New Mexican consul general in San Diego

A career diplomat who has represented Mexico in Brussels, Tel Aviv, New York City and Washington, D.C., has assumed the helm of the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.

Since starting her new assignment last week, Marcela Celorio has been meeting with a broad range of local actors, from San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, to leaders of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce to members of the Mexican community in Fallbrook.

Celorio’s appointment comes as Mexico’s 49 U.S. consulates are being called on by the country’s Foreign Ministry to take a more active role in changing U.S public perceptions about Mexico.

She replaces Remedios Gómez Arnau, who now heads the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh, N.C.

Celorio, 50, calls herself a “cross-border consul” who will encourage cultural and student exchanges, defend the rights of Mexican migrants, and encourage them to learn English.

“I’m convinced that migrants have to learn English; it’s the only way to belong, to be able to integrate in the American society where they live, work, and raise their children,” Celorio told members of the cross-border community gathered Tuesday at a meeting called by the Smart Border Coalition. “Learning a language is not just a way of communicating. It means that we can also learn and understand a culture.”

Celorio said she also will be an advocate for bilingual traffic signs on both sides of the border. When serving in Israel, she said, she was able to orient herself thanks to signs in three languages: Arabic, Hebrew and English.

Celorio is a Mexico City native who earned a law degree at the Escuela Libre de Derecho. She also holds master’s degrees in diplomacy from the Instituto Matías Romero and in defense and national security from the Colegio de la Defensa Nacional.

She joined Mexico’s foreign service in 1999. Previous postings have included the Mexican embassies in Israel, the United States and Belgium. Her last job was at the Mexican Consulate in New York City, where she served as deputy consul.

The San Diego consulate is one of ten Mexican consulates across California. Its jurisdiction includes all of San Diego County, as well as oversight of the Mexican Consulate in Calexico in Imperial County. The 60-member staff includes 11 diplomats.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com