Mexicali in Baja California

Friday, 7 October 2016 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  6 minutes

House of Culture © Thelmadatter

House of Culture © Thelmadatter

Mexicali is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California and seat of the Municipality of Mexicali. The City of Mexicali has a population of 690,00, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 1,000,000; making the city and metropolitan area the second most populous in Baja California. The city maintains a highly educated and skilled population, as it has modernized and become an important population center in the desert region. Founded on March 14, 1903, Mexicali is situated on the Mexico–United States border adjacent to its sister city Calexico in California, with which it forms a dual-state, international population center, Calexico–Mexicali.

The municipality of Mexicali is divided into the city main and 14 Administrative Districts, which are mainly located in the outskirts of the city and the largest populations in the Mexicali Valley. These Distrital offices offer municipal services such as Urban Planning, Vital Statistics, Street-Vending Inspection, Compliance, Public Works and Community Development and are, each, supervised by a Municipal Delegate. Civic Center – In this sub-area are located the main federal, state and municipal buildings. Not far from the Civic Center is the New River, where there are other prominent buildings and premises like the CEART (State Center for the Arts) and the Mexicali Zoo.

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 grown, but low government price guarantees and subsidies make wheat farmer protests an annual event. There is an annual agri-business fair, which if unfunded by public money given to by the government, it would have been dead a decade ago, named AGROBAJA, in March of every year, drawing people by the thousands, from all over Mexico and from the United States. The current prospects for economic growth in Mexicali rely on in-bond and assembly plants (maquiladoras), which come due to low wages and loose worker right laws, include companies like, Selther, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, Paccar, Vitro, Skyworks Solutions, CareFusion, Bosch, Price Pfister, Gulfstream, United Technologies Corporation, Kenworth and Kwikset. Mexicali is also home to many food processing plants such as Nestlé, Jumex, Bimbo, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, and Sabritas.

Hotel Del Norte © Luismt94/cc-by-sa-4.0 House of Culture © Thelmadatter Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe © Luismt94/cc-by-sa-4.0 Dragon Chinese Restaurant © Meiguoren General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport © Omar1976
<
>
General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport © Omar1976
Mexicali also relies on tourism as a medium to generate revenue, and visitors cross by foot or by car from Calexico, United States, every day. Tourists are mainly attracted to local taco stands, restaurants, pharmacies, bars and dance clubs. Near the border, in walking distance, there are many shops and stalls selling Mexican curios and souvenirs. Arizona and Nevada residents look for medical and dental services in Mexicali, since they tend to be less expensive than in the United States. Pharmacies sell some drugs without a prescription and at much lower cost than in the US, but some medications still require a doctor’s prescription, although several accessible doctor offices are located near the border as well. Mexico’s drinking age is 18 years old (vs. 21 in the United States) which makes it a common weekend destination for many high school and college students from Southern California.

Mexicali hosts four main shopping malls, the most visited being Plaza La Cachanilla, located a mile away from the US border. The mall hosts a variety of shops, which sell a wide array of items, ranging from cheap Mexican curios 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. For recreation, Mexicali has bath halls, bowling alleys, traditional cantinas, car clubs, strip clubs, movie theaters, museums, a zoo, a convention center, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants for every choice of food. Galerias del Valle, holds a WalMart Supercenter, a 12-screen movie theater Cinepolis, two casinos, and a food court, plus a large array of stores that sell many items needed for daily living. It is located on Boulevard Lazaro Cardenas at Calle 11.

Read more on Mexicali, Autonomous University of Baja California, Campus Mexicali, Mexicali and Wikipedia Mexicali (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.






Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Theme Week Netherlands - Gouda, historic town in the green heart of the Netherlands

Theme Week Netherlands - Gouda, historic town in the green heart of the Netherlands

[caption id="attachment_160616" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Building at Market Square housing the tourist information © Afhaalchinees[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Gouda (population 71,000) is a city and municipality in the western ...

[ read more ]

Palazzo Barberini in Rome

Palazzo Barberini in Rome

[caption id="attachment_218237" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Jean-Pierre Dalbéra/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Palazzo Barberini (English: Barberini Palace) is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the P...

[ read more ]

Daugavpils in Latvia

Daugavpils in Latvia

[caption id="attachment_159855" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Daugavpils Fortress, artillery arsenal Rothko at night © Karlis.Rasis/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the...

[ read more ]

São Marcelo Fort in Salvador da Bahia

São Marcelo Fort in Salvador da Bahia

[caption id="attachment_215285" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © JLPizzol/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]São Marcelo Fort (Portuguese: Forte São Marcelo), also known as Forte de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo e São Marcelo or ...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Miami - Coconut Grove

Theme Week Miami - Coconut Grove

[caption id="attachment_164436" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Former Pan American Seaplane Base and Terminal Building, now Miami's city hall © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Coconut Grove is the oldest continuously ...

[ read more ]

Bakhchisaray in Crimea

Bakhchisaray in Crimea

[caption id="attachment_151797" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Bakhchisaray Palace © A.Savin/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bakhchysarai, which means the Garden Palace, is a city in central Crimea, a territory recognized by...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Egypt - Giza

Theme Week Egypt - Giza

[caption id="attachment_166070" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Giza on the Nile © Faris knight/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Giza is the third-largest city in Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile, 5 km (3 mi) ...

[ read more ]

Portrait: Marco Polo and the Book of the Marvels of the World

Portrait: Marco Polo and the Book of the Marvels of the World

[caption id="attachment_25409" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Travels of Marco Polo - Marco Polo in China[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Marco Polo (September 15, 1254 – January 8–9, 1324) was a Venetian merchant traveller whose trav...

[ read more ]

Theme Week South Tyrol - Bruneck

Theme Week South Tyrol - Bruneck

[caption id="attachment_247092" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Kronplatz ski resort - North side © A,Ocram[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bruneck (Italian: Brunico; Ladin: Bornech or Burnech; Latin: Brunecium or Brunopolis) is the large...

[ read more ]

Hotel Sacher in Vienna

Hotel Sacher in Vienna

[caption id="attachment_206600" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Thomas Ledl/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Hotel Sacher is a five-star hotel located in the Innere Stadt first district of Vienna, Austria, facing the Vie...

[ read more ]

Andratx on Majorca

Andratx on Majorca

[caption id="attachment_151101" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Torsten Harenberg/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Andratx is a municipality on Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, along the Mediterranean east coast of Spai...

[ read more ]

Theme Week New Caledonia - Koné

Theme Week New Caledonia - Koné

[caption id="attachment_150832" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Cultural Center © Torbenbrinker/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Koné is a commune in the North Province. Koné is the provincial seat of the North Province. Bes...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top