Tampico
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El Puente Tampico (finished in October 1988) links the states of
Tamaulipas and
Veracruz and is a major element in the
Gulf of Mexico highway system. It took 10 years to build this 1543 meter-long bridge rising 55 meters above the
Río Pánuco. Its height allows large ships to enter the city docks.
Tampico from space, April 1997. North is roughly to the right.
Tampico, located at
22.22° N 97.85° W, is the main city in the
state of
Tamaulipas,
Mexico, and the Mexican
Gulf's main economic powerhouse. The city lies in a rich petroleum-producing region; it is a chief commercial center of northeastern
Mexico and one of the most important seaports of the country. The present city was founded with the granting of its formal charter in 1824, although an earlier settlement, known as Tampico Alto, was founded by
Spain in
1554. According to the National Population Council (CONAPO), in 2004 the population of the Tampico metropolitan area was about 819,000 people - this includes the cities of
Ciudad Madero,
Altamira.
The name "Tampico" is believed to be of
Huastec origin:
tam-piko, meaning "place of – otters", (literally "water dogs"). The city is surrounded by rivers and lagoons which hosted a large population of otters in the past.
In
1921, Mexican commercial aviation started here, as its first flight, by
Mexicana Airlines, took off from Tampico's
General Francisco Javier Mina International Airport (
IATA airport code: TAM) to
Benito Juárez International Airport in
Mexico City. This airport was also one of the first
ILS equipped airports in the country.
In
1926, the first
Coca-Cola bottling plant in
Mexico was built there. It is still in operation today under the ownership of
Grupo Tampico SA de CV.
Tampico's Country Club, the Campestre, and its golf course, is one of the oldest in
Mexico. Seafood is important in the city - even its locals are informally known as
Jaibos - and the crab emblem is seen in many places, from the sides of buses to park benches.
Jimmy Buffett wrote the song "Tampico Trauma" about his experiences there.
John Huston's motion picture epic,
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, is set in Tampico in its opening scenes.
Joseph Hergesheimer's 1920s novel
Tampico tells an engrossing tale of expatriate lives there.
Tampico's downtown architecture is an electic mix and reflects the growth of the city during the
Porfiriato (the period of rule by President
Porfirio Díaz). It includes many
New Orleans inspired balconies (mostly built of English
cast iron) in
Plaza de Libertad, a fine
Neo-classical Town Hall (or
Palacio Municipal) in the
Plaza de Armas and a superb English redbrick Customs House in the docks.