Mexicali
Encyclopedia
Mexicali is the capital of the State
of Baja California
, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area (as well the municipality) reaches 936,826.
The city maintains a highly educated and skilled populace. Its standard of living is one of the highest in Mexico. As the city has modernized and become a cosmopolitan
and international
center in a desert region, it has maintained a sizable middle class and an even larger upper class. In Mexico, it is recognized for its substantial investment in education as well as its low unemployment levels.
Mexicali's economy was historically based on agricultural products, and to this day it remains a large sector of the economy. As time has progressed however, its economy has gradually gone from being agriculturally based to industrially based. Companies such as Mitsubishi
, Honeywell
, Nestle
, Coca Cola and Goodrich Corporation
have built plants in the city and its metropolitan area. Silicon Border
is located here as well; a large industrial park that is a high tech manufacturing area. Its goal is to become a global center for semiconductor manufacturing. Mexicali's proximity to the United States has made the city a popular tourist destination with Americans from Arizona
, California
, and Nevada
. The city is a well known sports city with many ball sports being popular in the region. In North America, it is the only city that maintains an abundant amount of electrical power, water and natural gas supplies.
Founded on March 14, 1903, Mexicali is situated on the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to its sister city Calexico, California
with which it forms a metropolitan region, Calexico-Mexicali. Mexicali also has the distinction of being the northernmost city in Latin America
.
and Colorado rivers. These people mostly work on agricultural ejido
s or fish the rivers, although many have migrated to Mexicali.
The early European presence in this area was limited to the Jesuits, who left in the 1780s. After this, the Spanish and later the Mexicans had little to do with the northeastern corner of the Baja California peninsula
, perceiving it as an untamable, flood-prone desert delta.
came to the delta area, discovering what the native Yumans had known for centuries: that the thick river sediment deposits made the area prime farming land. These sediments extended far to the west of the river itself, accumulating in a shallow basin below the Sierra de Cucapá. However, from this time period until the 1880s, the area was almost completely unpopulated, mostly due to its climate. In 1888, the federal government granted a large part of northern Baja state, including Mexicali, to Guillermo Andrade, with the purpose of colonizing the area on the recently-created border with the United States. However, around 1900, the only area with any real population, aside from the Cocopah, were concentrated in Los Algodones
, to the east of Mexicali.
received permission from the Díaz
government to cut a canal
through the delta's Arroyo Alamo, to link the dry basin with the Colorado River
. To attract farmers to the area, the developers named it "The Imperial Valley". In 1903, the first 500 farmers arrived; by late 1904, 405 km² (100,000 acres) of valley were irrigated, with 10,000 people settled on the land harvesting cotton, fruits, and vegetables. The concentration of small housing units that straddled the border was called Calexico on the U.S. side, Mexicali on the Mexican side.
The Mexican side was named Mexicali (a portmanteau composed of "Mexico" and "California") by Coronel Agustín Sanginéz. Initially the area belonged to the municipality of Ensenada. The town of Mexicali was officially created on 14 March 1903 when Manuel Vizcarra
was named as the town's first authority and assistant judge (juez auxiliar). Mayor Baltazar Aviléz declared the municipality of Mexicali on November 4, 1914 and called for elections to create the first ayuntamiento
or district council, which was then headed by Francisco L. Montejano.
Another U.S. land development company set out to do the same with the nearby Valley of Mexicali. Led by Los Angeles Times
publisher Harry Chandler
, the company controlled 800,000 hectares of land in northern Baja California by 1905 and began to construct the irrigation system for this valley. However, instead of using Mexican labor to dig the ditches, Chandler brought in thousands of Chinese laborers. Mexicali became culturally more Chinese than Mexican.
In the 20th century, the Colorado Riverland Company was dedicated to renting land here to farmers; however, these farmers were almost always foreigners, such as Chinese, East Indians and Japanese. The Mexicans were employed only as seasonal labor. This situation led to the agrarian conflict known as the "Asalto a las Tierras" (Assault on the Lands) in 1937.
Agricultural production continued to increase during the 20th century. Cotton became the most important crop and with it developed the textile industry. In the early 1950s, the Mexicali Valley became the biggest cotton-producing zone in the whole country and in the 1960s, production reached more than half a million parcels a year. Currently, the valley still is one of Mexico's most productive agricultural regions, mostly producing wheat, cotton and vegetables. The city of Mexicali is one of Mexico's most important exporter of asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green onions, lettuce, peas, peppers, radishes and tomatoes to the world.
The government of the municipality was reorganized when the Baja California territory became the 29th state in 1953.
The 2010 Baja California earthquake
was an earthquake occurred at 15:40:40 local time (UTC-8), Sunday, April 4, 2010, which reached a magnitude of 7.2. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the quake struck 60 km south-southeast of Mexicali. The quake was felt strongly in the northern regions of Baja California
and the United States-Mexico border, and was also felt in western cities such as Tijuana
, San Diego, Los Angeles
and parts of Arizona.
in its agricultural production. National and international industries have invested in Mexicali and surrounding cities to take advantage of its fiscal opportunities. The Valley's resources puts the region above other similar areas as its abundance of natural resources are the largest in North America. The Mexicali Valley is a primary source of water for the region, having the largest irrigation district in Mexico.
, which runs north to the state of California from Mexicali, is considered the most polluted river in North America
, containing toxic levels of lead and other heavy metals, fecal bacteria, pathogens, and industrial waste. Air pollution is also a problem during summer and winter months with dust and other particulate levels exceeding healthy levels.
In spite of its arid desert location, Mexicali is watered through a system of aquifers in the valley. Under a 1944 water treaty, the city is "...guaranteed [an] annual quantity of 1500000 acre.ft [of water] to be delivered..." from the Colorado River
. However, a proposed concrete lining in the United States on the All-American Canal would cut off billions of leaked gallons of water, which is used to irrigate onions, alfalfa, asparagus, squash and other crops in Mexicali.
The nearby Cerro Prieto
volcano
is adjacent to the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station
.
The Geography of this place is like magnificant.
, Mexicali maintains desert climate temperatures every year. In December 12, 1932, the city experienced snowfall. Rainfall usually occurs in the winter months of December, January and February. Although summer is extremely dry in Mexicali, one of every two days there is an end moisture content. In 2008, during the months of July and August there were several heavy thunderstorms that let down large amounts of rain and hail. This is somewhat unusual in that the summer rainfall in the city is infrequent. During winter time, Mexicali is affected by the snows that occur in the town of Rumorosa located in the Sierra de Juarez, about 45 minutes west of the city, causing decreases in temperature in the urban area lasting from 2 days to 1 week.
Currently horticulture is the most successful agricultural activity with scallion (green onion), and asparagus being among the most important crops. Cotton and wheat are still cultivated but with government price guarantees and subsidies making wheat farmer protests an annual event. There is an annual agribusiness fair in March drawing interested people from all over Mexico and the United States called Agrobaja.
The current prospects for economic growth in Mexicali rely on in-bond and assembly plants, mainly for export, including companies like, Selther
, Daewoo
, Mitsubishi
, Honeywell
, Paccar
, Vitro, Skyworks Solutions
, CareFusion
, Bosch
, Price Pfister
, Gulfstream
, Goodrich
, Kenworth
and Kwikset
. Mexicali is also home to many food processing plants such as Nestlé
, Jumex
, Bimbo
, Coca-Cola
and Sabritas
.
There are joint efforts on behalf of the Baja California government and the private sector to attract more companies to Mexicali based on a cluster strategy focusing on the regions' strengths of qualified labor, abundant energy and water supplies, a pro-business environment and its location on the California border.
Mexicali is considered among the most prosperous cities in Mexico, although US tourists can observe the level of poverty in rural villages surrounding the modern, upper-middle class enclave of Mexicali proper.There is recent research that indicate a high level of disease prevalence like respiratory illness,asthma,and other medical issues in the local inhabitants. The North American Free Trade Agreement
of 1994 that eliminated most trade restrictions between the two nations offers Mexicali an economic boom in the next decade.
has also offered 10 years of tax-free status to any firms that locate in the park and invest $1 billion or more. Silicon Border’s vision is to provide Mexico with an infrastructure that enables high-tech companies anywhere in the world to move manufacturing operations to the country and exploit its competitive advantages such as geographical location, human capital, research, legal and tax benefits, intellectual property, international treaties and logistics provided by the country for manufacturing high technology products while allowing research to develop processes, design, fabrication and testing able to compete with Asian operations and costs.
Q-Cells
, the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic cells, has manifested its intention to develop a major thin film photovoltaic manufacturing facility at Silicon Border. With the world economic depress of 2008, Q-Cells delayed its plans to settle in the park. A variety of electrical and water facilities are already built at Silicon Border in addition to energy-saving lighting. The infrastructure build-out, financed by ING Clarion, consists of potable water plant and distribution, fiber optic telephone and data cable, power substations, and waste treatment facilities. Silicon Border not only provides manufacturing space to companies creating "green" products, but does so in an environmentally conscious manner.
The Autonomous University of Baja California
and CETYS, a private not-for-profit university located in Mexicali, have started new programs such as Aerospace Engineering, Semiconductors and Microelectronics Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, Bioengineering, History and Sociology to prepare the required human capital for potential high-tech firms.
California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
has continued to promote cooperation with the project and has encouraged economic partnerships with Silicon Border in his radio addresses. At the beginning of 2006, the California governor created the “California/Baja Silicon Border Work Group,” run by deputy secretary of the California Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency, Yolanda Benson. State officials promised to hasten the roadways needed to link up with those being built for Silicon Border in Mexico.
Silicon Border is the only site in North America with abundant and inexpensive electrical power, natural gas and water, as well as a large labor pool of high skilled and motivated individuals. The area is supplied with water from the Colorado River and a major electrical sub-station supplied by three separate power plants. Further infrastructure improvements associated with Silicon Border are to include a new highway (under construction) and an additional border crossing. Silicon Border estimates that in the next ten years, the Silicon Border Science Park could generate 100,000 jobs, both within Mexico and the U.S.
Mexicali also relies on tourism as a medium revenue, and visitors cross by foot or car from Calexico
in the United States every day. Restaurants and taco stands, pharmacies, bars and dance clubs are part of the draw for the city's tourists. Many shops and stalls selling Mexican crafts and souvenirs are also located in walking distance from the border.
Many residents from California, Arizona and Nevada look for medical and dental services in Mexicali, because they tend to be less expensive than those in the United States. Mexicali is home to several pharmacies marketed toward visitors from the United States. These pharmacies sell some pharmaceutical drugs without prescriptions and at much lower costs than pharmacies in the US. Many medications still require a doctor's prescription, although several accessible doctor offices are located near the border as well.
Mexico's drinking age of 18 (vs. 21 in the United States) makes it a common weekend destination for many high school and college aged Southern Californians who tend to stay within the Calzadas Justo Sierra, Benito Juarez and Francisco L. Montejano.
Mexicali hosts Baja Prog
, one of the world's most important events in Progressive Rock
. Since 1997, Baja Prog has been in the eyes of the world for being an event gathering the best acts of the progressive rock scene.
Mexicali possesses a diversity of shopping venues and malls, the most visited being Plaza La Cachanilla, located just a few minutes away from the US border. The mall hosts a variety of shops, which sell a wide array of things, ranging from cheap Mexican curiosities to expensive imports. The Plaza La Cachanilla also represents a common place for people to socialize, especially during summer days when the weather reaches high temperatures, many families come and spend the day inside the air conditioned mall.
Just about everything for recreation can be found in Mexicali, including pool halls, bowling alleys, traditional cantinas, car clubs, full contact strip clubs, movie theaters, museums, a zoo, a state university, a convention center, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants.
The Galerias del Valle, anchored by WalMart Supercenter, 12-screen movie theater Cinepolis and Ashley Furniture is located by Boulevard Lazaro Cardenas and Calle 11. The mall's food court contains such eateries including Carl's Jr.
, Applebees, Starbucks
, and Burger King
.
with Laguna Salada
south west of Mexicali or construction of a new canal direct to Mexicali. The water project would then connect by pipe or canal further to the Salton Sea
in California. The water project would supply the area with sea water for desalination
and hydro electric power. The second proposed project Punta Colonet would connect Mexicali by rail with a deep water container port on the western side of the Baja California peninsula.
Civic Center - In this sub-area are located the main federal, state and municipal buildings. A few miles from the Civic Center is the New River, where other buildings like the CEART, Forest-Mexicali Zoo and the Faculty of Administrative Sciences of the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California are.
West Mexicali - This subzone consists of all the communities to the west of New River Line to International Boulevard Héctor Terán Terán. The prominent communities are Pueblo Nuevo, Baja California, Orizaba, Villafontana, Villanova, Santa Monica, Nationalist, Esperanza, Santa Clara and San Marcos. Located in West Mexical are the military headquarters.
New Mexicali - This subzone is the most populated in the city with a population still unconfirmed, though it is estimated to have 200,000 inhabitants. The best known communities of this subzone are González Ortega, also called Palaco (the company's initial Pacific Land Company ), New Mexicali, Villa Florida, Villa del Roble, Toledo Commercial, Residential Laureles, Victoria Residential, Residential Sevilla, Condor, Villa Verde, Valley of Colorado and Villas del Palmar. Ortega Palace is recognized as one of the most popular colonies colony along with Independence, New and Pueblo Nuevo. Within this subzone, is the Plaza New Mexicali, Centenary Sports Centre, the Universidad del Valle de Mexico, the Attorney General of the Republic, the Instituto Tecnologico de Mexicali, the University of Baja California, the New Campus of the University Xochicalco, and soon construction will soon begin on the new General Hospital of Mexicali.
The city claims to have the largest per capita concentration of residents of Chinese origin, around 25,000. While this does not compare to U.S. cities like San Francisco or New York
, early in the 20th century Mexicali was numerically and culturally more Chinese than Mexican. The Chinese immigrants
came to the area as laborers for the Colorado River Land Company, an American enterprise which designed and built an extensive irrigation system in the Valley of Mexicali. Some immigrants came from the United States, often fleeing anti-Chinese policies there, while others sailed directly from China. Thousands of Chinese were lured to the area by the promise of high wages, but for most that never materialised.
Since 2000, new migrants from China to Mexicali come from many of the same areas as
before 1960, with perhaps 90% from Guangdong or Hong Kong.
Recently a successful Chinese businessman Angel Zhen along with other prominent Chinese business owners established the Chamber of Chinese Entrepreneurs. The chamber was established to expand resources and to connect all Chinese Associations from each city and state in the northwestern region of Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Chihuahua). The Chamber serves and works actively to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese business associations in the region. The Chamber is also responsible for raising the social status and influence of its associates.
's population was 895,962. It is the 13th largest municipality in Mexico as of the Census 2005 with population estimates exceeding one million alone. The population is constantly growing due to the number of Maquiladoras in the area, lack of urban planning, and migrational aspects, like seasonal labor and the constant in-and-out flow of immigrants to the U.S. or into Mexico.
According to a previous census conducted by the INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) in 2008, the number of students who have graduated from Mexicali's public and private schools are as follows:
Pre-scholar students: 18,648
Primary school students: 17,272
Secondary school students: 12,337
Technical education students: 531
Baccalaureate students: 6,152
Some public universities in the city include Autonomous University of Baja California
, Universidad Politécnica de Baja California
and the Technological Institute of Mexicali
. Private universities include Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior
, University of the Valley of Mexico
and Xochicalco University
.
The residents of Mexicali (Mexicalenses) call themselves "Cachanillas" (due to a local plant, the cachanilla, used by the Cucapah tribe to build shacks) and are from culturally diverse backgrounds, and it is among the most ethnically diverse cities in Mexico, with people from various Native American, European, African, (east) Asian, and Middle Eastern origins.
There is a very popular song called “Puro Cachanilla” also known as “El Cachanilla” that identifies people from Mexicali.
In 2004, there were 11 theaters in the city:
Mexicali also has the Baja Prog
festival, a series of progressive rock concerts that take place during four consecutive days in springtime. It is hosted by CAST
, a progressive rock
band from Mexicali.
arena, Plaza Calafia, where many bullfights ("corridas") are organized along the year. Mexicali has also a professional 18-hole Golf Course
"Club Campestre" where both national and international championships take place regularly. Beside the amateur leagues, there are a few professional sport teams which plays in different leagues.
teams are the Bomberos de Mexicali of the CIBACOPA Pacific Circuit and Soles de Mexicali of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional
(LNBP) of Mexico
. Soles lifted the National Trophy as the 2006/2007 LNBP Champions. Their stadium is the "Auditorio del Estado
" located in the "Ciudad Deportiva de Mexicali".
The Bomberos de Mexicali were founded in 2010 and participate in the Pacific Coast Basketball Circuit, CIBACOPA. The team demonstrated strong results in the first leg of its inaugural season, yet was negatively affected by the April 4th earthquake of the Mexicali region, seeing its second leg play out as a road team in Tijuana’s Municipal Auditorium. Due to the earthquake and its aftershocks, the Civil Protection Ministry of Mexicali ceased all massive events within closed structures. The Bomberos look to return in 2011 with reinforcements and a competitive team that will vie for the league title. Bomberos arrived to Mexicali and reached an agreement with the Municipal Government to renovate the hardwood of the Mexicali Gymnasium and call the Silver Colossus their home.
Mexicali was also home to the now defunct franchise Calor de Mexicali (Mexicali Heat), which participated in the 2007 edition of the Pacific Coast Basketball Circuit. They played their home games at the "Gimnasio de Mexicali" located on "Avenida Reforma".
Mexicali was also home to a 2006 American Basketball Association
franchise, the Centinelas de Mexicali
(The Sentinels).
stadium where the Cachanillas de Mexicali, a Mexican third division
football team plays.
The home of the Pioneros del Valle, also a Mexican third division football team, is located in the Mexicali Valley.
team "Águilas de Mexicali
" plays every season. The Águilas de Mexicali is a Mexican baseball team playing for the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico
in Mexicali, Baja California. The team was founded on October 14, 1976. They have won the championship three times, 1985-1986 (coach Benjamin Reyes), in 1988-1989 (coach Dave Machemer), in 1998-1999 (coach Francisco Estrada). The team also won the 1986 Caribbean Series, played in Venezuela. The "Águilas de Mexicali" were formed in 1976 and have been a member of the Mexican Pacific League since. They are located in the border city of Mexicali, Baja California and have won three LMP pennants. Their brightest moment came when they won the 1986 Caribbean Series, only becoming the second Mexican team to take the title. Mexicali was the host for the Caribbean Series in 2009.
The Azules de Mexicali is a professional Mexican baseball team which plays in the North Sonora League, the main supporting league of the "LMP".
Mexicali young baseball players through the Little League program had played three times the Little league World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
. First time in 1985 Felix Arce Little league representing the West of United States and 2005 and 2007 the Seguro Social Little League representing Mexicali.
team with the af2
under ownership of the Arena Football League in 2008. The owners announced they made a new team, the Mexicali Borregos Salvajes but has not officially joined af2 but could play in the Mexican Pro American Football League in games against teams from across Mexico.
, leading from San Diego to the Arizona Sun Corridor where the cities of Phoenix and Tucson
dominate and Mexican Federal Highway 2 linking Tijuana
with Mexicali. Other roads lead southwest to Ensenada or north to the Imperial Valley
.
The road system in the city of Mexicali and its conurbation is very complex. Over the urban area long boulevards are traversed from one end of which most are 6 lanes with a median of 2 lanes. The backbone of the city is the Lazaro Cardenas Boulevard extending from east to west. This boulevard is 24.5 km long and consists of 6 lanes (3 each direction), a shoulder in each direction, and ridges of 3 lanes creating a wingspan of 50 meters. In certain sections the boulevard is made of 8 to 10 lanes. Other important boulevards include: Blvd Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Blvd Benito Juárez, Blvd Anahuac, Justo Sierra Blvd, Blvd Venustiano Carranza, Calz Manuel Gómez Morin, Calz Francisco L Montejano, Calz Cetys, Ninth Street, Road to San Felipe, Blvd Héctor Terán Terán, Calzada Independencia, H. Calz Military College, among others. There are two corridors within the city: New River Ecological Corridor, which is guided in the ancient river bed of the Industrial Corridor Palace, this crosses the Industrial zone of Mexicali. There is also the beltway, located in the east of the city, connecting the Lazaro Cardenas Blvd Blvd Agricultural Islands and the road to Cologne Abasolo, and this in turn with the Airport Road.
Within the urban area are vehicular bridges, of which highlight the overpass Lázaro Cárdenas-Benito Juárez, Héctor Terán Underpass-Carr to San Felipe, Puente López Mateos-Calz Independence Distributor Road, Lázaro Cárdenas-Palaco Industrial Corridor and Lázaro Cárdenas Distributor Road-Lopez Mateos. The latter has a 15-m high bridge which makes it the highest in the Northwest of Mexico. It was also designed with first-world seismic technology, which supports earthquakes of similar magnitude as 7.2 degrees Richter of the day April 4, 2010.
The road layout in the urban sprawl is very efficient. Many communities are portrayed by satellite imagery as rectangular while many streets are straight and wide maintaining standard deviations with few bends.
On 6 January 2011 at a press conference, the city of Mexicali, led by Francisco José Pérez-Tejada Padilla, along with the state governor José Guadalupe Osuna Millán, unveiled the modernized Palaco Industrial Corridor. This project will be the largest and most expensive in the history of road infrastructure in Mexicali with an initial investment of 285 million pesos and 546 million more for the installation of the Express Line 1 (Bus Rapid Transit line), with a total investment of 831 million pesos. The new Palaco Industrial Corridor will begin construction in March 2011, with 6 lanes, berms at the edges that will include two additional lanes to service the BRT. Its opening is planned for March 14, 2012.
, which serve the city and the surrounding towns.
, and Phoenix
.
, China
Gumi, South Korea
Calexico
, United States
Indio
, United States San Bernardino
, United States Yuma
, United States
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area (as well the municipality) reaches 936,826.
The city maintains a highly educated and skilled populace. Its standard of living is one of the highest in Mexico. As the city has modernized and become a cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitanism
Cosmopolitanism is the ideology that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality. This is contrasted with communitarian and particularistic theories, especially the ideas of patriotism and nationalism...
and international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
center in a desert region, it has maintained a sizable middle class and an even larger upper class. In Mexico, it is recognized for its substantial investment in education as well as its low unemployment levels.
Mexicali's economy was historically based on agricultural products, and to this day it remains a large sector of the economy. As time has progressed however, its economy has gradually gone from being agriculturally based to industrially based. Companies such as Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
, Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
, Nestle
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, Coca Cola and Goodrich Corporation
Goodrich Corporation
The Goodrich Corporation , formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, is an American aerospace manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company name was changed to the "B.F...
have built plants in the city and its metropolitan area. Silicon Border
Silicon Border
Silicon Border is a development tailored to the specific needs of high-technology manufacturing and is situated in Mexicali, along the western border of the United States of America and Mexico. The aim of the manufacturing park, which began in 2004, is to transform Mexicali into the world's next...
is located here as well; a large industrial park that is a high tech manufacturing area. Its goal is to become a global center for semiconductor manufacturing. Mexicali's proximity to the United States has made the city a popular tourist destination with Americans from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. The city is a well known sports city with many ball sports being popular in the region. In North America, it is the only city that maintains an abundant amount of electrical power, water and natural gas supplies.
Founded on March 14, 1903, Mexicali is situated on the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to its sister city Calexico, California
Calexico, California
Calexico is a city in Imperial County, California. The population was 38,572 at the 2010 census, up from 27,109 at the 2000 census. Calexico is about east of San Diego and west of Yuma, Arizona...
with which it forms a metropolitan region, Calexico-Mexicali. Mexicali also has the distinction of being the northernmost city in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Early history
The Spanish arrived in the area after crossing the Sonora Desert's "Camino del Diablo" or Devils Road. This led to the evangelization of the area and also the population reduction of the native peoples. Today, indigenous Cocopah people still inhabit a small government-protected corner of the delta near the junction of the HardyHardy River
The Hardy River is a -long Mexican river formed by residual agricultural waters from the Mexicali Valley and running into the Colorado River.-Wildlife:The Rio Hardy is home to a variety of wildlife, including the mosquitofish and the sailfin molly....
and Colorado rivers. These people mostly work on agricultural ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
s or fish the rivers, although many have migrated to Mexicali.
The early European presence in this area was limited to the Jesuits, who left in the 1780s. After this, the Spanish and later the Mexicans had little to do with the northeastern corner of the Baja California peninsula
Baja California Peninsula
The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...
, perceiving it as an untamable, flood-prone desert delta.
19th century
In the mid-19th century, a geologist working for the Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
came to the delta area, discovering what the native Yumans had known for centuries: that the thick river sediment deposits made the area prime farming land. These sediments extended far to the west of the river itself, accumulating in a shallow basin below the Sierra de Cucapá. However, from this time period until the 1880s, the area was almost completely unpopulated, mostly due to its climate. In 1888, the federal government granted a large part of northern Baja state, including Mexicali, to Guillermo Andrade, with the purpose of colonizing the area on the recently-created border with the United States. However, around 1900, the only area with any real population, aside from the Cocopah, were concentrated in Los Algodones
Los Algodones, Baja California
Los Algodones, Baja California, is a small Mexican town located on the extreme northeastern tip of the municipality of Mexicali, approximately west of Yuma, Arizona, USA. Its official name is Vicente Guerrero, although most people use Algodones when referring to it. It reported a population of...
, to the east of Mexicali.
20th century
In 1900, the U.S.-based California Development CompanyCalifornia Development Company
The California Development Company was formed in 1896 as a replacement for the defunct Colorado River Irrigation Company, which had been started a few years earlier for the purpose of planning an irrigation system for the lower Colorado Desert in California...
received permission from the Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
government to cut a canal
Alamo Canal
The Alamo Canal was a long waterway that connected the Colorado River to the head of the Alamo River. The canal was constructed to provide irrigation to the Imperial Valley. A small portion of the canal was located in the United States but the majority of the canal was located in Mexico...
through the delta's Arroyo Alamo, to link the dry basin with the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
. To attract farmers to the area, the developers named it "The Imperial Valley". In 1903, the first 500 farmers arrived; by late 1904, 405 km² (100,000 acres) of valley were irrigated, with 10,000 people settled on the land harvesting cotton, fruits, and vegetables. The concentration of small housing units that straddled the border was called Calexico on the U.S. side, Mexicali on the Mexican side.
The Mexican side was named Mexicali (a portmanteau composed of "Mexico" and "California") by Coronel Agustín Sanginéz. Initially the area belonged to the municipality of Ensenada. The town of Mexicali was officially created on 14 March 1903 when Manuel Vizcarra
Manuel Vizcarra
Manuel Vizcarra was a Mexican judge and founder of the city of Mexicali now the state capital of the state of Baja California .In 1901, Manuel Vizcarra was named Justice of the Peace for the town that would become Mexicali. The group of homes was part of the town of Los Algodones...
was named as the town's first authority and assistant judge (juez auxiliar). Mayor Baltazar Aviléz declared the municipality of Mexicali on November 4, 1914 and called for elections to create the first ayuntamiento
Ayuntamiento
Ayuntamiento In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . is the general term for the council of a municipality, or sometimes the municipality itself, in Spain and Latin America. Historically Ayuntamiento was often preceded by the word excelentísimo , when referring to...
or district council, which was then headed by Francisco L. Montejano.
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
publisher Harry Chandler
Harry Chandler
Harry Chandler was an American newspaper publisher and investor who became owner of the largest real estate empire in the U.S.-Biography:...
, the company controlled 800,000 hectares of land in northern Baja California by 1905 and began to construct the irrigation system for this valley. However, instead of using Mexican labor to dig the ditches, Chandler brought in thousands of Chinese laborers. Mexicali became culturally more Chinese than Mexican.
In the 20th century, the Colorado Riverland Company was dedicated to renting land here to farmers; however, these farmers were almost always foreigners, such as Chinese, East Indians and Japanese. The Mexicans were employed only as seasonal labor. This situation led to the agrarian conflict known as the "Asalto a las Tierras" (Assault on the Lands) in 1937.
Agricultural production continued to increase during the 20th century. Cotton became the most important crop and with it developed the textile industry. In the early 1950s, the Mexicali Valley became the biggest cotton-producing zone in the whole country and in the 1960s, production reached more than half a million parcels a year. Currently, the valley still is one of Mexico's most productive agricultural regions, mostly producing wheat, cotton and vegetables. The city of Mexicali is one of Mexico's most important exporter of asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green onions, lettuce, peas, peppers, radishes and tomatoes to the world.
The government of the municipality was reorganized when the Baja California territory became the 29th state in 1953.
21st century
Today Mexicali is an important center for industrial production in the automotive, aerospace, telecommunications, metallurgical, and health services as well as manufacturing and exporting products to various countries.The 2010 Baja California earthquake
2010 Baja California earthquake
The 2010 Baja California earthquake was an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude on the moment magnitude scale. It started south of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico, at a depth of . It occurred at 3:40:41 p.m...
was an earthquake occurred at 15:40:40 local time (UTC-8), Sunday, April 4, 2010, which reached a magnitude of 7.2. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the quake struck 60 km south-southeast of Mexicali. The quake was felt strongly in the northern regions of Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
and the United States-Mexico border, and was also felt in western cities such as Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, San Diego, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and parts of Arizona.
Geography
The Mexicali Valley is one of the largest and most fertile valleys in Mexico. The Valley has over fifty different crops and is similar to the Imperial ValleyImperial Valley
The Imperial Valley is an agricultural area of Southern California's Imperial County. It is located in southeastern Southern California, centered around the city of El Centro. Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously. The Valley is bordered between the...
in its agricultural production. National and international industries have invested in Mexicali and surrounding cities to take advantage of its fiscal opportunities. The Valley's resources puts the region above other similar areas as its abundance of natural resources are the largest in North America. The Mexicali Valley is a primary source of water for the region, having the largest irrigation district in Mexico.
Ecology
The New RiverNew River (Mexico – United States)
The New River flows north from near Cerro Prieto, through the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, into the United States through the city of Calexico, California towards the Salton Sea...
, which runs north to the state of California from Mexicali, is considered the most polluted river in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, containing toxic levels of lead and other heavy metals, fecal bacteria, pathogens, and industrial waste. Air pollution is also a problem during summer and winter months with dust and other particulate levels exceeding healthy levels.
In spite of its arid desert location, Mexicali is watered through a system of aquifers in the valley. Under a 1944 water treaty, the city is "...guaranteed [an] annual quantity of 1500000 acre.ft [of water] to be delivered..." from the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
. However, a proposed concrete lining in the United States on the All-American Canal would cut off billions of leaked gallons of water, which is used to irrigate onions, alfalfa, asparagus, squash and other crops in Mexicali.
The nearby Cerro Prieto
Cerro Prieto
Cerro Prieto is a small rural town located in the county of La Misión in the northwestern part of the Mexican state of Hidalgo....
volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
is adjacent to the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station
Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station
The Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station is the largest geothermal power station in the world, with an installed capacity of , with plans for expansion up to by 2012...
.
The Geography of this place is like magnificant.
Climate
The climate of Mexicali, because of its low annual precipitation is an arid climate (BWh). Under the criteria for the Köppen climate classificationKöppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
, Mexicali maintains desert climate temperatures every year. In December 12, 1932, the city experienced snowfall. Rainfall usually occurs in the winter months of December, January and February. Although summer is extremely dry in Mexicali, one of every two days there is an end moisture content. In 2008, during the months of July and August there were several heavy thunderstorms that let down large amounts of rain and hail. This is somewhat unusual in that the summer rainfall in the city is infrequent. During winter time, Mexicali is affected by the snows that occur in the town of Rumorosa located in the Sierra de Juarez, about 45 minutes west of the city, causing decreases in temperature in the urban area lasting from 2 days to 1 week.
Economy
In its beginnings Mexicali was an important center for cotton production for export until synthetic fabrics reduced the worldwide demand for the fiber.Currently horticulture is the most successful agricultural activity with scallion (green onion), and asparagus being among the most important crops. Cotton and wheat are still cultivated but with government price guarantees and subsidies making wheat farmer protests an annual event. There is an annual agribusiness fair in March drawing interested people from all over Mexico and the United States called Agrobaja.
The current prospects for economic growth in Mexicali rely on in-bond and assembly plants, mainly for export, including companies like, Selther
Selther
SELTHER is a transnational Mexican company active in the mattress and bedding industry. At present Selther is one of the leaders in Mexico and Latin America in the mattress industry.SELTHER was established in Mexico City in 1970 with a small production unit...
, Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo or the Daewoo Group was a major South Korean chaebol . It was founded on 22 March 1967 as Daewoo Industrial and was dismantled by the Korean government in 1999...
, Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
, Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
, Paccar
PACCAR
PACCAR Inc is the third largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in the world , and has substantial manufacture in light and medium vehicles through its various subsidiaries.-History:...
, Vitro, Skyworks Solutions
Skyworks Solutions
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. is a semiconductor company headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.The company manufactures semiconductors for use in radio frequency and mobile communications systems...
, CareFusion
CareFusion
CareFusion is a global, medical technology corporation serving the health care industry. The company specializes in two areas: reducing medication errors and helping prevent health care-associated infections...
, Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
, Price Pfister
Price Pfister
Pfister, called Price Pfister until 2010, is a manufacturer of bathroom and lavatory faucets, shower systems, showerheads, and accessories and kitchen faucets and other plumbing fixtures. Emil Price and William Pfister founded the company in 1910...
, Gulfstream
Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is a producer of several models of jet aircraft. Gulfstream has been a unit of General Dynamics since 1999.The company has produced more than 1,500 aircraft for corporate, government, private, and military customers around the world...
, Goodrich
Goodrich Corporation
The Goodrich Corporation , formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, is an American aerospace manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company name was changed to the "B.F...
, Kenworth
Kenworth
Kenworth is an American manufacturer of medium and heavy-duty Class 8 trucks based in Kirkland, Washington, United States, a suburb of Seattle. It is a subsidiary of PACCAR, and is also a former manufacturer of transit buses and school buses.-History:...
and Kwikset
Kwikset
Kwikset is a lock and lockset manufacturer owned by Black and Decker Hardware and Home Improvement Group , a Division of Black and Decker. Kwikset was founded in 1946 by Adolf Schoepe and Karl Rhinehart. The name was derived from the company's first locks, which pioneered the then-revolutionary...
. Mexicali is also home to many food processing plants such as Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, Jumex
Jumex
Jumex is a brand of juice and nectar in Mexico. The Jumex brand is also popular among Hispanic consumers in the United States. Currently, the Jumex Group offers lines of fresh and preserved fruit juices, nectar, children's drinks, milk, smoothies, energy drinks, and sports drinks in...
, Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo is the largest Mexican food company and the largest bakery in the world with brands in Americas, Europe, and China.-History:Grupo Bimbo was established in Mexico in 1945 by Lorenzo Servitje, Jose T. Mata, Jaime Sendra, and Jaime Jorba...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
and Sabritas
Sabritas
- History :Sabritas was founded in 1943 by Pedro Antonio Marcos Noriega as Golosinas y Productos Selectos in Mexico City. It produced and sold potato chips, corn chips and snacks, however it relied on a small distribution network which was mostly bicycle-based...
.
There are joint efforts on behalf of the Baja California government and the private sector to attract more companies to Mexicali based on a cluster strategy focusing on the regions' strengths of qualified labor, abundant energy and water supplies, a pro-business environment and its location on the California border.
Mexicali is considered among the most prosperous cities in Mexico, although US tourists can observe the level of poverty in rural villages surrounding the modern, upper-middle class enclave of Mexicali proper.There is recent research that indicate a high level of disease prevalence like respiratory illness,asthma,and other medical issues in the local inhabitants. The North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
of 1994 that eliminated most trade restrictions between the two nations offers Mexicali an economic boom in the next decade.
Silicon Border
Silicon Border is a 40 square kilometres (9,884.2 acre) development tailored to the specific needs of high-technology manufacturing and is situated in Mexicali, along the western border of the U.S. and Mexico. The aim of the manufacturing park, which began in 2004, is to transform Mexicali into the world's next semiconductor manufacturing center. The Mexican federal and Baja California state governments have committed more than $2 million to the design and manufacturing of the project. Former President Vicente FoxVicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
has also offered 10 years of tax-free status to any firms that locate in the park and invest $1 billion or more. Silicon Border’s vision is to provide Mexico with an infrastructure that enables high-tech companies anywhere in the world to move manufacturing operations to the country and exploit its competitive advantages such as geographical location, human capital, research, legal and tax benefits, intellectual property, international treaties and logistics provided by the country for manufacturing high technology products while allowing research to develop processes, design, fabrication and testing able to compete with Asian operations and costs.
Q-Cells
Q-Cells
Q-Cells is a manufacturer of photovoltaic cells, established in 1999. Its core business is the development, production and marketing of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells....
, the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic cells, has manifested its intention to develop a major thin film photovoltaic manufacturing facility at Silicon Border. With the world economic depress of 2008, Q-Cells delayed its plans to settle in the park. A variety of electrical and water facilities are already built at Silicon Border in addition to energy-saving lighting. The infrastructure build-out, financed by ING Clarion, consists of potable water plant and distribution, fiber optic telephone and data cable, power substations, and waste treatment facilities. Silicon Border not only provides manufacturing space to companies creating "green" products, but does so in an environmentally conscious manner.
The Autonomous University of Baja California
Autonomous University of Baja California
The Autonomous University of Baja California, is a public university in the Mexican state of Baja California. UABC is one of the 43 state universities throughout Mexico as part of the country's state university system. The Autonomous University of Baja California headquarters are located in the...
and CETYS, a private not-for-profit university located in Mexicali, have started new programs such as Aerospace Engineering, Semiconductors and Microelectronics Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, Bioengineering, History and Sociology to prepare the required human capital for potential high-tech firms.
California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
has continued to promote cooperation with the project and has encouraged economic partnerships with Silicon Border in his radio addresses. At the beginning of 2006, the California governor created the “California/Baja Silicon Border Work Group,” run by deputy secretary of the California Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency, Yolanda Benson. State officials promised to hasten the roadways needed to link up with those being built for Silicon Border in Mexico.
Silicon Border is the only site in North America with abundant and inexpensive electrical power, natural gas and water, as well as a large labor pool of high skilled and motivated individuals. The area is supplied with water from the Colorado River and a major electrical sub-station supplied by three separate power plants. Further infrastructure improvements associated with Silicon Border are to include a new highway (under construction) and an additional border crossing. Silicon Border estimates that in the next ten years, the Silicon Border Science Park could generate 100,000 jobs, both within Mexico and the U.S.
Tourism
Calexico, California
Calexico is a city in Imperial County, California. The population was 38,572 at the 2010 census, up from 27,109 at the 2000 census. Calexico is about east of San Diego and west of Yuma, Arizona...
in the United States every day. Restaurants and taco stands, pharmacies, bars and dance clubs are part of the draw for the city's tourists. Many shops and stalls selling Mexican crafts and souvenirs are also located in walking distance from the border.
Many residents from California, Arizona and Nevada look for medical and dental services in Mexicali, because they tend to be less expensive than those in the United States. Mexicali is home to several pharmacies marketed toward visitors from the United States. These pharmacies sell some pharmaceutical drugs without prescriptions and at much lower costs than pharmacies in the US. Many medications still require a doctor's prescription, although several accessible doctor offices are located near the border as well.
Mexico's drinking age of 18 (vs. 21 in the United States) makes it a common weekend destination for many high school and college aged Southern Californians who tend to stay within the Calzadas Justo Sierra, Benito Juarez and Francisco L. Montejano.
Mexicali hosts Baja Prog
Baja Prog
Baja Prog is an annual progressive rock festival in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, held since 1997. It draws a number of well-known bands in the genre, and an average of 1500 attendees each day.-External links:* * *...
, one of the world's most important events in Progressive Rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
. Since 1997, Baja Prog has been in the eyes of the world for being an event gathering the best acts of the progressive rock scene.
Mexicali possesses a diversity of shopping venues and malls, the most visited being Plaza La Cachanilla, located just a few minutes away from the US border. The mall hosts a variety of shops, which sell a wide array of things, ranging from cheap Mexican curiosities to expensive imports. The Plaza La Cachanilla also represents a common place for people to socialize, especially during summer days when the weather reaches high temperatures, many families come and spend the day inside the air conditioned mall.
Just about everything for recreation can be found in Mexicali, including pool halls, bowling alleys, traditional cantinas, car clubs, full contact strip clubs, movie theaters, museums, a zoo, a state university, a convention center, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants.
The Galerias del Valle, anchored by WalMart Supercenter, 12-screen movie theater Cinepolis and Ashley Furniture is located by Boulevard Lazaro Cardenas and Calle 11. The mall's food court contains such eateries including Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain located mostly in the Western and Southwestern United States. The first store has opened in Canada in Kelowna, BC. They are in the process of expanding to Mexico, Malaysia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam,...
, Applebees, Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
.
Proposed Infrastructure
Mexicali is located in a strategic location which puts it in line to benefit from two multi billion dollar infrastructure projects if they go forward. These are a hydro-engineering project and the Punta Colonet port project. The hydro-engineering project is the renovation of a Canal connecting the Gulf of CaliforniaGulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
with Laguna Salada
Laguna Salada
Laguna Salada is a municipality of the Valverde province in the Dominican Republic. Within the municipality there are three municipal districts : Cruce de Guayacanes, Jaibón and La Caya..-Geography:...
south west of Mexicali or construction of a new canal direct to Mexicali. The water project would then connect by pipe or canal further to the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
in California. The water project would supply the area with sea water for desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
and hydro electric power. The second proposed project Punta Colonet would connect Mexicali by rail with a deep water container port on the western side of the Baja California peninsula.
Boroughs
The municipality of Mexicali is divided into 1 city area and 14 administrative boroughs of which the city of Mexicali occupies 3 beside the city area. These boroughs offer administrative services such as urban planning, civil registry, inspection, verification, public works and community development and are served by a Municipal Delegate. Aside from the administrative boroughs listed below, others include: Shopping and Historical Center, Xochimilco, Santa Isabel, Progressive, Hotel Zone, Independence - ProHogar, Colonia Hidalgo, San Pedro, Pedregal Valley, and Puebla Valley.Civic Center - In this sub-area are located the main federal, state and municipal buildings. A few miles from the Civic Center is the New River, where other buildings like the CEART, Forest-Mexicali Zoo and the Faculty of Administrative Sciences of the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California are.
West Mexicali - This subzone consists of all the communities to the west of New River Line to International Boulevard Héctor Terán Terán. The prominent communities are Pueblo Nuevo, Baja California, Orizaba, Villafontana, Villanova, Santa Monica, Nationalist, Esperanza, Santa Clara and San Marcos. Located in West Mexical are the military headquarters.
New Mexicali - This subzone is the most populated in the city with a population still unconfirmed, though it is estimated to have 200,000 inhabitants. The best known communities of this subzone are González Ortega, also called Palaco (the company's initial Pacific Land Company ), New Mexicali, Villa Florida, Villa del Roble, Toledo Commercial, Residential Laureles, Victoria Residential, Residential Sevilla, Condor, Villa Verde, Valley of Colorado and Villas del Palmar. Ortega Palace is recognized as one of the most popular colonies colony along with Independence, New and Pueblo Nuevo. Within this subzone, is the Plaza New Mexicali, Centenary Sports Centre, the Universidad del Valle de Mexico, the Attorney General of the Republic, the Instituto Tecnologico de Mexicali, the University of Baja California, the New Campus of the University Xochicalco, and soon construction will soon begin on the new General Hospital of Mexicali.
Chinatown, Mexicali
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, early in the 20th century Mexicali was numerically and culturally more Chinese than Mexican. The Chinese immigrants
Chinese immigration to Mexico
The history of Chinese immigration to Mexico spans the decades between the 1880s and the 1980s. Between the years 1880 and 1910, during the term of President Porfirio Díaz, the Mexican government was trying to modernize the country, especially in building railroads and developing the sparsely...
came to the area as laborers for the Colorado River Land Company, an American enterprise which designed and built an extensive irrigation system in the Valley of Mexicali. Some immigrants came from the United States, often fleeing anti-Chinese policies there, while others sailed directly from China. Thousands of Chinese were lured to the area by the promise of high wages, but for most that never materialised.
Since 2000, new migrants from China to Mexicali come from many of the same areas as
before 1960, with perhaps 90% from Guangdong or Hong Kong.
Recently a successful Chinese businessman Angel Zhen along with other prominent Chinese business owners established the Chamber of Chinese Entrepreneurs. The chamber was established to expand resources and to connect all Chinese Associations from each city and state in the northwestern region of Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Chihuahua). The Chamber serves and works actively to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese business associations in the region. The Chamber is also responsible for raising the social status and influence of its associates.
Demographics
The city itself had a 2005 census population of 653,046, whereas the municipalityMunicipality of Mexicali
Mexicali Municipality is a municipality in the Mexican state of Baja California. Its municipal seat is located in the city of Mexicali. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 956,826 inhabitants, and according to the 2000 census, it had 764,602 inhabitants, which means an increase...
's population was 895,962. It is the 13th largest municipality in Mexico as of the Census 2005 with population estimates exceeding one million alone. The population is constantly growing due to the number of Maquiladoras in the area, lack of urban planning, and migrational aspects, like seasonal labor and the constant in-and-out flow of immigrants to the U.S. or into Mexico.
Education
Pre-scholar students: 18,648
Primary school students: 17,272
Secondary school students: 12,337
Technical education students: 531
Baccalaureate students: 6,152
Some public universities in the city include Autonomous University of Baja California
Autonomous University of Baja California
The Autonomous University of Baja California, is a public university in the Mexican state of Baja California. UABC is one of the 43 state universities throughout Mexico as part of the country's state university system. The Autonomous University of Baja California headquarters are located in the...
, Universidad Politécnica de Baja California
Universidad Politécnica de Baja California
The Universidad Politécnica de Baja California is a decentralized organization from the State of Baja California with legal personality and patrimony, it was born by an executive order signed on January 9, 2006, and published January 13, 2006, in Mexicali's official diary, municipality of Baja...
and the Technological Institute of Mexicali
Technological Institute of Mexicali
The Technological Institute of Mexicali is a college level technological institution located in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. It started operations since Octuber 19, 1981...
. Private universities include Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior
Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior
The Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior is a Mexican private university commonly referred to as CETYS Universidad.This institution was founded on February 17, 1961 with Fernando Macías Rendón as first president in Mexicali, Baja California...
, University of the Valley of Mexico
Universidad del Valle de México
The Universidad del Valle de México or UVM is a private Mexican university founded in Mexico City in the year 1960. UVM enrolls students at several campuses throughout Mexico, and it holds accreditations from the Mexican Department of Education, COPAES accrediting board, and FIMPES...
and Xochicalco University
Universidad Xochicalco
Xochicalco University is a private university with campuses in Tijuana, Ensenada, and Mexicali in Baja California, Mexico. Universidad Xochicalco has a medical school as well as an International Medical Graduate program. Additionally, Xochicalco University offers programs in optometry, medicine...
.
Culture
There is a very popular song called “Puro Cachanilla” also known as “El Cachanilla” that identifies people from Mexicali.
In 2004, there were 11 theaters in the city:
- Teatro del Estado.
- Teatro al Aire Libre del Centro Comunitario Estudiantil.
- Teatro de Casa de Cultura de Mexicali. Idem.
- Teatro del CREA
- Teatro Universitario de Mexicali, it is mainly used for UABC ceremonies and occasionally for plays.
- Teatro al Aire Libre de Rectoría
- Teatro del Seguro Social that was inaugurated in the 1970s.
- Teatro al aire libre del Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior CETYS unveiled on September 2006.
- Teatro del Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior CETYS.
- IMAX Teatro in The Sol del Niño Museum
- Centro Estatal de las Artes with multiple theater and convention center
Mexicali also has the Baja Prog
Baja Prog
Baja Prog is an annual progressive rock festival in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, held since 1997. It draws a number of well-known bands in the genre, and an average of 1500 attendees each day.-External links:* * *...
festival, a series of progressive rock concerts that take place during four consecutive days in springtime. It is hosted by CAST
Cast (Mexican band)
Cast has been around from the 1970s, specializing on progressive rock, similar to early Genesis. Their music focuses strongly on keyboards, guitars, and vocals. Cast hosts an annual progressive rock festival called Baja Prog in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico featuring bands from around the...
, a progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band from Mexicali.
Sports
Mexicali has many sites where people from all over the country visit, as well as visitors from United States and Canada, such as the bullfightingBullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
arena, Plaza Calafia, where many bullfights ("corridas") are organized along the year. Mexicali has also a professional 18-hole Golf Course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
"Club Campestre" where both national and international championships take place regularly. Beside the amateur leagues, there are a few professional sport teams which plays in different leagues.
Basketball
Mexicali's basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams are the Bomberos de Mexicali of the CIBACOPA Pacific Circuit and Soles de Mexicali of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional
Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional
The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 11 teams, expanding to 24 as of 2008...
(LNBP) of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Soles lifted the National Trophy as the 2006/2007 LNBP Champions. Their stadium is the "Auditorio del Estado
Auditorio del Estado
Auditorio del Estado is an indoor arena in Mexicali, Mexico. It is primarily used for basketball and is the home arena of the Soles de Mexicali. It holds 6,338 seats. It is located in the "Ciudad Deportiva" of Mexicali, known as the sport center of the city, where it also holds the Nido de Los...
" located in the "Ciudad Deportiva de Mexicali".
The Bomberos de Mexicali were founded in 2010 and participate in the Pacific Coast Basketball Circuit, CIBACOPA. The team demonstrated strong results in the first leg of its inaugural season, yet was negatively affected by the April 4th earthquake of the Mexicali region, seeing its second leg play out as a road team in Tijuana’s Municipal Auditorium. Due to the earthquake and its aftershocks, the Civil Protection Ministry of Mexicali ceased all massive events within closed structures. The Bomberos look to return in 2011 with reinforcements and a competitive team that will vie for the league title. Bomberos arrived to Mexicali and reached an agreement with the Municipal Government to renovate the hardwood of the Mexicali Gymnasium and call the Silver Colossus their home.
Mexicali was also home to the now defunct franchise Calor de Mexicali (Mexicali Heat), which participated in the 2007 edition of the Pacific Coast Basketball Circuit. They played their home games at the "Gimnasio de Mexicali" located on "Avenida Reforma".
Mexicali was also home to a 2006 American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association (21st century)
The American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976...
franchise, the Centinelas de Mexicali
Mexicali Sentinels
The Mexicali Sentinels was a team of the American Basketball Association that played in the 2006 season in Mexicali, Mexico....
(The Sentinels).
Football
The "Ciudad Deportiva" also houses a footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
stadium where the Cachanillas de Mexicali, a Mexican third division
Tercera División de México
Tercera División is Mexico's fourth tier in the Mexican League System. The Tercera División is divided into 15 groups. For the 2009/2010 season, the format of the tournament has been reorganized to a home and away format, which all teams will play in their respected group...
football team plays.
The home of the Pioneros del Valle, also a Mexican third division football team, is located in the Mexicali Valley.
Baseball
In addition, "Ciudad Deportiva" is the location of the "CasasGeo" stadium where the professional baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team "Águilas de Mexicali
Águilas de Mexicali
The Águilas de Mexicali is a Mexican Pro baseball team playing for the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico based in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico...
" plays every season. The Águilas de Mexicali is a Mexican baseball team playing for the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico
Liga Mexicana del Pacífico
The Mexican Pacific League is a winter minor baseball league in Mexico. The eight-team league's regular season runs from October to December and is followed by a playoff series in January to determine the league champion...
in Mexicali, Baja California. The team was founded on October 14, 1976. They have won the championship three times, 1985-1986 (coach Benjamin Reyes), in 1988-1989 (coach Dave Machemer), in 1998-1999 (coach Francisco Estrada). The team also won the 1986 Caribbean Series, played in Venezuela. The "Águilas de Mexicali" were formed in 1976 and have been a member of the Mexican Pacific League since. They are located in the border city of Mexicali, Baja California and have won three LMP pennants. Their brightest moment came when they won the 1986 Caribbean Series, only becoming the second Mexican team to take the title. Mexicali was the host for the Caribbean Series in 2009.
The Azules de Mexicali is a professional Mexican baseball team which plays in the North Sonora League, the main supporting league of the "LMP".
Mexicali young baseball players through the Little League program had played three times the Little league World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
. First time in 1985 Felix Arce Little league representing the West of United States and 2005 and 2007 the Seguro Social Little League representing Mexicali.
American football
The team plays in the newly-built convention center, while local businessmen negotiate a deal for an American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team with the af2
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
under ownership of the Arena Football League in 2008. The owners announced they made a new team, the Mexicali Borregos Salvajes but has not officially joined af2 but could play in the Mexican Pro American Football League in games against teams from across Mexico.
Infrastructure
Land
Mexicali is located at a Junction of major interstates and federal highways. These included Interstate 8Interstate 8
Interstate 8 is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Blvd, in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with Interstate 10, just southeast of Casa Grande, Arizona...
, leading from San Diego to the Arizona Sun Corridor where the cities of Phoenix and Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
dominate and Mexican Federal Highway 2 linking Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
with Mexicali. Other roads lead southwest to Ensenada or north to the Imperial Valley
Imperial Valley
The Imperial Valley is an agricultural area of Southern California's Imperial County. It is located in southeastern Southern California, centered around the city of El Centro. Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously. The Valley is bordered between the...
.
The road system in the city of Mexicali and its conurbation is very complex. Over the urban area long boulevards are traversed from one end of which most are 6 lanes with a median of 2 lanes. The backbone of the city is the Lazaro Cardenas Boulevard extending from east to west. This boulevard is 24.5 km long and consists of 6 lanes (3 each direction), a shoulder in each direction, and ridges of 3 lanes creating a wingspan of 50 meters. In certain sections the boulevard is made of 8 to 10 lanes. Other important boulevards include: Blvd Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Blvd Benito Juárez, Blvd Anahuac, Justo Sierra Blvd, Blvd Venustiano Carranza, Calz Manuel Gómez Morin, Calz Francisco L Montejano, Calz Cetys, Ninth Street, Road to San Felipe, Blvd Héctor Terán Terán, Calzada Independencia, H. Calz Military College, among others. There are two corridors within the city: New River Ecological Corridor, which is guided in the ancient river bed of the Industrial Corridor Palace, this crosses the Industrial zone of Mexicali. There is also the beltway, located in the east of the city, connecting the Lazaro Cardenas Blvd Blvd Agricultural Islands and the road to Cologne Abasolo, and this in turn with the Airport Road.
Within the urban area are vehicular bridges, of which highlight the overpass Lázaro Cárdenas-Benito Juárez, Héctor Terán Underpass-Carr to San Felipe, Puente López Mateos-Calz Independence Distributor Road, Lázaro Cárdenas-Palaco Industrial Corridor and Lázaro Cárdenas Distributor Road-Lopez Mateos. The latter has a 15-m high bridge which makes it the highest in the Northwest of Mexico. It was also designed with first-world seismic technology, which supports earthquakes of similar magnitude as 7.2 degrees Richter of the day April 4, 2010.
The road layout in the urban sprawl is very efficient. Many communities are portrayed by satellite imagery as rectangular while many streets are straight and wide maintaining standard deviations with few bends.
On 6 January 2011 at a press conference, the city of Mexicali, led by Francisco José Pérez-Tejada Padilla, along with the state governor José Guadalupe Osuna Millán, unveiled the modernized Palaco Industrial Corridor. This project will be the largest and most expensive in the history of road infrastructure in Mexicali with an initial investment of 285 million pesos and 546 million more for the installation of the Express Line 1 (Bus Rapid Transit line), with a total investment of 831 million pesos. The new Palaco Industrial Corridor will begin construction in March 2011, with 6 lanes, berms at the edges that will include two additional lanes to service the BRT. Its opening is planned for March 14, 2012.
Metropolitan Transit
In the past 10 years, the public transport system has greatly improved with the implementation of modern units for the convenience of users. Currently there are over 40 routes across the city and its urban area, where companies like Atusa, Getusmex, among others, offer this service. The fees for bus service marked by the Municipal Transportation System are:- Modern service unit with A/C: 9.00 pesos
- Standard service unit without A/C: 6.50 pesos
Air
The city is linked to other Mexican cities by the Mexicali International AirportGeneral Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport
General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport Is an international airport located outside Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. It is the northern-most airport in the state of Baja California and the country of Mexico.- Information :...
, which serve the city and the surrounding towns.
Sea
The proposed canal linking the Gulf of California with Mexicali, by way of Laguna Salada, would provide sea transportation to and from the Gulf from other important west coast cities and regional inland centers such as San Diego, EnsenadaEnsenada, Baja California
Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
, and Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
.
Sister cities
NanjingNanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Gumi, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
Calexico
Calexico, California
Calexico is a city in Imperial County, California. The population was 38,572 at the 2010 census, up from 27,109 at the 2000 census. Calexico is about east of San Diego and west of Yuma, Arizona...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Indio
Indio, California
Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
, United States San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
, United States Yuma
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
External links
- Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática