Mexicali is the capital city of the state of Baja California. The city that has blended Mexican, Chinese, American and Cocopah indigenous cultures for over a century. The Cocopah Native Americans lived here for hundreds of years and their cultural and artistic legacy is still visible. Mexicali, officially established in 1903 in an effort to colonize the border area and to establish a sophisticated agricultural community, became the world’s largest exporter of cotton.

A large influence of Asians began arriving at the start of the 20th century, hired to build the Mexicali Valley’s irrigation system. The Asian presence is visible in the architecture and the Chinesca area of the city where you can also sample the local Mexican-Chinese fusion cuisine.

Built in 2004, the “Silicon Border”, is a 10,000-acre office park to facilitate the development of science and technology manufacturing industries, including semiconductors, solar energy, nanotechnology and aerospace engineering. The Silicon Border is the first of its kind in the country, and provides manufacturing space to companies from around the world to develop green technologies.

The city has a many facilities with event space, like the Lucerna Mexicali Hotel, with 176 rooms and suites, a business center, two restaurants, two pools and 5 event halls that hold up to 250 people. The facility is great for banquets, conventions, or business meetings.

Mexicali’s Fairs and Expositions Center (FEX) holds up to 20,000 individuals. The complex was designed for large-scale events, such as the most important agricultural exposition in the region, Agrobaja, which the city hosts every year.

The International Airport of Mexicali (MXL) is located 12 miles east of the city, with international charter flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver. Mexicali is a short 40-minute drive from Calexico, California.