Mexicali

Mexicali

Seal
Motto: Tierra Cálida
(Warm Land)
Location of Mexicali within Baja California
Mexicali is located in Mexico
Mexicali
Location of Mexicali in Mexico
Coordinates:
Country Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico
State Mexico stateflags Baja California.png Baja California
Municipality Mexicali
Founded March 14, 1903
Government
 - Type Ayuntamiento
 - Municipal President
Elevation 0-15 m (-49 ft)
Population (2008)
 - City 653,046
 - Density 81.94/km2 (212.2/sq mi)
 Urban 995,962
 - Demonym Cachanilla
Time zone PST (UTC−8)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC−7)
21000
Area code(s) +52 686

Mexicali (Spanish pronunciation: [mexiˈkali]) is the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. Mexicali is also the seat of the Municipality of Mexicali. Founded on March 14, 1903, Mexicali is situated on the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to Calexico, California, and is the northernmost city in Latin America, located at . On Sunday April 4, 2010 Mexicali was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on the Richter Scale.

Mexicali proper has a population of 653,046, according to the 2005 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 1 million.

Contents

History

The Spanish arrived to 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 collapse of the native peoples. Today Cocopah descendants inhabit a small government-protected corner of the delta near the junction of the Hardy and Colorado rivers. These people mostly work on agricultural ejidos or fish the rivers, although many have migrated to Mexicali.[1]

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.[1]

Rail tracks on Avenida Lopez Mateos leading north to the border crossing.

In the mid-1800s, a geologist working for the Southern Pacific 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.[1] 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.[2]

In 1900, the U.S.-based California Development Company 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, 100,000 acres (405 km²) 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.[1]

The Mexican side was named Mexicali (From "Mexico" and "California") by Coronel Agustín Sanginéz. Initially the area belonged to the municipality of Ensenada.[2] 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).[1] 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.[2]

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Cathedral in the city center

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.[1]

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.[2]

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.[1]

The government of the municipality was reorganized when the Baja California territory became the 29th state in 1953.[2]

Demographics

View of the Civic Center Monument, designed by noted Mexicali artist, Francisco Arias Beltrán, to the four original municipalities in Baja California (Mexicali, Mexico)

The city itself had a 2005 census population of 653,046, whereas the municipality'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.

Chinatown, Mexicali

The city claims to have the largest per capita concentration of residents of Chinese origin, around 5,000. 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 arrived 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.[3]

ABSA shopping center on Lopez Mateos Blvd and Mexico Street

Many of the Chinese labourers who came to the irrigation system stayed on after its completion, congregating in an area of Mexicali today known as Chinesca ('Chinatown'). During Prohibition in the U.S., many Chinese laborers and farmers came to the town to open bars, restaurants and hotels to cater their American clients, Chinesca eventually housed just about all of the city's casinos and bars, and an underground tunnel system to connect bordellos and opium dens to Calexico on the U.S. side. Bootleggers also used this route to supply the U.S. with alcohol purchased in Mexico.[3]

By 1920, Mexicali's Chinese population outnumbered the Mexican 10,000 to 700. A group of 5,000 single Chinese males started the Asociación China, a Mexicali's social organization at least partly devoted to finding Chinese wives from overseas, which remains active today. In 1927, a series of Tong wars here and other parts of Northern Mexico erupted over control of gambling and prostitution rings. Mexican alarm over the Chinese organized crime led to the government-encouraged Movimiento Anti-Chino. In the late 1920s, a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment that swept the country and led to the torture and murder of hundreds of Chinese in northern Mexico. However, the Chinese in this city were numerous enough and politically strong enough to protect themselves. After anti-Chinese sentiment faded, more Chinese arrived here, and it became the Mexican headquarters for the Kuomintang, or the Nationalist Chinese Party. After events during World War II and the Communist takeover of China, a large number of Chinese refugees came to Mexico in the mid-century. The town was the site of the Taiwan consulate in the 1960s until Mexico withdrew its recognition of the island nation, ending immigration of ethnic Chinese to this area.[3]

Plaza de la Amistad (Friendship Plaza) pagodas, located just outside the border crossing to the USA

The percentage of Chinese was so high here that in the 1940s the town had only two cinemas, both of which played Chinese movies almost exclusively. However, in the latter half of the 20th century, steady influx of Mexican migrants here diluted the Chinese population, until once again they became a minority.[3]

La Chinesca, or Chinatown, still survives near the border close to the intersection of Avenida Madero and Calle Melgar,although it is much smaller than in the past. However, Mexicali still boasts more Chinese restaurants per capita than any other city in Mexico, more than 100 for the whole town, most with Cantonese-style cuisine. Local Chinese associations struggle to preserve the arts and culture of the homeland through the sponsorship of Chinese festivals, calligraphy clubs, and language classes. However, much of Chinese cultural life here has blended with local Mexican and American traditions to create a unique, hybrid culture.[3]

Like many Chinese restaurants outside of Asia, cooks here have adapted their native cuisine to local tastes. For example, restaurants here serve their dishes with a small bowl of a sauce that is similar to a generic steak sauce, common in Northern Mexico. In many of these restaurants, it is not uncommon to see Chinese men wearing stiff straw cowboy hats, meeting over hamburgers and green tea and speaking a mixture of Cantonese and Spanish. Along with burgers and chow mein, many restaurants here also offer shark-fin tacos.[3]

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 Norte, 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. http://www.empresarioschinos.com/index.php?q=node/83

Boroughs (delegaciones)

The municipality of Mexicali is divided into 1 city area and 14 administrative boroughs (delegaciones, in Spanish) 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 Delegado Municipal (Municipal Delegate).

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, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, Paccar, Vitro, Skyworks Solutions, Cardinal Health, 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's recent research that indicate a high level of disease prevalence like respiratory illness,asthma,and other medical issues in the local inhabitant. 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.

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 hydroengineering project and the Punta Colonet port project. The hydroengineering project is the renovation of a Canal connecting the Sea of Cortez with the 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. and the Punta Colonet port project. 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.

Silicon Border

Silicon Border is a 10,000 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.[1] 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 Fox has also offered 10 years of tax-free status to any firms that locate in the park and invest $1 billion or more [2]. 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.[3]

Q-Cells, the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic cells, [4] has manifested its intention to develop a major thin film photovoltaics manufacturing facility at Silicon Border [5]. With the world economic depress of 2008, Q-Cells delayed its plans to settle in the park.[6] A variety of electrical and water facilities are already built at Silicon Border in addition to energy-saving lighting. [7] 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. [8]

The Autonomous University of Baja California, located in Mexicali, has started new programs such as Aerospace Engineering, Semiconductors and Microelectronics Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, Bioengineering, History and Sociology to create high tech human resources for potential semiconductor firms. [9]

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.Siborder.com[10] 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. [11]

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. [12] Further infrastructure improvements associated with Silicon Border are to include a new highway (under construction) and an additional border crossing.SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Mexico - Partners pushing 'silicon' center 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.[13]

Natural resources

The New River, which runs north to the state of California from Mexicali is considered the most polluted river in North America, has toxic levels of lead and other heavy metals,fecal bacteria,pathogens and industrial waste;also air pollution is a problem during summer and winter months with dust and other particulate levels exceeding healthy levels and a long time issue.

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 1,500,000 acre-feet (1,850,234,000 cubic meters) [of water] to be delivered..." from the Colorado River.[4] 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.[5]

The nearby Cerro Prieto volcano[6] is adjacent to the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station.[7]

Tourism

Cars crossing the border station from Mexicali-Calexico

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.

Entrance to highway leading to San Felipe. The statues depict fishermen

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. The event was created and is still organized by local musician and member of the band CAST Alfonso Vidales Moreno. Baja Prog attracts music fans from around the world.

Air travel

The city is linked to other Mexican cities by the Mexicali International Airport, which serve the city and the surrounding towns.

Culture

Mexicali's "House of Culture" decorated for Dia de los Muertos.

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.[8]

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[9] in the city:

  1. Teatro del Estado.
  2. Teatro al Aire Libre del Centro Comunitario Estudiantil.
  3. Teatro de Casa de Cultura de Mexicali. Idem.
  4. Teatro del CREA
  5. Teatro Universitario de Mexicali, it is mainly used for UABC ceremonies and occasionally for plays.
  6. Teatro al Aire Libre de Rectoría
  7. Teatro del Seguro Social that was inaugurated in the 1970s.
  8. Teatro al aire libre del Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior CETYS unveiled on September 2006.
  9. Teatro del Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior CETYS.
  10. IMAX Teatro in The Sol del Niño Museum
  11. Centro Estatal de las Artes with multiple theater and convention center
  12. Teatro del OXXO

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.

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 bullfighting 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.

Basketball

Mexicali's basketball teams are 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 Basketball Club was 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).

Football

The "Ciudad Deportiva" also houses a football 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.

Baseball

In addition, "Ciudad Deportiva" is the location of the "CasasGeo" stadium where the professional baseball 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 in 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, PA. USA. First time in 1985 Felix Arce Little league representing the West of United States and 2005 and 2007 the Seguro Social Little League representing Mexico.

American football

The team plays in the newly-built convention center, while local businessmen negotiate a deal for an American football 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.

Shopping

Mexicali possesses a diversity of shopping 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.

Weather

Mexicali
Climate chart ()
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
13
 
21
5
 
 
9.1
 
24
7
 
 
7.9
 
26
9
 
 
1.3
 
30
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34
16
 
 
0.3
 
39
20
 
 
1.5
 
42
24
 
 
8.1
 
41
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9.1
 
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8.9
 
33
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4.6
 
26
8
 
 
11
 
21
5
average max. and min. temperatures in °C
precipitation totals in mm
source: [14]

Under the Koppen climate classification, Mexicali features a desert climate. Mexicali is well known for its extreme weather. The highest temperature recorded in Mexicali was 52°C (about 126°F) in July 1995. Average July highs hover around 42°C (107°F). On the other hand, winter normals are quite low, with average January lows of 5°C (41°F) and a record low of -8°C (18°F) recorded in January 1949.[10] The city received snow only once in recorded history, in December 1932.[11]

The climate in Mexicali is extremely arid, with average annual rainfall of less than three inches.[12]

Notable natives and residents

Sister cities

Cars lined up along border fence in Mexicali waiting to cross over to Calexico

See also

References

Schools