Tours
Restaurant
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
Baja California
|
|
| |||||||||||||
| Mexicali |
|
|
|
Mexicali, 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 and is the northernmost city in Latin America, located at  32°40′0″N 115°28′0″W / 32.66667, -115.46667.
The link is emphasized by the way each city's name combines the words "Mexico" and "California." To the East of Mexicali lie the states of Arizona (USA) and Sonora (México), to the west lies the municipality of Tecate, and to the South lies the municipality of Ensenada. Chinatown, Mexicali Mexicali has one of North America's largest overseas Chinese communities, the local Chinese live in La Chinesca or Chinatown in Spanish, located on Callejon Chinesca, between Avenida Reforma and Avenida Juarez. Most of the residents of Chinese-Mexican and other east Asian heritage are descendants of people who came in the late 30's to work the farmland on the valley (thus, owning it), during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz (leading to the "Asalto a las tierras" war, since no Mexican people owned land); some came on from the U.S. side to reside with family members, or some were denied US citizenship and settled down in the early 20th century. An estimated 100,000 residents have some Chinese ancestry, and Mexicali has a major concentration of Chinese Mexicans as well Mexicans of east Asian descent (see Asian Latin Americans.) Mexicali has a thriving Chinese-Mexican culinary industry in its restaurants and grocery stores, one of three major hubs of North American Chinese cooking after San Francisco and Vancouver, Canada. Boroughs 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).
Tourism 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. Also 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. 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 is also 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. As well in the musical side, Mexicali hosts one of the most important events in Progressive Rock in the world: Baja Prog. As of the early 1990s (the first concert was held in 1997), Baja Prog has always been in the eyes of the world for being an event gathering the best music groups of the progressive rock scene. This show was created and still organized by local musician and member of the band CAST Alfonso Vidales Moreno. This massive event, gathers tourism from all over the world. The city is linked to other Mexican cities by the Mexicali International Airport, which serve the city itself and the surrounding towns. Culture 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 are 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. 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. 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. A mall called Galerias Del Valle is in the works. Weather Mexicali is well known for its extreme weather. The highest temperature recorded in Mexicali was 52°C (about 125°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. The city received snow only once in recorded history, on December 1932.
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.12 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved. |
|||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Sponsored Links
Featured Daily Tours
Princes' Islands Tour
PRINCES' OSLANDS (Full Day Tour with Lunch) Cruise in the Marmara Sea to Princes' islands retreats for the Byzantine princes, famous for their beautiful… Readmore
Istanbul Cocktail
ISTANBUL COCKTAIL (Full Day City Tour with Lunch) Galata; Orginates from "Galat" a word used by the Bzyantines to describe the Goth people. Now… Readmore
Bosphorus & Dolmabahce Palace
BOSPHORUS & DOLMABAHCE (Full Day Tour with Launch) Cruise on the Bosphorus;The cruise on the bosphorus which will give you the best chance to… Readmore
Bosphorus Cruise and Golden Horn
GOLDEN HORN and BOSPHORUS (Half Day afternoon Tour including cable car) Cith Walls; The 5th centuray ancient city walls were built by Emperor Theodosius… Readmore
Byzantine & Ottoman Traces
Byzantine & Otoman Traces Full day city tour with lunch included Hagia Sophia From the Golden Age of Byzantine, this once Christian church is one… Readmore
Ottoman Heritage
Otoman Heritage Half day afternoon tour Topkapi Palace This is an extraordinary complex of buildings that extends over one of… Readmore
Istanbul Outstandings
Istanbul Outstandings Half Day Morning Tour Hagia Sophia Also called the Church of Divine Wisdom.It is a masterpiece of grandeur and proportion. Coveted by the… Readmore
Weather Reports
MyPortalegre -°C |
| MyEvora -°C |
| Local weather conditions -°C |
Login Form
Statistics
Members: 111News: 65
Web Links: 2
Visitors: 208123
Travel Photos
