Monterrey (Spanish pronunciation: [monte'rei] ( listen)), is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, in Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the base of many significant international corporations.
It is one of the wealthiest cities in Mexico with a GDP PPP of 142 billion dollars in 2017. Monterrey's purchase power parity is considerably higher than the rest of the country's at around US$35,500 against country's US$18,800. It is considered a Beta World City, cosmopolitan and competitive. Rich in history and culture, Monterrey is considered one of the most developed cities in the entire country and often regarded as the most "Americanized" city in Mexico.
As an important industrial and business center, the city is also home to an array of Mexican companies, including Grupo Avante, Lanix Electronics, Ocresa, CEMEX, Vitro, OXXO, [FEMSA] DINA S.A., Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery, and Grupo ALFA. Monterrey is also home to international companies such as Siemens, Accenture, Ternium, Sony, Toshiba, Carrier, Whirlpool, Samsung, Toyota, Babcock & Wilcox, Daewoo, British American Tobacco, Nokia, Dell, Boeing, HTC, General Electric, Gamesa, LG, SAS Institute, Grundfos, Danfoss, Qualfon and Teleperformance, among others.
Monterrey is located in northeast Mexico, at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental. The uninterrupted settlement of Monterrey began in 1596, with its founding by Diego de Montemayor. In the years after the Mexican War of Independence, Monterrey became an important business center. With the establishment of Fundidora Monterrey, the city has experienced great industrial growth.
Video Monterrey
History
Prehispanic history
Prior to the European foundation of the city, there was no established nation state, and the population instead consisted of some indigenous semi-nomad groups. Carved stone and cave painting in surrounding mountains and caves have allowed historians to identify four major groups in present-day Monterrey: Azalapas, Huachichiles, Coahuiltecos and Borrados.
Foundation
In the 16th century, the valley in which Monterrey is located was known as the Extremadura Valley, an area largely unexplored by the Spanish colonizers. The first expeditions and colonization attempts were led by conquistador Alberto del Canto, naming the city Santa Lucia, but were unsuccessful because the population was attacked by the natives and fled. The Spanish expeditionary of Sephardic Jewish descent, Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva negotiated with King Philip II of Spain to establish a territory in northern New Spain, which would be called Nuevo León, the "New Kingdom of León". In 1580 he arrived in the newly granted lands but it was not until 1582 that he established a settlement called San Luis Rey de Francia (named for Saint Louis IX of France) within present-day Monterrey. The New Kingdom of León extended westwards from the port of Tampico to the limits of Nueva Vizcaya ("New Biscay", now State of Chihuahua), and around 1,000 kilometers northwards. For eight years Nuevo León was abandoned and uninhabited, until a third expedition of thirteen families led by conquistador Diego de Montemayor founded Ciudad Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey ("Metropolitan City of Our Lady of Monterrey") on September 20, 1596, next to a water spring called Ojos de Agua de Santa Lucia, where the Museum of Mexican History and Santa Lucía riverwalk are now located.
Monterrey Coat of Arms is represented by an Indian throw an arrow to the sun in front of cerro de la silla mountain, this scene represent the natives ceremony, they daily form a row in front cerro de la silla and wait the sunrise to throw one arrows, each one to the sun. Monterrey was also the point of emigration from Europe, people from Portugal, Spain, France, Russia went to Monterrey seeing it as a good place to live in.
During the years of Spanish rule, Monterrey remained a small city, and its population varied from a few hundred to only dozens. The city was a place that facilitated trade between San Antonio (now in Texas), Tampico and from Saltillo to the center of the country. Tampico's port brought many products from Europe, while Saltillo concentrated the Northern Territories' trade with the capital, Mexico City. San Antonio was the key trade point with the northern foreign colonies (British and French).
After Mexican Independence (19th century)
In the 19th century, after the Mexican Independence War, Monterrey rose as a key economic center for the newly formed nation, especially due to its balanced ties between Europe (with its connections to Tampico), the United States (with its connections to San Antonio), and the capital (through Saltillo). In 1824, the "New Kingdom of León" became the State of Nuevo León, and Monterrey was selected as its capital. However, the political instability that followed the first 50 years of the new country allowed two American invasions and an internal secession war, during which the Governor of the State annexed the Coahuila and Tamaulipas states, designating Monterrey as the capital of the Republic of the Sierra Madre as it did before in 1840 for the Republic of the Rio Grande.
In 1846, the earliest large-scale engagement of the Mexican-American War took place in the city, known as the Battle of Monterrey. Mexican forces were forced to surrender but only after successfully repelling U.S. forces during the first few advances on the city. The battle inflicted high casualties on both sides, much of them resulting from hand-to-hand combat within the walls of the city center.
Many of the generals in the Mexican War against France were natives of the city, including Mariano Escobedo, Juan Zuazua (b. Lampazos de Naranjo, NL) and Jerónimo Treviño.
Contemporary history
During the last decade of the 19th century, the city of Monterrey was linked by railroad, which benefitted industry. It was during this period that José Eleuterio González founded the University Hospital which is now one of the best public hospitals in the northeast of Mexico, and serves as medical school support to the School of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL). Antonio Basagoiti and other citizens founded the Fundidora de Fierro y Acero de Monterrey, In 1890 the brewery company Cervecería Cuauthemoc one of the milestone local enterprises was founded and in 1900, a steel-producing company that accelerated the already fast industrialization of the city and became one of the world's biggest of its time. In 1986, several official games of the 1986 FIFA World Cup were hosted.
In 1988, Hurricane Gilbert caused great damage to the city; the Santa Catarina River overflowed, causing about 100 deaths and economic damage.
The city has hosted international events such as the 2002 United Nations Conference on Financing for Development with the participation of more than 50 heads of state and government, as well as other ministers and senior delegates from over 150 countries. The conference resulted in the adoption of the Monterrey Consensus, which has become one relevant reference point for international development and cooperation. In 2004, the OAS Special Summit of the Americas was attended by almost all the presidents of the Americas.
In 2007, Monterrey held the Universal Forum of Cultures with four million visitors. In 2008, Monterrey held the FINA World Junior Championships.
In 2010, Monterrey was hit by another damaging storm, Hurricane Alex. Alex was considered worse than Hurricane Gilbert, with record breaking rain bringing floods, and causing severe economic damage. Damage estimates totaled $1.885 billion USD, and in $16.9 billion MXN. After this event the city was under reconstruction and urban renewal. Recently, the project Nuevo León Development Plan 2030 was presented, along with some other metropolitan projects.
In August 2011 the city was the scene of a terror attack on a casino, in which more than 50 people were killed.
Maps Monterrey
Governance
Monterrey and its metropolitan area are municipalities each of them governed by a democratically elected Presidente Municipal (Municipal President) or Mayor for a period of three years. The political environment is one of civility and in the last decade political parties have been alternating office. The current Mayor of Monterrey is Adrian De la Garza Santos
The City Council of Monterrey (Cabildo de Monterrey) is an organ integrated by the Mayor, the Regidores and the Síndicos. The Mayor is the executor of the determinations of the City Council and the person directly in charge of the public municipal administration. The Regidores represent the community and their mission is to collectively define the city policies in all the subjects affecting it. The Síndicos are in charge of watching and legally defending the city interests, as well as in charge of watching the City Treasury status and the municipal patrimony.
The political parties with representation in the city are the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI, the National Action Party or PAN, the Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD, the Labor Party or PT, the Green Party, Citizens´ Movement, Socialdemocratic Party and Nueva Alianza.
Public safety
In 2005, Monterrey was ranked one of the safest cities in Mexico, and one of the two safest in 2006. However, since 2008 the city has experienced violence related to turf battles between warring drug cartels in Mexico. The year 2011 has been the most violent in history. Drug dealers are a major concern, although military offensives and police captures of important drug-cartel chiefs have weakened drug cartels trying to settle in the city. The city is safe to travel by day and night; nevertheless, precaution and common sense should be considered in certain districts at night.
There are two police departments guarding the city, the Police of the City of Monterrey (locally known as the Policía Regia), dependent of the municipal government, and the State Public Safety. The Policía Regia protects the city's downtown and main areas, while the State Public Safety is in charge of the farthest areas. Since the attack to the Casino Royale in 2011, the security has been reinforced by military and federal police.
Geography
The city of Monterrey is 540 metres (1,770 ft) above sea level and located in the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. The Santa Catarina River--dry most of the year on the surface but with flowing underground water--bisects Monterrey from East to West, thus separating the city into north and south halves, and drains the city to the San Juan River and Rio Grande.
Monterrey is adjoined to San Nicolás de los Garza, García and General Escobedo to the north; Guadalupe, Juárez and Cadereyta Jiménez to the east; Santiago to the south; and San Pedro Garza García and Santa Catarina to the west. Their combined metropolitan population is over 4,080,329 people.
Monterrey lies north of the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range. A small hill, the Cerro del Topo and the smaller Topo Chico are located in the suburbs of San Nicolás de los Garza and Escobedo. West of the city rises the Cerro de las Mitras (Mountain of the Mitres), which resemble the profile of several bishops with their mitres.
Cerro de la Silla (Saddle Mountain) dominates the view at the east of the city and is considered a major symbol of the city. Cerro de la Loma Larga--South of the Santa Catarina river--separates Monterrey from the suburb of San Pedro Garza García. At the summit of the Cerro del Obispado, north of the river, is the historic Bishopric Palace, site of one of the most important battles of the Mexican-American War.
Natural areas
The mountains surrounding Monterrey contain many canyons, trails and roads that cross deserts and forests. Suitable trails are available to the general public. The Sierra Madre Oriental mountains south of the city are included in the "Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey" (National Park), which was added to UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program of Biosphere Reserves in 2006.
Cumbres de Monterrey includes:
- Parque Ecológico Chipinque, which contains forested areas (oak and oak-pine mainly).
- La Estanzuela state park, about 7 km (4 mi) south of Monterrey, a river and forested area.
- La Huasteca, west of the city, in the municipality of Santa Catarina.
- El Potrero Chico Climbing Area, north east of the city, in the municipality of Hidalgo.
- Garcia Caves - these caves are situated in Garcia, Nuevo Leon and were discovered in 1843. Inside you can see amazing stalagmites formations and snail fossils.
- Matacanes - can be found in the municipality of Potrero Redondo in Santiago, Nuevo Leon. It is a 10 hrs walking tour in which you can find rappel descents, underground rivers, waterfalls, among other obstacles.
- Hydrophobia Canyon - similar to Matacanes with the only difference this is a 100% aquatic area.
- Cascade Cola de Caballo - a spectacular waterfall in Santiago Nuevo Leon, formed by water that runs down from the mountains of nearby Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey, impressive rock formations and sprawling forests.
Climate
Monterrey has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh). It is one of the warmest major cities in Mexico. Summers are generally hot, spring and fall temperate, and winters mild, with temperatures rarely below freezing. The average high in August is 35 °C (95 °F) and the average low is 23 °C (73 °F). The average January high is 21 °C (70 °F) and the average low in January is 8 °C (46 °F). Rainfall is scarce in winter, but more frequent during May through September.
Monterrey frequently experiences extreme weather changes; for example, sometimes reaching 30 °C (86 °F) in January and February, despite these being the coldest months. The most extreme weather changes in summer occur with rainfall, which changes extreme heat to cooler temperatures, and the temporary absence of the northern winds in winter, which can lead to abnormally high temperatures. Seasons are not well defined; the warm season may start in February and may last until September. In April and May 2011 temperatures reached 45 °C (113 °F) or more, causing fires and extreme heat in the city, despite the fact that these months are in spring. Snow is a very rare event, although an accumulation of 20 inches (51 cm) in 8 hours occurred in January 1967. The most recent snowfall was in December 2004, on Christmas Eve. Several sleet and ice events have occurred during January 2007, December 2009, January and February 2010 and February 2011, caused by temperatures around -5 °C (23 °F).
From June 30 to July 2, 2010, Monterrey was hit by the worst natural disaster in the city's history when Hurricane Alex delivered more than 584 millimetres (23 in) of rain around 72 hours, with areas reaching up to 1 metre (39 in) of rain during that same period, destroying homes, avenues, highways and infrastructure, and leaving up to 200,000 families without water for a week or more. The amount of water that fell is equivalent to the average precipitation for a year period. This was about 3-4 times as much rain as when Hurricane Gilbert arrived to the city on September 15, 1988. The death toll of Hurricane Alex was estimated to be around 20.
Cityscape
Monterrey has several neighborhoods. Most populous include:
- Independencia
- Cumbres
- Obispado
- Contry
- Mitras Centro, Norte & Sur
- San Jerónimo
- San Bernabé
- Valle Alto
- Del Paseo
- Valle
- Centrito
- Loma Larga
- San Agustin
- Satélite
- Vista Hermosa
- Anáhuac
- Florida
- Primavera
- Moderna
- Alta Vista
The commercial areas include Centro Carretera Nacional
Demographics
According to the national INEGI population census of 2010, of the total population of the state of Nuevo León, 87.3% lived in the Monterrey metropolitan area.
The Monterrey metropolitan area is the third most populous city in Mexico with more than 4 million. It is composed of the adjoined municipalities of Monterrey, Apodaca, Escobedo, García, Guadalupe, Santiago, Juárez, San Nicolás de los Garza, San Pedro Garza García, Santa Catarina and Salinas Victoria. Monterrey has the highest European heritage in Mexico, commonly French, Spanish, and German heritage. Monterrey suffered from the ''Pureza de Sangre'' law (purity of blood), in which Jews were not allowed entry into the principality of Nuevo Leòn.
Infrastructure
Monterrey is connected with the United States-Mexico border, the sea and inland Mexico through different roads, including the Carretera Nacional (also known as the Panamerican Highway) that runs from Nuevo Laredo to Mexico City and south, and the Carretera Interoceánica connecting Matamoros with the port of Mazatlán on the Pacific; it is also crossed by highways 40, 45, 57. The divided highway Monterrey-Saltillo-Matehuala-Mexico City is the main land corridor to interior Mexico.
There are several between-cities bus lines at the bus station downtown. There are arrivals and departures into deeper Mexico, to the U.S. border and into the United States.
Monterrey is also connected by at least three important railroad freight lines: Nuevo Laredo-Mexico City, Monterrey-Tampico, and Monterrey-Pacific (Mazatlán).
The city has a rapid transit system called Metrorrey, which currently has 2 lines. and a BRT called Ecovia.
The city is served by two international airports: General Mariano Escobedo International Airport (served by major international carriers and moving more than 6.5 million passengers in 2007) and Del Norte International Airport, a primarily private airport.
Monterrey is linked through frequent non-stop flights to many Mexican cities and to key United States hubs (Atlanta, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston-Intercontinental, JFK/New York, and Las Vegas). Monterrey is the second most important city for the operating routes of Aeroméxico.
Five airlines have their operational bases and headquarters in Monterrey, Volaris, Aeroméxico Connect, VivaAerobus and Magnicharters. There is no public transportation from Monterrey International Airport to the city. However, a cartel of taxi services link the airport with the city and charge around $20 US for a one-way ride to the city. From this airport, there is a bus shuttle to nearby Saltillo. Inter-city bus services run daily into the interior, as well as north to the US border and points beyond.
Health
Monterrey generally has a very highly ranked medical infrastructure with some internationally acclaimed hospitals, including three with Joint Commission accreditation. The Joint Commission is a private healthcare accreditation group. There are both public and private hospitals. The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) has two major regional hospitals in the city, the Specialties Regional Hospital # 33, the cardiac centre (Hospital #34), and the Gynecology and Obstetrics Regional Hospital, serving also the northeastern states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas. Several smaller IMSS hospitals can be found such as the Traumatology and Orthopedics Hospital and the General Hospital # 25. State government owns the Metropolitan Hospital, located in the suburb of San Nicolás de los Garza and the Hospital of the Children and Mother Care in Guadalupe suburb.
The Autonomous University of Nuevo León runs the public University Hospital, with a high-level shock-trauma unit and a specialized clinic for child cancer treatment. It is recognized as the best public hospital in the northeast of Mexico and the UANL School of Medicine as one of the best in the country. On the other hand, the Tecnológico de Monterrey runs the Hospital San José-Tec de Monterrey private hospital.
Monterrey has healthcare standards above the average for Mexico. It has several hospitals, including Hospital Cima (formerly Santa Engracia) of the International Hospital Corporation. Its convenient location, low prices and quality of medical care have made of Monterrey a very popular medical tourism destination for United States patients.
Monterrey Public Transportation Statistics
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Monterrey, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 85 min. 25% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 17 min, while 29.% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 9.5 km, while 25% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.
Economy
Monterrey is a major industrial center in northern Mexico, producing a GDP of 78.5 billion US dollars (2006). The city's GDP per capita in 2010 was 607,042 Mexican pesos or $46,634 US dollars. The city was rated by Fortune magazine in 1999 as the best city in Latin America for business and is currently ranked third best by the América Economía magazine.
The city has prominent positions in sectors such as steel, cement, glass, auto parts, and brewing. The city's economic wealth has been attributed in part to its proximity to the United States-Mexico border and economic links to the United States.
Industrialization was accelerated in the mid-19th century by the Compañia Fundidora de Fierro y Acero Monterrey, a steel-processing company. Today, Monterrey is home to transnational conglomerates such as Cemex (the world's third largest cement company), FEMSA (Coca-Cola Latin America, largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the world), Alfa (petrochemicals, food, telecommunications and auto parts), Axtel (telecommunications), Vitro (glass), Selther (leading mattress and rest systems firm in Latin America), Gruma (food), and Banorte (financial services). The FEMSA corporation owned a large brewery, the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery (Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma) that produces the brands Sol, Tecate, Indio, Dos Equis and Carta Blanca among others, in the beginning of the year Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery was sold to Dutch-based company Heineken. By the end of the same year, there were more than 13,000 manufacturing companies, 55,000 retail stores, and more than 52,000 service firms in Monterrey.
The metals sector, dominated by iron and steel, accounted for 6 percent of manufacturing GNP in 1994. Mexico's steel industry is centered in Monterrey, where the country's first steel mills opened in 1903. Steel processing plants in Monterrey, privatized in 1986, accounted for about half of Mexico's total steel output in the early 1990s.
Monterrey was ranked 94th worldwide and fifth in Latin America in terms of Quality of Life according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting (2006), and was ranked second in 2005 and fourth in 2006, according to America Economia.
Some of the shopping malls in the city include Paseo San Pedro, Paseo La Fe, Plaza Fiesta San Agustín, Galerías Monterrey, and Galerías Valle Oriente, which distribute goods and services to the Mexican population.
Education
Monterrey has an estimated 3.7% rate of illiteracy. In 2005, from an estimated 983,359 inhabitants above 6 years of age, 36,689 were illiterate.
In 2005, the city had 72 public libraries, with 298,207 books available, serving an estimated 478,047 readers.
The Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (Autonomous University of Nuevo León, UANL), is the third largest Mexican university and is ranked by the Reader's Digest-AC Nielsen Survey 2005 as the top public university in northeast Mexico. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria (University City), covers approximately 67,630,000 square metres (17,000 acres). The UANL system comprises 26 colleges (faculties), 22 graduate divisions, 24 high schools, 1 center of bilingual education and 3 technical high schools. The medical school of the UANL is considered one of the most advanced in Latin America.
Monterrey is also the headquarters of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies) which ranks after the National Autonomous University of Mexico at the 2013 QS World University Rankings, in which it was classified #291 in Engineering and Information Technology, #201 in Social Sciences and #279 at its overall ranking. It also holds a "QS Stars Rated for Excellence" of 5 stars.
The Universidad Regiomontana was founded in 1969 with the support of local leading multinational corporations such as Cemex, Alfa, Femsa, Gamesa, Protexa and CYDSA. It is a private educational institution offering university-preparatory school, undergraduate and graduate programs. It has agreements with more than 200 universities across the globe (such as the recent expanded agreement with Texas A&M International University). It is member of GATE (Global Alliance for Transnational Education), FIMPES (Federación de Instituciones Mexicanas Particulares de Educación Superior) and its administration holds an ISO 9001 Certification. The university is a nationally recognized institution, therefore degree equivalency is comparable to that of a regionally accredited university in the United States. The university is dedicated to educating students in an atmosphere of freedom and humanism, and providing students hands-on experience in their field of study. Its urban campus further stimulates the city's vibrant economy and attracts many working professionals who complement and enrich the academic experience.
The Universidad de Monterrey was founded by the religious congregations of the Sisters of Immaculate Mary of Guadalupe, the nuns of the Sacred Heart and the Marist and La Salle brothers, all of them supported by an association of catholic citizens. In December 2001 was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to deliver bachelor and master level educational programs.
Very notably, Monterrey is a city that practices Model United Nations. The most popular conferences in the High School level are MUNterrey, UdeMUN and IMMUNS. The activity started developing in the city in the late 90's due to American influence in the city. This activity is now practiced in most private schools in the city. Some of the reasons why Model UN is very popular among schools are English-Speaking, Public Speaking and international affairs.
The city is home to the Monterrey College of Music and Dance, which offers degrees in performing arts.
Culture
Cuisine
The most traditional dish from Monterrey is cabrito, kid goat cooked on embers based on the Jewish cuisine of the founders of the city. Other local dishes and customs that perhaps date back to the Crypto-Judaism of these founders 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. The traditional desserts, "glorias" and "obleas," made from goat milk are both traditional candies from Nuevo León.
Sports
Monterrey has two football teams in the Mexican league, the C.F. Monterrey, commonly known as the Rayados del Monterrey, which uses their brand new Estadio BBVA Bancomer, a facility sponsored by BBVA Bancomer and other important businesses. Then there are the Tigres UANL, owned by CEMEX, which hosts matches at Estadio Universitario, at the main campus of the UANL. Both teams are related to the city on the derby, called Clásico Regiomontano. This event is very important, during the actual match, most of the city is watching the game in its numerous bars and clubs as in family homes. There was a proposed project to build a stadium for both teams, the "Estadio Internacional Monterrey", but the idea was dropped out by both teams. The project is still being promoted, and the city is giving a positive view of it, 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 able to sit a crowd of 50,000. It was scheduled to be finished by 2014, named "Estadio de Fútbol Monterrey". But at the end, it inaugurated on August 2, 2015 in a match with the Benfica FC. Rayados won the match 3-0. Before the inauguration, the name was changed to Estadio BBVA Bancomer. It will remain the club's property for fifty years before becoming property of the government. The city hosted 8 matches during the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
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 current 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 US Major League Baseball games. In the Mexican Baseball League, the Sultanes de Monterrey are one important team every season and have won the national title several times. In the year 2003, the city unsuccessfully attempted to buy (and relocate to Monterrey) the Montreal Expos franchise of the US Major League Baseball. The Sultanes de Monterrey, are a Mexican League baseball team based in Monterrey, Mexico. They are in the Northern Division. 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.
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 (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 is held at Monterrey. This is a professional women's tennis tournament. The event is affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and is part of the International tournaments on the WTA Tour.
In 2010, Monterrey hosted the International Ice Hockey Federation World U18 Championship at the Monterrey Ice Complex.
As for the Rugby in 2010, Centauros Rugby Club Monterrey is founded which is currently affiliated with the FMRU (Federacion Mexicana de Rugby).
Contemporary music
Starting in the 1960s, Monterrey has been known for "Norteño" music which is the trademark music of the city, bands like Ramon Ayala, Pesado, Duelo and other Mexican "Regional" music bands perform at the different clubs in the city. 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, Jumbo, Division Minuscula, Genitallica, 3Ball MTY, The Warning, GAMA, Los Claxons. The song "Los Oxidados" by Plastilina Mosh opened the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Landmarks
- Santa Lucía Riverwalk, an 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, one of the world's largest squares, is the cultural and administrative heart of the city featuring remarkable monuments, green areas and buildings.
- Faro del Comercio (Lighthouse of Commerce), another trademark of the city. This monuments 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 the old houses from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Nowadays bars, cafes, art galleries and restaurants can be found there. On November of every year the Festival Cultural Barrio Antiguo took place with national and international artists and performers, but now is 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 renowned 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.
Broadcasting and media
Monterrey is an important producer and broadcaster of media and entertainment in Mexico. Grupo Multimedios operates 4 television channels in the city, one of them broadcasting also to the Mexican states of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Chihuahua and Guanajuato, and to several cities in the United States. The national commercials Televisa and Azteca maintain local stations for all of their major networks, along with the non-commercial Once and Canal 22 networks. The state of Nuevo León and UANL also maintain television stations.
Grupo Reforma, one of the most widely read newsources 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.
The free-to-air TV channels broadcasting in the city:
International development
The 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures was an international cultural event held in Monterrey from September 20 to December 8, 2007.
The FINA World Junior Swimming Championships were held in Monterrey in the summer of 2008 at the University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), after finishing building 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.
Notable people
International relations
Twin towns - Sister cities
Monterrey is twinned with:
- Ho Chi Minh City (2013)
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Monterrey
References
Notes
Further reading
External links
- Government of the City of Monterrey
Source of article : Wikipedia
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