cameron.

The characters Rose DeWitt and Jack Dawson, played by Winslet and DiCaprio, respectively, strolled along the famous tourist corridor of Tijuana-Ensenada, in the northern state of Baja California, to record the film, which became one of the most remembered of the 1990s.

This important film was shot, mostly, on the beaches and coasts of Rosarito, a municipality of Baja California, known for its seascapes and the intense waves of the Pacific Ocean. The film was one of James Cameron's most ambitious projects, so realism was very important when shooting the scenes of the sinking of the great and iconic cruise ship.

Although, possibly, many people think that the scenes were shot in the open sea, but such a feat would have been quite complicated considering the intensity of the sea at this point of the Mexican beaches. The reality is that, to make the film, the Fox studio bought 14 hectares of land in Rosarito.

In this space, the studio built a set that included a water tank with the volume necessary to stage the moment of the Titanic's sinking, which occurred on April 1912.

The 350,000 gallon water tank, despite what one might think, was not frozen by much less, as it was 27 degrees, something quite close to the temperature of a pool.

200 million dollars were invested in this feature film, of which 57 million dollars were allocated for the new studio, which is now known as Fox Baja Studios. The recordings began in September 1996 and ended until March 1997. Other Hollywood films such as Pearl Harbor and 007: Tomorrow Never Dies were also shot here.

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