Reynosa () is a border city in the northern part of the state of
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
, in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It is also the
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
seat of
Reynosa Municipality
Reynosa is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It includes the city of Reynosa. In population, both the municipality and the city (locality) are the largest in their respective categories in the state of Tamaulipas.
Towns a ...
.
The city is located on the southern bank of the
Rio Grande in the international
Reynosa–McAllen Metropolitan Area
Reynosa–McAllen, also known as McAllen–Reynosa, or simply as Borderplex, is one of the six international conurbations along the Mexico–U.S border. The city of Reynosa is situated in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, on the southern bank of t ...
, directly across of the
Mexico-U.S. border from
Hidalgo, Texas.
As of 2013, the city of Reynosa has a population of 672,183.
If the
floating population is included in the census count, the population can reach up to approximately 1,000,000.
History
Reynosa was founded on 14 March 1749 with 297 inhabitants by Carlos Cantú under the command of
José de Escandón y Helguera the Count of
Sierra Gorda
The Sierra Gorda () is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí. Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from ...
. But due to flooding in the area on the 4 July 1802, they decided to move five miles to the east keeping the same margin between them and the Rio Grande. It was not until 1926 that the state government recognized Reynosa as a city.
Reynosa was first named ''Villa de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Reinosa''. The pioneers of the Villa proceeded from El Nuevo Reino de León, especially from Monterrey, Cadereyta, Cerralvo and El Pilón. The town was composed of 50 families. It was given the name of Reynosa as a tribute to the
town with the same name in Spain, the birthplace of the
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
de Güemes y Horcasitas.
Current
Reynosa extends across 3,156.34 sq kilometers (1218.66 sq. miles), representing 3.7 per cent of the
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
territory. Today it is the location of several satellite U.S. companies doing business to take advantage of low labor rates and industry incentives.
On 18 September 2012, an explosion at the nearby
Pemex gas plant killed 30 and injured 46 people. Pemex Director Juan Jose Suarez said that there was "no evidence that it was a deliberate incident, or some kind of attack".
In 2017, it was described as a major hotspot in the
Mexican Drug War, as a result of the internecine wars between the
Gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...
and
Los Zetas
Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscr ...
drugs cartels.
Geography
Reynosa is the largest and most populous city in the state of Tamaulipas, followed by
Matamoros,
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Lar ...
,
Ciudad Victoria
Ciudad Victoria () is the seat of the Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the northeast of Mexico at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It borders the municipality of Güémez to t ...
,
Tampico
Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...
, and
Río Bravo
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
. In addition, the international
Reynosa–McAllen Metropolitan Area
Reynosa–McAllen, also known as McAllen–Reynosa, or simply as Borderplex, is one of the six international conurbations along the Mexico–U.S border. The city of Reynosa is situated in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, on the southern bank of t ...
counts with a population of 1,500,000 inhabitants, making it the
third largest metropolitan area in the Mexico–U.S. border after
San Diego–Tijuana and
El Paso–Juárez
El Paso–Juárez, also known as Juárez–El Paso, the Borderplex or Paso del Norte, is a transborder agglomeration, on the border between Mexico and the United States. The region is centered on two large cities: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexic ...
. Reynosa is the
30th largest city in Mexico and anchors the largest metropolitan area in Tamaulipas.
In 2011, Reynosa was the fastest growing city in the state of Tamaulipas, and was among the top five fastest growing cities in Mexico.
The city is about south of
McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...
.
[Sanchez, Claudio.]
Child Migrants Settle Uneasily In The Big Easy
Archive
. National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
. September 11, 2014. Retrieved on September 7, 2015.
Climate
Reynosa has a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''BSh'') with short, mild winters and hot summers.
Winters are mild and dry with a January high of and a low of although temperatures can fall below .
Summers are hot with a July mean of and temperatures can exceed anytime from May until August.
[ The average annual precipitation is , with most of it being concentrated in the summer months though the months May and June are the wettest.
]
Notable people
*Abraham Ancer
Abraham Ancer (; born 27 February 1991) is a Mexican-American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and is currently playing on the LIV Golf tour. He won the 2018 Emirates Australian Open and the 2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational fo ...
– Professional Golfer
* Xavier Baez – Footballer
*Jorge Cantú
Jorge Luís Cantú Guzmán (born January 30, 1982) is an American-born Mexican professional baseball infielder for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cincin ...
– Major League Baseball player
*Christian Chávez
José Christian Chávez Garza (, born August 7, 1983), most often known as Christian Chávez is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor, best known for his role as Giovanni Méndez López in the telenovela '' Rebelde'' and its spin-off pop grou ...
– Singer and actor
*Laura Flores
Laura Aurora Flores Heras (born August 23, 1963) is a Mexican actress, hostess and singer.
Biography
Laura Flores had a hit single "El Alma No Tiene Color" ("The Soul Has No Color"), which was a duet with Marco Antonio Solís taken from the ...
– Actress, hostess and singer
* Jaime Garcia – Major League Baseball player
* Néstor Garza – Former WBA World Super Bantamweight Champion
* José María Cantú Garza – Geneticist
* Vidal Medina – Playwright and theatre director
* Maki Esther Ortiz - Senator
* Los Relámpagos del Norte - Musical duo
*Komander
Komander (born December 15, 1998 in Reynosa, Tamaulipas) is a Mexican Lucha libre, luchador, a masked professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently working with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He made his debut for the promotion in S ...
- Wrestler
* Beto Quintanilla - Artist
* Sergio Peña Solís - Mexican drug lord (Los Zetas Cartel
Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscr ...
)
Transportation
Reynosa is served by the General Lucio Blanco International Airport
General Lucio Blanco International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional General Lucio Blanco, ), also known as Reynosa International Airport (), is an international airport located in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, near the Mexico–United States ...
, which has flights to multiple important Mexican cities on six airlines, some serving it with aircraft such as Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
and Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the famil ...
.
In addition, the McAllen Miller International Airport
McAllen International Airport is in McAllen, in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a small hub ''primary commercial service'' airport.
Runways
McAllen Inter ...
in McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...
, is also relatively close and is served by airlines like Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America.
Allegiant was founded in 1 ...
, American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and United
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Tamaulipas
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
Gobierno de Reynosa
{{Authority control
Populated places in Tamaulipas
Mexico–United States border crossings
Lower Rio Grande Valley
Populated places established in 1749
1740s establishments in Mexico
1749 establishments in North America
Tamaulipas populated places on the Rio Grande