Monterrey

Monterrey is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is a very important city in Mexico and Latin America. As of 2009, the Monterrey metropolitan area was the second largest in Mexico, with over five million people. In 2020, the city itself had a population of more than one million.

Monterrey is known for being a busy business and industrial center. It is often called one of the richest cities in Latin America. Many big international companies have their base there. The city is also known for having a good quality of life, especially in the nearby suburb of San Pedro Garza García.

The city was founded in 1596 by Diego de Montemayor. It grew after Mexico's independence and became a key business hub. In 1900, the opening of the Monterrey Foundry helped the city grow quickly in industries like steel, cement, glass, auto parts, and brewing. Being close to the United States-Mexico border has helped Monterrey build strong economic ties with the United States.

Etymology

The city of Monterrey is named after Gaspar de Zúñiga, the 5th Count of Monterrey. He was the leader of New Spain from 1595 to 1603. His family came from a place called Monterrei in Galicia, Spain.

History

See also: History of Monterrey; Timeline of Monterrey, Mexico; and History of Nuevo León

Prehispanic history

Before Europeans arrived, the area around Monterrey was home to several indigenous groups. Art like carved stones and cave paintings helped historians learn about these groups, including the Azalapas, Huachichiles, Coahuiltecos, and Borrados.

Foundation

In the 1500s, Spanish explorers came to the valley where Monterrey now stands. One leader, Alberto del Canto, tried to start a settlement but faced resistance from local people. Later, Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva got permission from the king of Spain to create a new territory called Nuevo León. He began a settlement in 1582. Finally, in 1596, Diego de Montemayor founded the city of Monterrey near a water spring.

During Spanish rule, Monterrey stayed small, helping trade between places like San Antonio, Tampico, and Saltillo.

After Mexican Independence (19th century)

After Mexico won its independence, Monterrey grew as an important economic center. It connected Europe, the United States, and Mexico City through trade routes. In 1824, Nuevo León became a state, and Monterrey was chosen as its capital.

In 1846, Monterrey was part of the Mexican–American War, with a big battle happening in the city. Many leaders in a later war, the Mexican War against France, came from Monterrey.

A famous local brewery, Cervecería Cuauhtémoc, started in 1890.

20th century

By the late 1800s, railroads reached Monterrey, helping its industries grow. A big hospital and a major steel company were founded during this time. The steel company became very important worldwide.

In 1986, Monterrey hosted some games of the FIFA World Cup.

The city saw many workers fighting for better conditions, forming unions, and supporting each other during this time.

In 1988, a big storm caused flooding in Monterrey, leading to damage and loss of life.

21st century

Monterrey has welcomed many international events. It hosted a big meeting for countries to talk about development in 2002 and a meeting of leaders from the Americas in 2004.

In 2007, the city held a large cultural event with millions of visitors. In 2008, it hosted a major sports competition.

In 2010, heavy rains from a storm caused serious flooding and damage.

In 2022, a serious lack of rain caused water shortages in Monterrey. Some areas had their water turned off for weeks, and others got water only for a few hours each day. The city worked to fix the problem, and rains later helped refill water stores.

Geography

The city of Monterrey is 540 metres (1,770 ft) above sea level in the northeastern state of Nuevo León. The Santa Catarina River runs through Monterrey, dividing it into north and south halves. Monterrey is surrounded by several neighboring cities, and together they form a large metropolitan area with over 4 million people.

Monterrey is located near beautiful natural areas, including mountains, forests, and rivers. These areas offer many places to explore, such as parks, hiking trails, and scenic views. The city's landscape includes well-known hills and mountains that are important symbols of the area.

Demographics

The city of Monterrey is in the state of Nuevo León in Mexico. In 2010, most people in the state lived in the Monterrey area.

The Monterrey metropolitan area is the second biggest in Mexico, with over 5 million people. It includes several towns such as Monterrey, Apodaca, Escobedo, and San Nicolás de los Garza, among others.

Education

Monterrey has good schools. The Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) is one of the biggest and best universities in Mexico. It has many colleges and schools.

The Monterrey Institute of Technology is also well known and offers many programs in engineering and other fields.

Health

Monterrey has excellent hospitals. There are both public and private hospitals, including some that are known around the world for their care. The city has high standards of healthcare, which makes it a popular place for people from other countries to come for treatment.

Governance

Main article: Politics and government of Nuevo León

Monterrey and its metropolitan area are run by a mayor who is chosen by the people to serve for three years. The mayor works with a group of representatives to make decisions for the city. Different political groups take turns leading the city.

Monterrey has two police teams. One looks after the center of the city, and the other helps in the areas farther out. Even though there have been some difficult times, the city is still seen as a good place to visit, both during the day and at night.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Monterrey is linked to the United States–Mexico border, the sea, and other parts of Mexico by many roads. Important roads include the Carretera Nacional, also called the Pan-American Highway, which goes from Nuevo Laredo to Mexico City and further south. Another key road is the Carretera Interoceánica, connecting Matamoros to the port of Mazatlán on the Pacific coast. The city is also crossed by highways 40, and others.

People in Monterrey can take buses to travel between cities, both within Mexico and to the United States. There are also important railroad lines for freight, connecting Monterrey to places like Nuevo Laredo and Mazatlán.

Monterrey has a quick public transit system called Metrorrey with 3 lines, and a bus rapid transit system called Ecovía.

Two airports serve the city: Monterrey International Airport and Del Norte International Airport. Flights go to many cities in Mexico and to hubs in the United States like Atlanta, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, and more.

Water

Economy

See also: Category:Companies based in Monterrey

Monterrey is a big industrial city in northern Mexico. In 2015, it had a large economy with a value of US$140 billion and about US$31,900 for each person. It is known for being a great place for business and is strong in making steel, cement, glass, car parts, and drinks.

The city grew because of its close location to the United States and its strong economic ties. Many big companies started there, like Cemex, which makes cement, and FEMSA, which bottles Coca-Cola. In 2023, Tesla announced plans to build a big factory near Monterrey, which will bring many jobs to the area.

Some popular shopping places in Monterrey include Paseo San Pedro, Paseo La Fe, Plaza Fiesta San Agustín, Galerías Monterrey, and Galerías Valle Oriente.

Panoramic image of Monterrey

Culture

The 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures was an international cultural event held in Monterrey from September 20 to December 8, 2007.

Cuisine

The most traditional dish from Monterrey is cabrito, kid goat cooked on embers. Other local dishes and customs that perhaps date back to the Crypto-Judaism of Monterrey's founding families are the "semita" (bread without leavening), the capirotada dessert (a mix of cooked bread, cheese, raisins, peanuts, and crystallized sugarcane juice), and the relative absence of pork dishes. Another famous local dish is machacado con huevo.

Carne asada on weekends remains a tradition among Monterrey families. It is usually served with grilled onions, baked potatoes and sausages or chopped as tacos. Locally brewed beer and cola are an almost mandatory part of the weekly ritual. "Glorias" and "obleas", made from goat milk, are both traditional Nuevo León desserts.

Monterrey has a wide gastronomic variety due to its climate geography, climate, texture, a mixture of ethnics groups, and their influences, a series of unique dishes have been created through more than 400 years of history.

Chinatown

After the USMCA was ratified, an industrial Chinatown with signs in both Spanish and Chinese formed in Monterrey to take advantage of tariff free trade with the United States given its proximity to Texas.

Contemporary music

See also: Category:Musical groups from Monterrey

Since the 1960s, Monterrey has been known for "Norteño" music. Monterrey has witnessed the birth of several bands that have become internationally acclaimed. Their genres vary considerably. Bands include Plastilina Mosh, Control Machete, Kinky, El Gran Silencio, Celso Pina, Jumbo, Division Minuscula, 3Ball MTY, and The Warning. The song "Los Oxidados" by Plastilina Mosh opened the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Landmarks

• The Santa Lucía artificial river, built between 1996 and 2007. It currently joins the Macroplaza with the Fundidora Park.
• The Cerro de la Silla (Saddle Mountain).
• The Macroplaza, the 8th largest city square in the world, is the cultural and administrative heart of the city featuring remarkable monuments, green areas and buildings. Its development was overseen by Ángela Alessio Robles in the 1980s.
• Faro del Comercio (Lighthouse of Commerce), another trademark of the city. This monument beams a green laser around the city at night.
• Barrio Antiguo (lit. Old neighborhood or old town) is the historical urban center of the city of Monterrey. There are preserved houses from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Nowadays bars, cafes, art galleries and restaurants can be found there. In November of every year the Festival Cultural Barrio Antiguo takes place with national and international artists and performers. In recent years this festival has been replaced with the Festival Internacional de Santa Lucia, which now takes place in September.
• The Museum of Modern Art is a post-modern Mexican architecture designed by Ricardo Legorreta with the objective of creating different ambiances for artists and visitors from all around the world.
• Monterrey's Inukshuk is one of only a handful of authentic examples to be found outside Canada of these stone monuments from the high Arctic. The sculpture was created in situ by the Inuit artist Bill Nasogaluak in 2007 and was a gift to the state of Nuevo León from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Canada.
• Fundidora Park is a large urban park that contains old foundry buildings, 120 hectares of natural ambiance, artificial lakes, playgrounds, alternative cinema (Cineteca), museum (Photo Collection, the State Plastic Arts Collection, Exhibits and Spaces), hotel, auditorium and convention center.
• Puente de la Unidad (sometimes called Puente Atirantado) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Santa Catarina River and joins San Pedro Garza García with Monterrey.
• The Alfa Planetarium is the first IMAX dome built in Latin America and fourth in the world.
• The Government Palace of Nuevo León is a pink marble of Neoclassical architecture where the governor's office is located.
• El Cerro del Obispado (Bishopric Hill) which includes a public, scenic lookout called Mirador del Obispado, a Monumental flag and the museum inside the Palacio del Obispado (the Bishopric Palace).
• ITESM, ITESM has two distinctive buildings CEDES which houses the administration of the ITESM nationwide system and the CETEC which houses the main computer classroom and other offices.
• Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery (Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma), with its 19th-century buildings and where the national Baseball Hall of Fame (Salón de la Fama) is located.
• The Cola de Caballo (Horse Tail) waterfall, on the mountains near the towns of Santiago and El Cercado, about 35 km (22 mi) south.
• On the way to the Cola de Caballo waterfall (Carretera Nacional going to Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas), in Santiago, the Presa Rodrigo Gomez or "La Boca" ("La Boca" Dam) lays nested between green hills.
• The Museum of Mexican History is the most representative and visited museum of the North of the Republic, fulfilling its purpose of spreading the historical content of the Mexican cultural heritage.
• LABNL Lab Cultural Ciudadano is a citizen laboratory located in the center of the city. This public space of collective creation develops projects for the common benefit of local communities.^{[citation needed]}

Media

Monterrey is an important producer and broadcaster of media and entertainment in Mexico. Grupo Multimedios operates 4 television channels in the city, and XHAW-TDT is the flagship of the near-national network Canal 6, which also airs as a cable network in the United States. National broadcasting networks Televisa and Azteca have local stations for all of their major channels, along with the non-commercial broadcasters such as Once and Canal 22 networks. The state of Nuevo León and UANL also maintain television stations.

Grupo Reforma, one of the most widely read news sources in Mexico originated in the city with the newspaper El Norte. Milenio Diario de Monterrey, published by Grupo Multimedios, is another newspaper of high distribution, daily printing local editions in the most important Mexican cities. Other local newspapers include El Porvenir, El Horizonte, and ABC. Northern Mexico's weekly business newspaper Biznews is also headquartered in Monterrey.

Monterrey also has several radio stations broadcasting news, music, entertainment, and culture for the city. The main radio broadcasting groups are Multimedios Radio, Grupo Radio Alegría and Nucleo Radio Monterrey.

Sports

The city hosted 8 matches during the 1986 FIFA World Cup and will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The FINA World Junior Swimming Championships were held in Monterrey in the summer of 2008 at the University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), after the completion of a world-class and FINA-approved Aquatic Center. Also the city wanted to bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the Mexican Olympic Committee refused to support it. Backed by a young people's movement, students of the universities of Monterrey formed the Monterrey 2014 Foundation with the purpose of hosting the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. In 2009, the Mexican Olympic Committee gave the bid to Guadalajara which later on withdrew the bid late January 2010. Monterrey was bidding for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. Again, in February 2012, the Mexican Olympic Committee chose Guadalajara as a candidate for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, but was eliminated by the International Olympic Committee to advance to the final round. Since then, the Foundation Monterrey Olympic City A.C., the new name of this group of young citizens, are working on a project bid for the 2023 Summer Youth Olympics and then apply for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Monterrey has two football teams in the Mexican league. The C.F. Monterrey, commonly known as the Rayados del Monterrey, uses the Estadio BBVA Bancomer, a facility sponsored by BBVA Bancomer and other important businesses. The Tigres UANL, owned by CEMEX, host matches at Estadio Universitario, on the main campus of the UANL. Both teams are related to the city on the derby, called Clásico Regiomontano. During the match, most of the city watches in bars, clubs, and family homes. It was proposed to build a stadium for both teams, the "Estadio Internacional Monterrey", but both teams rejected the idea. The project is still being promoted, but the UANL Tigres have yet to finish their stadium contract and the Rayados just inaugurated a new stadium of their own. Club de Fútbol Monterrey recently opened a new stadium with a capacity of 50,000. It was scheduled to be finished by 2014, named "Estadio de Fútbol Monterrey", but was inaugurated on August 2, 2015, in a match with Benfica. Rayados won, 3–0. Before the inauguration, the name was changed to Estadio BBVA Bancomer. It will remain the club's property for 50 years before becoming government property.

In addition, two professional indoor soccer teams were hosted in the past, the Monterrey La Raza, members of the Continental Indoor Soccer League and World Indoor Soccer League and the Monterrey Fury, members of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The city was awarded another franchise to begin play in the fall of 2007 in the MISL.

Baseball has a long history in the city, where it became the most popular sport during the early 20th century. Monterrey has been champion of the Little League World Series three times (1957, 1958 and 1997), and has been host of Major League Baseball games. The Sultanes de Monterrey are a Mexican League baseball team in the Northern Division. They have won the national title several times. The team was formed May 20, 1939, as Carta Blanca (a local beer brand, owned by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery which owned the team). The team was also known as the gray ghosts. Soon, they became one of the most important teams in the league, winning its first championship in 1943. The Sultanes play in the Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, the largest baseball stadium in Mexico.^{[citation needed]} In 2003, the city unsuccessfully attempted to buy (and relocate to Monterrey) the Montreal Expos franchise of Major League Baseball.

There are two professional basketball teams: Fuerza Regia that plays in the national league, Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, and the Monterrey Venom that plays in the minor league American Basketball Association. Fuerza Regia used to play at the Monterrey Arena and now is doing this at Gimnasio Nuevo León while the Monterrey Poison plays at the gymnasium of the ITESM. The city has hosted the Champ Car race in Fundidora Park from 2001 to 2005 and hosted the A1 Grand Prix of Nations in February 2006.

In 2004, Monterrey hosted the World Karate Federation Senior World Championships. In April 2004, Monterrey's Arena Monterrey became the first city to host WWE in Mexico. In 2007, Monterrey hosted the Women's WTBA World Tenpin Bowling Championships. The city has two college American football teams, the Auténticos Tigres UANL and the Borregos Salvajes (ITESM) that play in the National College League (ONEFA). There is also a local children's league called AFAIM. People can also find golf, fishing, camping, and extreme-sports outdoors near the city (bungee jumping at Cola de Caballo, rock-climbing, hiking, mountain bike). In particular there is international-level rock-climbing places like la Huasteca, Potrero Chico and many other canyons.

Starting 2009 the Monterrey Open has been held at Monterrey. It is a professional women's tennis tournament affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and is part of the International tournaments on the WTA Tour. The Monterrey Open was also a golf tournament on the U.S.-based second tier professional Nike Tour, later named the Nationwide Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, from 1993 to 2001. It was played at the Club Campestre in San Pedro Garza García, a suburb of Monterrey. In 2010, Monterrey hosted the International Ice Hockey Federation World U18 Championship at the Monterrey Ice Complex. Centauros Rugby Club Monterrey was founded in 2010 and is affiliated with the FMRU (Federacion Mexicana de Rugby).

Notable people

Monterrey has been home to many talented people. Some well-known names include Diego Balleza, a diver, and Melissa Barrera, an actress and singer. There are also famous actors like Erika Buenfil and Arturo Carmona, who is also a footballer. The city is known for its music scene with groups like Cartel de Santa and singers such as Paulina Goto and Sofía Reyes.

Other notable individuals include Cepillín, a famous clown, and Pato O'Ward, an IndyCar driver. There are also athletes like Aldo de Nigris, Antonio de Nigris, Giovani dos Santos, and Jonathan dos Santos, all footballers. The city has produced comedians such as Raúl Padilla and Adal Ramones, as well as artists like Mariana Rodríguez Cantú and Armando Sebastian.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Mexico

Monterrey has friendly partnerships with cities around the world. These partnerships began in different years, starting from 1992. Some of the cities partnered with Monterrey include:

• Barcelona, Spain (1992)
• Bethlehem, Palestine (1999)
• Bilbao, Spain (1993)
• Cape Town, South Africa (2016)
• Concepción, Chile (1997)
• Dallas, United States (1992)
• Guatemala City, Guatemala (1998)
• Hamilton, Canada (1993)
• Iași, Romania (1993)
• McAllen, United States (1999)
• Medellín, Colombia (1996)
• Monterrei, Spain (1999)
• Olongapo, Philippines (1993)
• Orlando, United States (2002)
• Rosario, Argentina (1993)
• San Antonio, United States (1953)
• San Salvador, El Salvador (1996)
• Shenyang, China (2015)
• Surabaya, Indonesia (2001)