México-Monterrey Aida Carolina Medina Gómez 685549 LNI
Monterrey: Monterrey is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It has the second largest metropolitan area according to area in Mexico, after Mexico City, and is the country's third most populous city after Mexico City and Guadalajara. Monterrey is located in northeast Mexico, at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental. The recorded history of Monterrey starts 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 experienced industrial growth. Monterrey is an important industrial and business center, serving as operation host for an array of Mexican companies, including PEMEX, CEMEX, Vitro, Osel Paints, OXXO, and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, formerly owned by FEMSA and bought by Heineken.Monterrey is also home to international companies such as Carrier, Whirlpool, Daewoo, General Electric, Gamesa, LG and Teleperformance, among others.
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 oakpine 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.
Climate: Monterrey is known for its hot weather in summer reaching 35 C (95 F) or more for three consecutive months, being one of the warmest major cities in Mexico. Monterrey has a semi-arid climate. Its weather, is temperate in spring and autumn, is extremely hot in the summer, it can reach 35 C (95 F) and overnight lows of 23 C (73 F) and sometimes it can reach 25 C (77 F); the average high reaches 35 C (95 F) in August, with an average low of 23 C (73 F). Winters are mild. The average January high is 16 C (61 F) and the average low in January is 7 C (45 F); however, temperatures below freezing are rare. Rainfall is scarce, but more prominent during May through September. Monterrey is very extreme in weather change, sometimes reaching 25 C (77 F) in January and February, the coldest period, this is seen frequently. Most extreme weather change occurs with rainfall in summer, which changes extreme heat to cooler temperatures, and the absence of northern winds in winter, sometimes causing
Demographics The city has grown from a population of 7,000 in 1798 to 1,133,814 in 2005, of which 559,877 were men, and 573,837 were women. According to the national INEGI population census, of the total population of the state of Nuevo León, 27% lived in the municipality of Monterrey. [ The Monterrey metropolitan area is the third most populous city in Mexico with more than 3.7 million. It is composed of the adjoined municipalities of Apodaca, Escobedo, García, Guadalupe, Juárez, San Nicolás de los Garza, San Pedro Garza García, and Santa Catarina.
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. Because of its strong steel industry, it is often called "the Pittsburgh of Mexico". The city has prominent positions in sectors such as steel, cement, glass, auto parts, and brewing. In 1999 Fortune magazine recognized Monterrey as the best city in Latin America in which to do business. The magazine attributes its economic wealth in part to its proximity with the United States-Mexican border and mentions Monterrey as a significant city with
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), Alfa (petrochemicals, food, telecommunications and auto parts), Axtel, 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 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 Dutchbased 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
Monterrey was ranked 94 th 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 Economía. Some of the shopping malls in the city include Paseo San Pedro, 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 illiterates. In 2005, the city had 72 public libraries, with 298,207 books available, serving an estimated 478,047 readers. Monterrey is also the headquarters of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies, ITESM or "Tec de Monterrey").