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Mexicali (; )J. C. Wells (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow, Essex: Pearson, p. 478. is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which abuts the Mexico–United States border and the U.S. city of Calexico, California, is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality. It has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to combined 1,000,000. Mexicali is a regional economic and cultural hub for the border region of The Californias.
Mexicali was founded at the turn of the 20th century, when the region's agricultural economy experienced a period of boom. The city rapidly expanded throughout the 20th century, owing to the proliferation of in the city, making the Mexicali economy more interconnected with businesses from across the border. Today, Mexicali is a major manufacturing center and an emerging tourist destination.
The early European presence in this area was limited to Anza's and subsequent Spanish expeditions across the Colorado Desert and subsequent travelers on the Sonora Road opened by them. Also the presence of the Jesuits who attempted to establish a mission in what is now Fort Yuma. They left after a revolt by the Quechan people in 1781. After this, the Spanish had little to do with the northeastern corner of the Baja California Peninsula, perceiving it as an untamable, flood-prone desert delta. Later in the 1820s, the Mexican authorities reopened the Sonoran Road and restored peaceful relations with the Yuma People.George William Beattie, "Reopened the Anza Road", The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 2, No. 1. (Mar., 1933), pp. 52–71
The Mexican side was named Mexicali (a portmanteau composed of "Mexico" and "California") by Coronel Agustín Sanguinéz. 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). On January 29, 1911, Mexicali was briefly "liberated" by the Liberal Party of Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. Mayor Baltazar Aviléz declared the municipality of Mexicali on November 4, 1914, and called for elections to creation of the first ayuntamiento or municipality, which was then headed by Francisco L. Montejano.
In the 20th century, the Colorado Riverland Company, a U.S.-based company, was dedicated to renting Mexican land to farmers; however, these farmers were almost always foreigners, such as Chinese, East Indians and Japanese. Mexicans were employed only as seasonal laborers. This situation led to the agrarian conflict known as the "" (Assault on the Lands) in 1937. in which Mexican land was taken by Mexicans. Agricultural production continued to increase during the 20th century. Cotton became the most important crop and helped develop the textile industry. In the early 1950s, the Mexicali Valley became the biggest cotton-producing zone in the country and in the 1960s, production reached more than half a million parcels a year.
The first factories appeared in the 1960s with the end of the Bracero program. A 1988 study found 100 factories in the city, including 10 electronics manufacturers, 25 auto parts manufacturers, 27 textile plants and nine plastics companies. Most maquiladoras are run by US companies, followed by Mexican, South Korean, and Japanese companies.
The 2010 Baja California earthquake occurred on Easter Sunday about south-southeast of Mexicali. This very large magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred at 15:40:40 local time (UTC−8) according to the U.S. Geological Survey. With a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII ( Very strong), it was felt in northern Baja California near the United States–Mexico border, and was also felt in western cities such as Tijuana, San Diego, Los Angeles and parts of Arizona.
A study by Instituto Mexicano de la Competitividad has listed Mexicali as Mexico's most polluted air of large cities, with a PM10 rating of 137 for the year 2010. It is thought that the reason is lack of pavement (dust) and lack of wind, especially in summer. The city is grappling with huge amounts of trash "from old appliances, to electronic waste and used tires, some of which comes from the United States." Mexican government agencies in the border region have not made pollution a priority, and weak enforcement of environmental standards is considered a reason that multinationals locate factories there, along with low wages. In general, maquiladoras are supposed to return any toxic waste to its country of origin, but in some cases it can be handled in Mexico.
The nearby Cerro Prieto volcano is adjacent to the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, which creates high volumes of pollutants including mercury. As of 2014, the government are creating a zone of exclusion, due to the alarming amount of pollutants and contamination that has permeated throughout miles around the geothermal plant of Cerro Prieto.
On 28 July 1995, the Mexicali area recorded a temperature of .
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 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.
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 Electronics, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, Paccar, Vitro, Skyworks Solutions, CareFusion, Bosch, Price Pfister, Gulfstream, United Technologies Corporation, Kenworth, Kwikset and Collins Aerospace. Mexicali is also home to many food processing plants such as Nestlé, Jumex, Grupo Bimbo, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, and Sabritas. In December 2018 there were 180 in all, employing 70,000 people.
Mexicali became the national center for the aerospace industry in Mexico when Rockwell Collins established an operation there in 1966. Rockwell Collins is the oldest company under the maquiladora program nationwide.
The premises sit empty as of October 2022.
Mexico's drinking age is 18 years old (versus 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 twelve-screen Cinepolis movie theater, two casinos, a food court, and a large array of stores that sell many items needed for daily living. It is located on Boulevard Lázaro Cárdenas at Calle 11.
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, Mexicali, Universidad Politécnica de Baja California and the Mexicali Institute of Technology. Private universities include Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior, University of the Valley of Mexico and Xochicalco University.
There is a very popular song called "" also known as "El Cachanilla" that identifies people from Mexicali. This song was originally recorded in 1963 by the ranchero singer Caín Corpus and written by the famous mexican composer .
In 2004, there were 8 theaters in the city: Teatro del Estado, Teatro de Casa de Cultura de Mexicali. Idem, Teatro del CREA, Teatro Universitario de Mexicali, Teatro al Aire Libre de Rectoría, Teatro del Seguro Social, and Centro Estatal de las Artes.
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.
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.Auyón Gerardo, Eduardo. 2003. El dragón en el desierto: los pioneros chinos en Mexicali. Mexicali, Baja California: Centro de Investigación de la Cultura China
The city's professional basketball team is Soles de Mexicali of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). Soles lifted the national trophy as the 2006–07, 2014–15, 2017–18, and 2019–20 LNBP Champions. Their stadium, the Auditorio del Estado, is located in Ciudad Deportiva de Mexicali. The Bomberos de Mexicali were founded in 2010 and participated in the Pacific Coast Basketball Circuit, CIBACOPA. Another defunct franchise, Calor de Mexicali (Mexicali Heat), participated in the 2007 edition of the league. 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).
Ciudad Deportiva houses a football stadium where Mexicali Fútbol Club in the Mexican Second Division and Cachanillas de Mexicali, a Mexican Third Division team plays. The home of the Pioneros del Valle, also a Mexican third division football team, is located in the Mexicali Valley.
In addition, Ciudad Deportiva is the location of Farmacias Sta Maria formally known as Estadio B'Air, where the Águilas de Mexicali play, competing in winter baseball's Mexican Pacific League (LMP). The Centinelas de Mexicali are a professional team which plays in the North Sonora League, the main development league for the LMP. Young Mexicali baseball players have played in the Little League World Series five times; first in 1985, with the Félix Arce Little League representing the United States West region, and then in 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2015 the Seguro Social Little League representing Mexicali.
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. Other important boulevards include: Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Benito Juárez, Anáhuac, Justo Sierra, Venustiano Carranza, Manuel Gómez Morin, Francisco L. Montejano, Cetys, Héctor Terán Terán, Independencia and Heroico Colegio Militar, among others. There are two corridors within the city: New River Ecological Corridor, which is guided in the ancient New River bed, and the Palaco Industrial Corridor,Palaco Industrial Corridor this crosses the southern Industrial zone of Mexicali. There is also the beltway, located in the east of the city, connecting the Lazaro Cardenas Blvd. with Islas Agrarias Blvd.Islas Agrarias and the road to Colonia Abasolo,Colonia Abasolo and this in turn with the Airport Road.
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