Monterrey Mexico

Visiting Monterrey Mexico can feel more like being in a city somewhere in Texas. Locals who have been to the US will tell you that Monterrey has a look and feel more like an American city than a Mexican city.

Monterrey is Nuevo Leon's state capital and the prosperity of the city translates to being one of the wealthier tax bases which support the Mexican economy. The best example of this is the beer industry in Monterrey which accounts for 80% of all beer made in Mexico. When all is said and done, the businesses based in Monterrey have made the county of San Pedro Garza Garcia the wealthiest county in all of Latin America.

Monterrey Mexico is also the home of what some consider to be the best technological universities in all of Latin America. The famous ITESM (Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey) has therefore become the home away from home of very smart (or very rich) college students from all over Mexico and Latin America. So the area near ITESM has become a neighborhood with a distinct college feel that has its own flavor . . . existing in its own little bubble within the city.

Monterrey is big, hot and expensive when compared to many other cities in Mexico. . . but it is also surrounded by beautiful high peaks that mountain climbers would love . . . it has plenty of nightlife . . . and any place that makes money, spends money.

That's where the local moneyed culture meets the Mexican party time. Like so many places in Mexico, Monterrey is heavily into soccer. You know that any city which sports not just one, but two professional soccer teams (Tigres and Rayados), takes the game very seriously.

So the "Regios" (as the people in Monterrey call themselves) head for the stadiums every other week and fill the stands. It really does get pretty hot at some of these games and when temperatures approach 100 F, some of the Regios take it as a signal that they should fight the heat with a beer or twenty . . . The Regios who stay home to watch the game on TV inaugurate the Saturday festivities with the typical "carnes asadas" . . . a barbeque where the beer is mandatory, but the steaks are optional.

Hey, it's tradition . . . every place needs its own tradition :)

The Regios like other things besides beer though . . . they like steaks, machaca con huevo (dry meat fried with eggs and served in burritos) . . . and you will find that Regios proudly wear their cowboy hats, boots and belts (when going out to drink some beer) . . . you just can't fight tradition . . . neither should you try.