Los Angeles, Mexico City's 50-year sister-city relationship crucial to both cities

MEXICO CITY (KABC) -- Los Angeles and Mexico City are sister cities, and this special relationship saw its 50-year anniversary celebrated on Friday.

L.A. city leaders say the relationship is critical for both sides of our shared border.

Friday's celebratory event in L.A. started with a special presentation with Councilmember Gil Cedillo commemorating the history between the two cities. That presentation was followed by a forum discussing the cultural, civic and historical similarities between L.A. and Mexico City.

In Mexico City, Jovana Lara spoke to Dr. Diana Alarcon, the city's director of international affairs, who explained why the ties between Los Angeles and Mexico City are so important.

"We have, not only a very good relation with Mayor Garcetti that as I said he came to Mexico and we have had a great year of celebrations of our 50th anniversary...It's a very important relationship not only in terms of family but also in terms trade, remittances, cultural ties, as you know in Los Angeles, many of our celebrations, Mexican celebrations are part of your celebrations. Right? You celebrate the Virgin de Guadalupe on the 12th of December, you celebrate Dia de Muertos on the 2nd of November, Cinco de Mayo, which has a different connotation in Los Angeles than ours, but all those are Mexican holidays and they are part of the culture in Los Angeles," Alarcon said.

The Chargers are taking on the Chiefs on Monday Night Football in Mexico City, and you can watch the game right here on ABC7! Our coverage begins with a 4:30 p.m. PT pre-game show. Jovana Lara and Curt Sandoval will be bringing you stories live from Mexico. Watch for their live reports on Eyewitness News!