Mexican expats mark independence

Dubai: Hundreds of Mexican expatriates gathered in Dubai this week to celebrate their country's independence day.

The event, which marked the 198th anniversary of Mexican independence, was held at the General Consulate of Mexico in Dubai's Al Safa district on Monday evening.

The guests, many of whom were dressed in traditional garb, enjoyed some authentic Mexican food before participating in an enthusiastic rendition of The Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores); a battle cry of the Mexican War of Independence uttered by the country's founding father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on September 16, 1810.

The grounds of the consulate were awash with people waving Mexican flags, wearing sombreros and dancing on the lawn. Even the rice on offer was red, white and green to represent the colours of the Mexican flag.

The consulate began offering services to Dubai's Mexican community, estimated at around 4,000, in July. Mexicans are employed in numerous sectors across the UAE including trade, commerce, architecture, hospitality and the media. There is also a large contingent of Mexican pilots and cabin crew working for Emirates airline.

Francisco Alonso, Consul General of Mexico in Dubai, told Gulf News he hoped the Mexican government's decision to offer consular services in the UAE would further strengthen ties between the two countries.

He said: "More and more Mexicans are coming to live and work in the UAE and we believe Dubai is the ideal centre for our strategic Middle East relations.

"We are very grateful to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and we recognise their helping in opening a Mexican consulate in the city. We are very keen to increase our presence and interests in the UAE. There are a lot of possibilities for both sides to increase trade and economic activities."

The consulate has already proved popular with Mexicans living in the city. Three hundred expatriates have registered and many more expressed an interest to do so at Monday evening's festivities, the consul's first official activity.

Alonso, who has previously served as a diplomat in Palestine, Spain, Sweden, India and Egypt, said he planned to attract more Mexican companies to relocate or open offices in the UAE.

He said: "There are great opportunities here for Mexican companies. We hope other organisations will follow in the footsteps of Cemex, one of the world's largest buildings materials suppliers, which has a plant in Dubai.

"More tourists have also started coming here and we recently signed an agreement with the UAE regarding a direct flight from Dubai to Mexico City, which hopefully will become a reality soon."