Monterrey A City Leading The Way, Don’t Miss It.

Sitting here in the loft of a very notable Café at Fiesta San Agustin, admiring the view of the Sierra Madre mountains, listening to easy piano Jazz, and sipping on my Caramel Macchiato early on Saturday morning, is a perfect recipe for inspirational writing. So today I will dedicate my latest post to it happened in Monterrey.

It’s no secret that I like Monterrey the capital of the state of Nuevo Leon. El Estado de Progresso, (The State of Progress) as the state slogan declares is absolutely true. In Mexico, if there was an award given for progress then Monterrey would win hands down every time, since it’s one of the newest cities in Mexico, and pretty much since it was founded the city has been in a state of progress.

First I would like to elaborate about Monterrey as we call it, which is actually made up of several municipalities that I would like to divide into 2 groups. The 1st the industrial group is made up of Santa Catarina, Escobedo, Apodaca and Guadalupe. Of course for tourists there is very little to see or do in these municipalities, since it’s populated mostly by the working class who labor in these highly industrialized areas which are in turn home to many varied national and international companies. If you want to avoid the possibility of trouble than let’s say these are the areas you don’t go into alone like for example you don’t go into the Bronx in New Your City or so I’ve always heard.

San Nicolas de los Garza, San Pedro Garza Garcia, along with Monterrey then form the 2nd the tourism group and have a huge array of things to see and do. For shopping and night life definitely San Pedro is the place to go also known as Beverly Hills Mexico with Galerias Valle Oriente, Fiesta San Agustin and Paseo San Pedro malls all within 5 minutes of each other, as well as Calcada del Valle street shops and el centrito (micro city center) with many restaurants and night clubs, as well as great city views from Chipinque.

In Monterrey especially in downtown known as the Macro Plaza, you have the historical area, several excellent museums, parks, street shops closed to traffic, and my personal favorite Santa Lucia river walk, which is nice now, but will rival San Antonio’s river walk in 10 years, if not less. If you ever visited San Antonio you will know what I’m talking about. In the historic center you also have a different brand of nightly entertainment such as quaint pubs and bars.

Less important but still worth visiting is San Nicolas which has great mountain views, and some decent shopping and is mostly made up of middle/upper class residential areas. All have good to superb hotels represented by almost all the major chains. Also language is not a barrier as many young urban professional are fluent in English. They may be shy to speak it but they will understand it better than your Spanish.

All my posts will tend to provide a bit of a political opinion about my likes and dislikes of whatever the subject matter may be, and in this case Metropolitan Monterrey. What I like is its natural beauty since it’s a city growing in and around several lomas (hills) and mountains. This gives the city some great panoramic views. It also provides a lot of the things North Americans have come to expect from their urban centers which are cleanliness, organization, tranquility, and safety. Since Monterrey grew in part based on its steel manufacturing it is also known as the Pittsburgh of Mexico not withstanding that both cities also share a similar landscapes although Monterrey’s river Rio Santa Catarina is dry almost year round. In fact I’ve often stated that I feel more like I’m in the states in Monterrey and more at home in Mexico in San Antonio Texas. Indeed the police force for example are well equipped, and will fine you for excessive speed, and severely for things like DUI (driving intoxicated) so in terms of safety I feel relatively safe walking around in these Municipalities. Statistically Monterrey has been recognized as the safest city in Latin America, and the numbers show that it’s a safer city than most in North America cities. Here you will also find excellent medical facilities and universities, which turn out some of the best prepared professionals in Mexico.

The other thing that makes me feel connected to Monterrey goes back to the time of the founding fathers of Monterrey when Alberto do Canto failed to establish it as Santa Lucia which then gave its name to the new river walk, and later successfully by Luis Carvajal which were both Portuguese explorers conquistadores sponsored by the king of Spain under the Spanish Flag, and if you didn’t guess I’m also of Portuguese ancestry.
There is very little to complain about in Monterrey as far as Mexican cities go. Yes like every other large metropolitan area there are pockets of maddening traffic especially prevalent at rush hour, drivers do tend to drive like as if they are Michael Schumacher which probably explains why motor sport is very popular in the city to which they have hosted several events. The weather can also be a source of dissatisfaction for some, but here it is because of some of the extreme hot temperatures coupled with lots of humidity. This probably explains why another large segment of the industry found here is refrigeration and air conditioning. Oh and finally although as mentioned above the police force is well equipped their prime motivation to fine you is really to line their pockets since this is a source of income for them. So if you are guilty no matter where you are you got to pay.

In conclusion stay tuned to the "Sultana Del Norte" (Sultan of the North) as the city is also known. They have had a failed attempt to recruit a professional team (the Montreal Expos) in 2003, but have plenty of sporting events with two 1st division soccer teams, professional baseball, tennis, bowling and lots of concerts with most important acts performing here. Recently hosted Universal Forum of Cultures, as well as United Nation Conference on Financing for Development & OAS Special Summit of the Americas, are organizing to host the summer Olympics, and attract major league baseball, football, hockey, and basketball, as the venues are built or in the planning stages.


Monterrey a city leading the way, don’t miss it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterrey

Hope you find this information helpful, and your comments are always welcome.

Safe travels. Brought to you by Travel Guru @ No Nonsense Travel Advice.