The government of Baja California together with the 24th Municipal Administration of Mexicali announced the “La Uno para 5 Mil” event that will take place on Saturday, November 11 at 4 PM in Mexicali’s Historic Downtown. This is a gastronomic project that is being carried out alongside the Chinese community that lives in the state capital, according to Carlos Torres Torres, coordinator of Public Space Regeneration Projects of Baja California, alongside Norma Alicia Bustamante Martínez, mayor of this municipality.

Torres Torress explained that “La Uno para 5 Mil” is an experience in which, on China Day in Mexicali, 5,000 people will enjoy one of the most important traditions of the Baja Californian capital: sharing Chinese food in an environment full of joy, warmth, and Chinese art.

“La Uno para 5 Mil is a tourism festival for Mexicali native families and the tourism community of southern California, Arizona, and national tourism. Its goal is that they discover and enjoy the recently named Magical Neighborhood of La Chinesca and it becomes a mandatory visit that promotes tourism in our city and state,” Bustamante Martínez said.

The cost to participate in this family event will be 50 pesos per person, and several internationally renowned Chinese food restaurants will participate in Mexicali. Specifically, this event will take place in Avenida Juárez and Avenida Azueta in the Historic Downtown Mexicali.

During his speech, Torres Torres highlighted that the Wok Museum, whose goal is to show off the history of Chinese-Mexicali gastronomy, has been visited by 24,000 people, which represents the consolidation of a new alternative for families in the city, other municipalities, and the southern United States. The current goal is to position this area of Mexicali and the Magical Neighborhood of La Chinesca as an ideal destination to visit.

Torres Torres recalled the road traversed to restore La Chinesca since the 23rd Municipal Administration of Mexicali led by current governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, who was looking to make of the Historic Downtown an alternative for Mexicali native families, which is why the second phase of this challenge was to make this a touristic destination for the northwestern region and neighbors from El Centro, California and Yuma, Arizona.

The coordinator of Public Space Regeneration Projects of the State Government recognized mayor Norma Bustamante as part of this project’s success and its success has been because the state government and the municipality worked together as a team. “These results are now seen when we consider that this has been made a Magical Neighborhood by the Secretariat of Tourism of Mexico, and it also won an award as best cultural tourism project.”

“There are sculptures. More than 3,500 students have toured the Historic Downtown in a streetcar. There are a lot of projects that are coming. Those on the right know that they are building Restaurante 19 again, it is going to be restored. It was the first restaurant of its kind in the history of Mexicali. Restaurante 19 will open with the original menus of that time period,” he explained.

At this conference, the following people were present: the Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Aguíñiga Rodríguez; the municipal delegate of Mexicali’s Historic Downtown, Rubén Chen; coordinator of the Fund of Mexicali’s Historic Downtown, Fernando Félix; and Hortencia Medellín, representative of this event’s organization.

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