Most border towns have a tourist area with bars, restaurants and curio shops, catering to the turista, not worth much as representative of what the country and culture are really like.
Yes you can have a good time and enjoy the day, most of this areas have suffered a big drop in customers and some of the shops have closed, I am familiar with the Tijuana area, 65% of the shops and restaurants are closed, even on a Saturday evening the place is deserted.
The same happens with some of the border towns in the US nothing much to see, definitely not the US culture, you need to go further inland away from the border towns.
navegator