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
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
. It borders the municipality of
Güémez to the north,
Llera to the south,
Casas Municipality to the east, and the municipality of
Jaumave to the west. The city is located from
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
and from the
US - Mexico border. Ciudad Victoria is named after the first
president of Mexico,
Guadalupe Victoria.
In 1825 Ciudad Victoria became the state capital. It is home to higher education institutions such as the
Autonomous University of Tamaulipas
The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in es, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, UAT) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and ...
and the Technological Institute of Ciudad Victoria.
General Pedro José Méndez International Airport is located on the outskirts of the city. As a state
bureaucratic centre, it is the seat of the three political powers and has sites of
tourist and
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
interest.
Pre-foundation
The Viceroy of New Spain,
Juan Francisco Güémez and Horcasitas on Saturday, September 3, 1746, founded a
colony in the ''Seno Mexicano'' (West coast of the
Gulf of Mexico), dismembering the
New Kingdom of León. Two years later, on Wednesday December 25, 1748,
José de Escandon and Helguera founded
Villa de Llera, part of the Late Colonization of
New Santander, named after
Santander, the capital of
Cantabria, Spain.
Villa de Santa María del Agua de Agüayo was founded on October 6, 1750.
History

Villa de Santa María de Aguayo was named after the wife of the first Count of
Revillagigedo Don
Juan Francisco de Güémez y Horcasitas, named Doña Antonia Cepherina Pacheco de Padilla, a native of
Aguayo, Province of
Santander, Spain.
The settlement was founded by José de Escandon and Helguera,
Count of Sierra Gorda, during his second campaign of the Pacification and Colonization Plan of the coast of the Mexican Seno, later called
New Santander, today
Tamaulipas.
The
Spanish settlement open to the plain to the
East and surrounded to the west by the
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
, a strategic location that also received breezes from the north and east.
The town was administered by Captain D. Juan de Astigárraga, who drew up and carried out the first irrigation works. His work led to an increase in agriculture and, subsequently, a rapid rise in population.
In
religious matters, the settlement was under the command of a
Franciscan named Antonio Javier de Aréchaga, who was also in charge of the mission of
San Felipe, which was founded with 150
indigenous people. That
Catholic mission progressed more than those previously founded, because in the lands that were designated, they were opened by local
Native Americans.
Captain Astigárraga died three years after the Villa de Agüayo was founded, and Escandon then conferred the appointment of captain to replace him in the command, Don Miguel de Córdoba.
Under the administration of the new captain, the Villa de Agüayo continued to progress, and when its statistics were formed in 1757, the settlement had in its farmhouse and estates located in its demarcation more than 1000 inhabitants who had 8600 heads of cattle and horses, and 4100 of smaller cattle.
The
noble and
military of
Belgian descent, José de Craywinckel, when he visited the settlement, proposed to the Viceroy the reactivation of the Olazarán mine, which was abandoned in the Boca de Caballeros, since this measure would tend to give the settlement greater impetus in its prosperity, creating new interests and attracting new
neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
by this means, it being possible to expect that Villa de Aguayo would soon become one of the main populations of the new colony.
The nobleman also proposed to the
Viceroy at that time, to undertake a campaign against rebellious Native Americans of the Síghue, who had their
rancherías by the ravines and valleys of the
Sierra Madre and in defines of their land harassed the shepherds and estates of the demarcation of Aguayo, arriving in his raids to join with the
Janambre
The Janambre (Xanambre) were an indigenous people of Tamaulipas in northeast Mexico. They were the historical enemies of the Pison (Pisones).
Language
The Janambre language, now extinct, is unattested. William Bright (1955) thought the Janambre ...
people in the attacks they undertook against the nearby Spanish settlements of
Jaumave and
Llera.
By this date some masonry houses were begun to be built in Aguayo, the materials for the construction of a Catholic church were gathered and large sugarcane
plantations were established in the surrounding lands. The neighbourhood of this town also carried out the salt trade that was going to be collected from the
saltworks of San Fernando and la Marina, with the villages of the interior of Charcas and the southern part of the
New Kingdom of León.
The Spanish settlement of Villa de Aguayo was distributed in perfect
grid form, and in its second settlement a few leagues east of its foundation, changing by the constant claim of the Native American tribes of Janambres and Pisones. The settlement was from the beginning the geographical central node communicating with all the settlements of New Santander.
As was the Spanish provision, land was designated for the construction of the Catholic Church, the Public Square, the seat of the Captaincy of the Civil - Military and
Trade Authority, spaces that over time are known as the Historical Centre, formerly known as Plaza "Hidalgo", "Plaza de Armas" or "Plaza de Catedral". The settlement was dispersed and composed of 58 families with 409 people.
The river that crossed the settlement is the so-called San Marcos, which has an irrigation ditch, whose abundance of water gave the population all the irrigation it needs for the subsistence of its inhabitants, irrigation of plots and other sowing of
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
, fostering also the cultivation of the
cane. The quality of the land was adequate for all fruits typical of the
region and facilitated the breeding and conservation of
livestock.
Its location was one of the most advantageous in favour of the
Royal Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
, both for being the first transit of the colony, and because its
crops and livestock promise great movement, evidencing its growth at the beginning of its founding, which was 11 families.
Colonial period

Unlike the modes of settlement that were commonly raised during the
vice-regal period in New Spain, which followed a
missionary and
presidial The presidial courts (french: présidiaux; singular ) were judicial courts of the Kingdom of France set up in January 1551 by Henry II of France with jurisdiction between the ''parlement
A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, ...
structure, the new populations designed by
José de Escandon had marked differences in the
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
,
social,
political and
economic spheres.
The new populations that Escandon developed in the territory that is now known as Tamaulipas, called in the eighteenth-century New Santander, are based on ideas that have as a reference a way of exercising control over the
development of the city and the territory, through its
economic production. The direct consequences of this form of
urban design marked in New Spain the opening to a new way of consolidating a border territory.
José de Escandon y Helguera, developed cattle
ranching
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
extensively and in a limited way
agriculture, since for the most part "temporary" was practiced, and
commerce also developed. The colonized territory was integrated and populated up to the
Rio Grande
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 ...
, configuring the map of what is now Tamaulipas.
In addition, Escandon proposed the strategic location arrangements between each new population, a day away, which would facilitate that in cases of reoccurrence of attacks by the natives, could support each other. These are the characteristics that made the colonization of the New Santander transcendent; Although the reality did not always reflect the initial spirit of colonization, the model developed by José de Escandon proposed a new form of territorial occupation that had not been seen until the 18th century in New Spain.
Post-colonial period
After the
Mexican Independence New Santander was renamed "Tamaulipas
", and the
State Congress decrees on April 20, 1825, to elevate the Villa de Aguayo to the category of "City", seat of the
Three Powers and
Capital of the State, approving the name of Victoria, in honour of the
first President of Mexico,
Guadalupe Victoria. "The Capitality Decree, Title of City and Name" is published by mandate of the
First Congress, signed and sealed by Enrique Camilo Suárez, Vice
Governor of Tamaulipas.
In this Capital, the
Governor of the State, Lucas Fernández, on May 4 issued a decree to reject the invasion by order of the
Spanish monarchy. The attempt of reconquest by the
Spanish vanguard army commanded by General
Brigadier Isidro Barradas, was frustrated on September 11, 1829, in
Tampico, Tamaulipas; At the head of the national forces were the Generals:
Felipe de la Garza Cisneros
Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal.
Noteworthy pe ...
,
Manuel Mier and Terán and
Antonio López de Santa Anna.
Battle of Tampico (1863) was one of the few battles against a
foreign intervention in Mexico where the
invaders
''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records.
Track listing
All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted.
Reception
Wr ...
have surrendered against the
Mexican forces.

In 1846, in the
Mexican–American War, Ciudad Victoria was occupied on December 25 by troops from the United States and was liberated at the end of the war.
In 1898,
President Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
sponsored the operation of the urban animal-drawn
railroad that ran down Hidalgo Street to the Train Station, and a branch to the Hacienda de Tamatán, properties of Colonel Manuel González Jr. and that same year the Paseo Méndez was founded, inspired by
Parisian street
Champs-Élysées.
20th century

The city began its industrial transformation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the administration of Guadalupe
Mainero Juárez which attracted
investment
Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort.
In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
s and
improvements to the city.
On September 15, 1910, the monument to the Heroes of
Independence was inaugurated, in the "Plaza Colón" in front of the railway station "La Recoletta". In 1917 he was shot in the wall of the Municipal
Pantheon, General
Alberto Carrera Torres, having been tried by an
illegal
Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body.
Illegal may also refer to:
Law
* Violation of law
* Crime, the practice of breaking the cr ...
War Council and buried in the
French Pantheon, and in 1923 General César López de Lara took the
governorship of the state of Tamaulipas.
The Victorense Casino AC, formerly known as the social and mutualist centre of the city, was founded in 1929. The urban and
architectural
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
structure of the city is defined in its buildings, buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The creation of the
Federal Highway 85 and other
road works connect the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
with the Mexico–U.S. border and the
centre of the country. In 1939
Eng. Marte R. Gómez inaugurated the Olympic-type
Stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
that nowadays bears his name and where the team plays
Correcaminos Football Club.
In 1941 the "El Petaqueño" Airport, now called the "General Pedro José Méndez"
International Airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
, began operations.
In 1951 the new
Government Palace was inaugurated, built in the building where the Old
Theatre "Casino" or "Juárez" was, the new "Juárez" theatre was inaugurated in 1957; The government tower known as "Crystal Tower" exists in the capital since 1980.
21st century

The early morning of July 1, 2010, the city was hit by
Hurricane Alex whose eye passed only a few kilometres between Ciudad Victoria, causing destruction in
public lighting
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
,
billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
s,
traffic lights and an infinity of trees, as well as suspension of
energy services electricity and
drinking water for more than 24 hours.
In 2010, the Governmental Complex "Bicentennial Park" came into operation, which today concentrates most of the
government apparatus
Apparatus may refer to:
*Technical term for a body of the Soviet and post-Soviet governments (see Apparatchik)
*Machine
*Equipment
* Critical apparatus, the critical and primary source material that accompanies an edition of a text
* "Apparatus" (s ...
of the state of Tamaulipas. In 2016, the restoration of the old Casa Filizola, now the Pinacoteca Tamaulipas and the main railway station of the capital, began.
Coat of arms
The
coat of arms was created on December 18, 1971, at the initiative of Professor Vidal Martínez.
The coat of arms has the following characteristics: On the side the map of the state that represents that Victoria is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
, the
balance, the
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
and the
parchment represent the
three powers; the book symbolizes
education and the
torch the light of
freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
, the date is the historical antecedent of the foundation, the landscape symbolizes the
geographic environment of the
region upon the arrival of the
founders
Founder or Founders may refer to:
Places
*Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium
* Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...
,
henequen
Henequen (''Agave fourcroydes'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is reportedly naturalized in Italy, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Cayman Islands and ...
plants represent agricultural production.
Politics

The municipality was recognized as the official capital of the
state of Tamaulipas, and named Ciudad Victoria in 1825, and the head of the municipality of Victoria is finally assigned the seat of the
Legislative,
Executive and
Judicial powers
Powers may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Powers'' (comics), a comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
** ''Powers'' (American TV series), a 2015–2016 series based on the comics
* ''Powers'' (British TV series), a 200 ...
.
In state matter, the seat of the organisms and dependencies of the
government of the state and the official residence of the
governor of the state are in Ciudad Victoria.
The current governor is
Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca, of the
National Action Party, for the 2016-2022 administration.

The municipality is administered by the Ciudad Victoria City Council, comprised by the
Municipal President
A ''presidente municipal'' (English: "municipal president") is the chief of government of municipios in Mexico. This title was also used in the Philippines under the Spanish and American colonization; it is comparable to a mayor of the town or city ...
, being the holder
María del Pilar Gómez Leal
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
, of the
National Action Party as Substitute Municipal President of Victoria for the administration 2018-2021 since October 2, 2020.
It consists of two
syndic
Syndic (Late Latin: '; Greek: ' – one who helps in a court of justice, an advocate, representative) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a universi ...
s, fourteen
council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
members and delegates. Among the tasks of the municipal administration are: The Municipal Statistical Register,
civil protection,
health,
alcoholic beverages regulations,
drinking water services,
drainage and
sewerage
Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drainage, drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, a ...
, as well as
public safety, traffic and roads.
According to the
National Electoral Institute (INE) and the State Electoral Institute of Tamaulipas (IEETAM), the
voter registry is: 252,852 inhabitants,
belongs to the 15th electoral district of the state and fifth federally of the state of
Tamaulipas.
Demography
Population

According to the
National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in the
Population and
Housing Count conducted in 2010, Ciudad Victoria had until that year a population of 346,029 inhabitants of which: 164,801 are women and 157,152 are men.
The municipality of Victoria concentrates 94.7% of the population in its
municipal seat, the rest is considered rural
and has experienced a
growth rate of 2.04%.
In 2010, CONAPO estimated, based on INEGI, a level of
marginalization of 36.7% as very low, 25% low level and from 1.3% to 0.3% with levels between high and very
high marginalization.

According to the INEGI
intercensal survey, in 2015, 52% of the population of Ciudad Victoria were women and the
population density was 211 people per square kilometre.
Ciudad Victoria has one of the
highest per capita murder rates in the world.
Religion
As for religion, 90% of its population declares itself
Christian Catholic
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is an Old Catholic denomination in Switzerland. This denomination is part of the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic).
Recent developments
In 1871 the Zürich Catholic community planned to build a chu ...
, while 5%
Christian Protestants, 2%
Jews, and 3% other religion or none being the most Catholic city of State. On December 12, various parties and events are held in the
Sanctuary in honour of the
Virgin of Guadalupe, the celebration includes dances of
matachines,
folk verbena and
pyrotechnic games.
Education
Ciudad Victoria has a wide range of
educational institutions, from preschool to graduate level. The level of
illiteracy has dropped and the level of education at the top level is 3.7% of the population.
In the city there are 57 special education schools;
basic education includes 46 pre-school schools, 168 pre-schools, 175 primary schools, 55 secondary schools; the upper middle level has 46 baccalaureates and 3 middle level professionals. There are 37
higher education institutions, including educational training centres such as ITACE and several special education schools.

The BPCE library "Marte R. Gómez" is the most well-known
library in the centre of the city. The state capital has several libraries, among which are: The Adaberto J. Arguelles Municipal Public Library and Ernesto Higuera, the Public Library Tamaulipas Municipal Cultural Centre, the Municipal Public Library Youth Coexistence Centre 2, the Municipal Public Library of Ciudad Victoria, the Municipal Public Library FOVISSSTE-SEP, in addition to the Municipal Public Library Tamaulipas Regional History Museum and the Paul Harris Municipal Public Library.
Higher education
The city is the main headquarters of the
Autonomous University of Tamaulipas
The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in es, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, UAT) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and ...
(UAT), founded in 1950, a public institution with more than 40,000 students in upper secondary, higher and postgraduate levels.
The Technological Institute of Ciudad Victoria (ITCV) was the first
technological institution in the centre of the state, began its activities in 1975. It has more than 3,113 students, offers
undergraduate,
engineering and
postgraduate careers.
La Salle Victoria University (ULSA) is a private Catholic institution with students in the upper and upper secondary levels; It covers fields of engineering, science and
humanities, has a
health campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...
and learning hospital.
In 2007, the
Polytechnic University of Victoria
Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences.
Polytechnic may also refer to:
Educatio ...
(UPV) was inaugurated, part of the
Technological and
Polytechnic
Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences.
Polytechnic may also refer to:
Educat ...
Universities of Mexico, located within the TECNOTAM Scientific and
Technological Park
A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
. It offers engineering,
postgraduate and
distance education.
The Centre for Research and Advanced Studies (
CINVESTAV) of the
National Polytechnic Institute has an Information
Technology laboratory in its Tamaulipas unit, within the
TECNOTAM Park.
Among the schools of teacher training has: The Benemérita Normalized Federalized School of Tamaulipas (BENFT), the Normal School of Tamaulipas (ESNT) and the Normal School of Educators (ENFE).
Other institutions of higher education are: The University of the Valley of Mexico (UVM), the Vizacaya University of the Americas, are universities in the private sector. There are also the Institute of Sciences and Higher Studies of Tamaulipas (ICEST), the National Pedagogical University (Mexico) (UPN), the University of North Tamaulipas (UNT), the Centre for University Studies (CEU).
The Miguel Aleman University is a
private institution of
superior
Superior may refer to:
*Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind
Places
*Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state
*Lake ...
and middle level that was established in the state capital in September 2005 after twenty-five years since its founding in 1981, of
philanthropic and
humanitarian
Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
principles offering university studies in accounting, economic areas, social, and educational.
Infrastructure and transport

There are 32
urban routes that circulate in the city and nearby
ejidos in the surroundings, being
mini-buses and buses the most used
public transport, a
taxi service
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
, and
school transport of the main universities, and The Pedro J. Méndez Airport, located at the outskirts of the city. Almost 59% of the urban roads have some type of
paving, where the downtown sector of the city covers 95% of the roads.
The city has a
bus station and terminals of several companies. The usual destinations of the bus station are
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
,
Tampico,
Altamira,
North of Veracruz,
Tamazunchale
Tamazunchale is a town and municipality in the state of San Luis Potosí, central Mexico. In 2010 the area of the municipality was and the population was 96,820. The population of the town was 24,562.
Etymology
The name Tamazunchale (Tam-uxum- ...
, Valles,
Reynosa,
Saltillo,
Matamoros,
Mante and
Soto la Marina.
The main avenues and most of the traffic are Av. Alberto Carrera Torres,
Francisco I. Madero Ave.,
Emilio Portes Gil Boulevard, Blvr.
Adolfo López Mateos, Av. Rotaria, Av. Carlos Adrián Aviles, Calzada Gral. Luis Caballero, Práxedis Balboa Boulevard, as well as the road to
Soto la Marina. The federal highways Mexico 81 and Mexico 80 connect with
Altamira,
Tampico and
Madero. The city also has
pedestrian bridges
A pedestrian separation structure is any structure that removes pedestrians from a roadway, street or railway track. This creates a road junction where vehicles and pedestrians do not interact.
This can be considered a type of grade separatio ...
, six bridges for cars that cross the San Marcos River and a road hump to the west of the city.
There is an airport serving the city,
Ciudad Victoria International Airport
General Pedro José Méndez International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional General Pedro José Méndez, ), also known as Ciudad Victoria International Airport (), is an international airport located in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. I ...
, which, as of 2021, was being served by
Aeromar
Transportes Aeromar, S.A. de C.V, doing business as Aeromar, is a Mexican airline that operates scheduled domestic services in Mexico and international services to the United States, Guatemala, and Honduras. Its main base is Mexico City Internat ...
on the passenger airline side and
Aeronaves TSM on the
cargo airline side.
Local media
The city has
telegraph offices (which provide
banking services, collection of third parties,
telegram services,
money transfer services) and
post offices to send and receive
parcel
Parcel may refer to:
* Parcels (band), an Australian modern soul band
* Parcel (consignment), an individual consignment of cargo for shipment
* ''Parcel'' (film), 2019 Bengali film
* Parcel (package), sent through the mail or package delivery
...
s,
letters and
postcards, these are operated by the Mexican Post Office.
In Ciudad Victoria, the analogue blackout was made on December 31, 2015. The open
digital terrestrial television signals offered are: XHCTVI-TDT
Imagen Television, XHCVT-TDT
Azteca Uno and
ADN 40
XHTVM-TDT (virtual channel 40) is a television station in Mexico City, owned by Televisora del Valle de México and operated by TV Azteca. It is branded as ''adn40'' and available over the air in much of Mexico on TV Azteca's transmitters. Progr ...
, XHCVI-TDT
Nueve, XHCDT-TDT
Azteca 7
Azteca 7 (also called El Siete) is a Mexican network owned by TV Azteca, with more than 100 main transmitters all over Mexico.
Azteca 7 is available on all cable and satellite systems. A substantial portion of their purchased programming include ...
, XHTK-TDT
Las Estrellas
Las Estrellas ("The Stars"; previously El Canal de las Estrellas, or "The Channel of the Stars") is one of the cornerstone networks of TelevisaUnivision, with affiliate stations all over Mexico, flagshipped at XEW-TDT in Mexico City. Many of the ...
, XHUT-TDT
Canal 5 and XHVTU-TDT that includes the signals of
Multimedios Television,
Milenio Televisión, TeleRitmo and
52MX
MVS TV (stylized ''MVStv'') is a Mexican general entertainment programming cable television network owned by MVS Comunicaciones. The cable channel was launched along with the wireless cable television company MVS Multivision in Mexico City, now ...
.
The
AM and
FM radio stations in the city include: XEVIC-AM and XHVIC-FM
Radio Tamaulipas, owned by the
State Government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
; XHUNI-FM Radio
UAT
UAT may refer to:
* Unit auxiliary transformer, step-down transformer supplies voltage to auxiliary loads of power station
* Correcaminos UAT, a Mexican association football club based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas
* '' Union Aéromaritime de T ...
, operated by the
Autonomous University of Tamaulipas
The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in es, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, UAT) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and ...
; XHLRS-FM La Caliente; XETAM-AM and FM KeBuena, XHHP-FM the hottest, XHGW-FM
Imagen Radio, XHVIR-FM The Cotorra, XHRPV-FM The Victoria V, XHBJ-FM
Exa FM.
The written or printed press is covered by some local and regional media such as: The Journal of Ciudad Victoria, which registered an average circulation of 14,270 daily copies in 2014. The “Mercurio” of Tamaulipas, a
newspaper that sold an average circulation in 2014 of 19,615 daily copies and 21,286 copies.
Culture
Ciudad Victoria has several tourist spots such as
museums,
zoological parks, green and natural areas.
"Tamatán" Zoo

A zoo that has areas dedicated to the species of the animal world. With a variety of species and even educational talks, it is an important part of tourism in the capital, a zoo designed to encourage
conservation and
respect for nature. Organized in 5 regions, it presents the different species in open spaces. Surrounded by a naturalistic environment, with
vegetation, rocks and waterfalls.
21st Century Cultural and Recreational Park
It has an area dedicated to games for children, a
football field, several
swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
s. In this space is the
Planetarium
A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation.
A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
and the Tamux
Museum, as well as the
Botanical Garden and a green area known as the
Urban Forest for walking and jogging.
Tamatán Recreational Park
The park offers various
outdoor activities
Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...
. A space of green areas and bodies of water, playgrounds and restaurant; located in lands of the ex-
hacienda
An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...
Tamatán.
Los Troncones Ecological Park
Located in the
foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, in the
Ejido La Libertad, it is a tourist and
ecological centre. It is a recreational park surrounded by vegetation with a
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
, waterfalls and
flora and
fauna. It is equipped with
grills,
gardens and children's games.
Dr. Ramiro Iglesias Leal Planetarium
In 1992, the
Planetarium
A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation.
A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
of Ciudad Victoria was inaugurated, one of the scientific and technological spreading centres in the North and Northeast of the
Federal Republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...
; projects
documentaries and
scientific talks to the public. He was assigned the name "Dr. Ramiro Iglesias Leal ", Tamaulipas
scientist, from January 30, 1998.
Tamaulipas Cultural Centre
It is a
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
space that houses a
public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants.
There are ...
, the Amalia G. de Castillo Ledon
theatre, a
cinema and several
auditoriums for exhibitions and presentations of cultural and artistic activities such as dance, music presentations, sculpture, painting, literature and theatre.
Museum of Natural History of Tamaulipas TAMUX

The Museum of Natural History of Tamaulipas, also known as "TAMUX", began activities in February 2004, dedicated to scientific dissemination, nature, space and promoting culture in favour of
biodiversity. When the museum was founded, the planetarium of Ciudad Victoria "Dr. Ramiro Iglesias Leal ", in operation since 1992, became part of it. The name of the museum, "TAMUX", is a
Huastec word that means "meeting point". In addition to the thematic rooms, it has been the venue for the presentation of scientific conferences and videos; room for temporary exhibitions, for plastic and scientific exhibitions; and an open-air theatre (acoustic shell).
Regional Museum of History of Tamaulipas
The construction of the Former Vicentino Asylum, today Tamaulipas Regional Museum of History, was initiated at the end of the 19th century when Governor of the State of Tamaulipas Lic. Guadalupe Mainero, at the request of Mr. Filemón Fierro Terán, Third
Bishop of the Diocese of Tamaulipas. As of February 12, 2003, this museum began operations offering visitors a sample of the state's cultural heritage. It has hosted many national and international exhibitions.
House of Art

The House of Art began its construction in 1911, where it was installed what was the Normal School for Teachers attached and kindergarten. In 1962 the Institute of Youth and Women was created, in 1974 it was called the Tamaulipas Institute of Fine Arts.
In 1980 it takes the name of Tamaulipas Institute for Culture and the Arts. In 2011, it became an administrative unit under the ITCA, providing
courses
Course may refer to:
Directions or navigation
* Course (navigation), the path of travel
* Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...
and
workshops for various cultural
discipline
Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...
s that allow students to develop
artistic skills, promote and disseminate cultural activities in the community. Now the disciplines of music, dance, plastic arts and literature and theatre are taught.
Juarez Theatre
A
theatre that houses the Institute of Historical Research under the administration of the
Autonomous University of Tamaulipas
The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in es, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, UAT) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and ...
. It was inaugurated on January 5, 1957, by President
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines as Governor Horacio Terán Zumaya. The building encloses a mural by the
Tampico painter Alfonso Xavier Peña.
Tamaulipas International Festival
During the month of October, the state of Tamaulipas celebrates the Tamaulipas International Festival in each of its municipalities. In this festival musical and cultural events are held, such as concerts by artists such as: opera, plays, etc.
Cultural events
The city has a family and cultural space called Libre 17, which corresponds to the closing on Sundays of Avenida Francisco I. Madero street in the centre of the city, where local families and tourists can walk on foot, bicycle, and witness musical and cultural events.
Bicentennial Park

The park is an area that concentrates the offices of the government of the state, the fairground that consists of the land of the fair, the centre of spectacles and the Polyforum.
Tamaulipas Fair
It is a cultural event held annually in the capital, where in addition to the classic mechanical games, it has the presence of stands of all municipalities of the state of Tamaulipas, exhibiting their culture and cuisine and usually have a state of the federation guest; It has events such as concerts held by national artists.
The centre of spectacles that is inside the fairground of the Bicentennial Park, was inaugurated on November 14, 2008. And there have been several artists, bands and national groups.
Polyforum Dr Rodolfo Torre Cantu

It is a convention centre that was originally called "Polyforum Victoria", and it is in the Bicentennial Park and was inaugurated in December 2009; its interior can be divided into several independent rooms and has the capacity to comfortably accommodate 5,000 people with 12 250m² of construction with a main hall of 5000m².
Public services
Drinking water and drainage
The Municipal Commission for
Drinking Water and
Sewerage
Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drainage, drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, a ...
of Ciudad Victoria (COMAPA), is a
public body
A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
of the
Municipal Administration that provides
services to the city; among its attributions are those of: planning, programming, studying, projecting, budgeting, constructing, rehabilitating, expanding, operating, managing, conserving and improving potable water and sewage systems, as well as the treatment of
wastewater and the rejection of According to COMAPA, there is 90.90% of domestic use (residential houses and residential areas), 7.32% of commercial use (businesses and self-service stores), 1.38% of public use (green areas, plazas, etc.) and a 0.40% for industrial use, with an installed treatment capacity of 1,100 litres per second, and an annual treatment volume of 25, 179, 604 cubic meters.
Electric infrastructure
The state capital has 97.50% of its population with access to
electricity, being almost on par with the national average in the area. The street lighting network comprises a total of 29, 100 luminaries (as of October 2016) of which only 10, 800 are in operation, the rest are out of service. The service oversees the
Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) Gulf Centre Division.
Hygiene
The collection of
garbage
Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
in the capital is covered by several routes that cover the city, it is a service provided by the municipality, there are no concession services, it is estimated that the total average garbage generated per day is 370 tons (to October 2016), despite this, the daily collection capacity is 200 tons.
Health
Health coverage is covered by state institutions, Popular Insurance and Mexican Social Security Institute. It is the second city in the state in medical care by inhabitants, and the population that does not have immediate access to health services is 11.8%. The state of Tamaulipas has health services, both public and private, among which are:

General Victoria Hospital. Provides health services in the downtown area of Tamaulipas and medical care around Sanitary Jurisdiction No. 1; Children's Hospital of Ciudad Victoria; Victoria Civil Hospital; High Specialty Regional Hospital of Ciudad Victoria; which provides professional, surgical and nursing services in several specialties; La Salle Hospital Ciudad Victoria, which is an educational internship hospital of the La Salle Victoria University; North Medical Clinic; Clinic Hospital of the
Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers; General Hospital of Zone No. 1 (IMSS) Medical Educational Unit of "
Adolfo López Mateos"; Family Medicine Unit No. 67 (IMSS) San Luisito.
Sports

In Ciudad Victoria there is a varied sporting activity; In the field of professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, the team of the
Correcaminos of the
Autonomous University of Tamaulipas
The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in es, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, UAT) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and ...
stands out and carries out its official matches at the
Marte R. Gómez Stadium, located in the city centre, with a capacity to house 13,500 people and the University Stadium Eugenio Alvizo Porras, located in the Victoria University Centre of the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas.
In the sports unit
Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez there are facilities for practicing football,
volleyball and indoor
gymnasium for
basketball. This sports complex also houses a
baseball stadium.
The Sports Centre of Ciudad Victoria, with the name of "Américo Villareal Guerra", is a sports centre that has spaces for
gymnastics,
fencing,
weightlifting,
diving,
swimming,
athletics,
boxing,
judo,
archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
and
basketball, and It is focused to be used mainly by high performance athletes with the intention of representing the state of Tamaulipas in national sporting events.
Gastronomy

The
gastronomy of Ciudad Victoria is composed of three main elements: meat, corn and
seafood
Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...
; In addition to grilled meat,
dried meat and
chorizo
Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula.
In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...
. One of the most typical foods of the city are the
gorditas, these consist of small thick corn
tortillas stuffed with shredded meat,
nopales,
scrambled eggs,
bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s, among other
ingredient
An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial product (business), products contain secret ingredie ...
s. It also has many restaurants focused on typical
Mexican food, the well-known "
taquito."
Dessert
Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...
s of the region are made with
walnut,
sweet potato
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...
,
cocadas with
pineapple and walnut, among others. Also
crystallized fruits and gorditas sweetened with
piloncillo.
Geography

Victoria is located above sea level and at coordinates just north of the
Tropic of Cancer. The city is in a valley between two mountain ranges: the Sierra Madre Oriental to the west and the
Sierra de Tamaulipas to the east.
Climate
Ciudad Victoria has a climate on the border of
humid subtropical (
Köppen ''Cfa''/''Cwa'') and
hot semi-arid
Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to:
Food and drink
*Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality
*Hot, a wine tasting descriptor
Places
*Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand
**Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot District ...
(''BSh''). Its weather is characterised by short warm winters and long hot to sweltering summers. Temperatures rarely drop below — the lowest recorded temperature was and the hottest was , one of the highest temperatures ever recorded in Mexico. The average annual rainfall is , of which five-sixths () falls between May and October, although there is a drying trend in the months of July and August. The moderate elevation adds to overall rainfall pattern, which is also influenced by exceptionally heavy rains brought by occasional
North Atlantic tropical cyclones.
Sister cities
The strategic alliances that are built with cities in the country and the United States contribute to the economic development of the capital, including twinning of the following:
*
Matamoros, Mexico
*
Reynosa, Mexico
*
Tampico, Mexico
*
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
*
Ciudad Mante
Mante, formally Ciudad Mante, is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city is the municipal seat of El Mante municipality in extreme southern Tamaulipas, and lies in the northwestern portion of the municipality. It had a 2005 census ...
, Mexico
*
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
,
New León
*
Chilpancingo,
Guerrero
*
McAllen,
Texas (2008)
*
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
,
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
(2010)
*
Mazatlán,
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
(2014)
Notable residents
*
Emilio Portes Gil, former governor of the state of Tamaulipas and
former president of Mexico
* Emilio Martínez Manatou, doctor and politician, former governor of the State of Tamaulipas
*
Arleth Terán
Arleth Rocìo Terán Sotelo (; born 3 December 1976), known professionally as Arleth Terán, is a Mexican actress appearing on TV soap operas.
Early life
Arleth studied acting at "Centro de Educacion Televisa" and went on to television. She d ...
, Mexican television actress
*
Carlos Peña Rodríguez, professional football player for
Rangers F.C.
*
Alan Pulido Izaguirre, professional football player
*
Oscar Mascorro
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
, professional footballer
*
José Sulaimán, businessman and
boxer
*
Rosemary Barkett,
Federal Judge of the United States of America Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
*
Rodolfo Torre Cantu, doctor and Mexican politician, former candidate for Governor of Tamaulipas.
*
Ismael Valdez Ismael may refer to:
People
* Ismael Balkhi, a political activist from Afghanistan
* Ismael Blanco (born 1983), an Argentine professional footballer
* Ismael Prego "Wismichu", a Spanish youtuber
* Ismael Villegas, a Puerto Rican Major League ...
, Major League Baseball player, TV Personality and local entrepreneur.
References
Further reading
Tamaulipas Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
External links
Dirección de TecnologíaInstituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Victoria
{{Authority control
*
Capitals of states of Mexico
Populated places established in 1750
1750 establishments in New Spain