City of El Centro hosts Mexican Independence Day celebration

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - The City of El Centro held an early celebration for Mexican Independence Day.

The event was held at Imperial Valley Mall Saturday night, and was in partnership with the Mexican Consulate in Calexico.

Council Rocío Vásquez Alvarez said they're looking to bring these celebrations closer to the valley as 85% of the population has Mexican roots.

She also noted the number of people applying for Mexican citizenship reached its highest historical level this year.

"People understand the importance of...understand having this connection with the roots, with their identity makes them stronger and unifies them," Alvarez explained. "So, there are more people that are actually requesting and doing all the paperwork to become Mexican nationals."

Last August, they granted 250 Mexican citizenship.