Piedras Negras, Coahuila

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Piedras Negras

Seal
Nickname(s): The Safe Border!
Piedras Negras
Coordinates: 28°42′00″N 100°31′23″W / 28.70000°N 100.52306°W / 28.70000; -100.52306Coordinates: 28°42′00″N 100°31′23″W / 28.70000°N 100.52306°W / 28.70000; -100.52306
Country  Mexico
State Coahuila
Municipality Piedras Negras
Established 15 June 1850
Government
 • Mayor

Jose Manuel Maldonado (PRI) 2010

Oscar López Elizondo(PRI) 2010-2013
Area
 • City 914.2 km2 (353.0 sq mi)
Elevation 223 m (732 ft)
Population (2010)
 • City 460,194
 • Density 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
 • Urban 150,178
 • Metro 202,948
Demonym Nigropetense
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
Postal code 26000
Area code(s) 878
Airport Piedras Negras Int. Airport
Website piedrasnegras.gob.mx

Piedras Negras (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpjeðɾas neɣɾas]) is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. It stands at the northeastern edge of Coahuila on the U.S.-Mexico border, across the Río Bravo (Rio Grande) from Eagle Pass in the U.S. state of Texas. In the 2010 census the city had a population of 150,178 people, which accounted for 98.28 percent of its municipality's total population of 152,806. The municipality's area is relatively small, but does include some outlying minor localities not located inside the city limits. The Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras area is connected by the Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras International Bridge, Camino Real International Bridge, and the Eagle Pass Union Pacific International Railroad Bridge.

The city was founded in 1849. It was renamed Ciudad Porfirio Díaz in 1888, in homage to President Porfirio Díaz, but reverted to its original name following the Mexican Revolution.

In Spanish Piedras Negras translates to "black stones" – a reference to the coal deposits that exist in the area. Across the river, coal was formerly mined on the US side at Dolchburg, near Eagle Pass. This mine closed around 1905, after a fire. Mexico currently operates two large coal-fired power plants named "José López Portillo" and "Carbón 2" located 30 miles (48 km) south of Piedras Negras.

History

On 15 June 1850, a group of 34 men (commanded by Andrés Zapata, Gaspar Salazar and Antonio Ramírez) met with Colonel Juan Manuel Maldonado to give the news that they had created a pass point at Piedras Negras, to the right of the Rio Grande, south of Fort Duncan; and having given it the name of: Nueva Villa de Herrera. Later on it would be renamed Villa de Piedras Negras. In Otto Schober's "Breve historia de Piedras Negras," the local historian points out that the 34 men in question were repatriates (Mexican Americans) that arrived on June 15, 1850 in what was then called "Colonia Militar de Guerrero en Piedras Negras."[1]

Due to the discovery of huge deposits of coal at the region, in 1881 a railroad track was begun, finishing in 1883. With this construction, the regional economy flourished and on 1 December 1888, it was granted the status of city; this time with the name of Ciudad Porfirio Díaz. After the fall of Diaz in 1911, the city reverted to Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

On April 24, 2007, an F4 tornado struck the city, killing 3 people there and 7 in Eagle Pass, Texas.[2]

Geography

Demography

In the Northern Region of Coahuila there are approximately 300,000 inhabitants. According to the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Data Processing (INEGI), in 2005 the population of the municipio of Piedras Negras was of 143,915 inhabitants; this is equal to 5.77% of the population of Coahuila. 17% of the population of Piedras Negras came from other states, 3% are foreigners, and the rest are native-born in Coahuila. Piedras Negras has a high population growth due in part by its status as a border city fueled by US bound exports from several factories and also by persons who hope to cross the border into the United States. It is estimated that in a couple of years it will become the third most populated city of the state of Coahuila, surpassing Monclova. Nowadays Piedras Negras has more than 200,000 inhabitants.

Climate

The climate of the region is semi-arid and hot. During summer the temperatures often surpass 45°C. The hottest months are May through September with a daily average (mean) temperature between 79°F (26°C) and 88°F (31°C).

The high temperatures recorded in Piedras Negras have earned it recognition as one of the hottest cities in the country.[3]

Highest precipitation months are May, June and September with an average monthly downfall in excess of 3.1 inches (80 mm) but that is highly sporadic lending to frequent drought conditions. The period of lowest precipitation is between December through March, with a monthly average of 1.2 inches (30 mm).

Climate data for Piedras Negras, Coahuila (1951–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 37.5
(99.5)		 40.2
(104.4)		 40.4
(104.7)		 42.4
(108.3)		 45.0
(113)		 48.6
(119.5)		 47.0
(116.6)		 45.4
(113.7)		 46.5
(115.7)		 39.4
(102.9)		 35.4
(95.7)		 34.5
(94.1)		 48.6
(119.5)
Average high °C (°F) 19.6
(67.3)		 22.0
(71.6)		 26.2
(79.2)		 30.7
(87.3)		 34.3
(93.7)		 37.3
(99.1)		 38.2
(100.8)		 38.4
(101.1)		 35.5
(95.9)		 29.8
(85.6)		 23.5
(74.3)		 20.2
(68.4)		 29.6
(85.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 12.2
(54)		 14.7
(58.5)		 18.6
(65.5)		 22.9
(73.2)		 27.2
(81)		 30.1
(86.2)		 31.0
(87.8)		 31.2
(88.2)		 28.4
(83.1)		 22.8
(73)		 16.5
(61.7)		 12.8
(55)		 22.4
(72.3)
Average low °C (°F) 4.9
(40.8)		 7.3
(45.1)		 11.1
(52)		 15.0
(59)		 20.0
(68)		 22.9
(73.2)		 23.8
(74.8)		 24.1
(75.4)		 21.3
(70.3)		 15.7
(60.3)		 9.5
(49.1)		 5.3
(41.5)		 15.1
(59.2)
Record low °C (°F) −10.0
(14)		 −9.0
(15.8)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 2.4
(36.3)		 8.0
(46.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 15.5
(59.9)		 9.0
(48.2)		 −3.0
(26.6)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −10
(14)
Precipitation mm (inches) 19.1
(0.752)		 16.7
(0.657)		 27.5
(1.083)		 49.6
(1.953)		 69.6
(2.74)		 56.0
(2.205)		 59.3
(2.335)		 52.6
(2.071)		 73.2
(2.882)		 75.2
(2.961)		 25.9
(1.02)		 13.4
(0.528)		 538.1
(21.185)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 5.4 5.3 4.2 4.5 5.5 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.9 6.0 4.4 3.7 56.3
Avg. snowy days 0.20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.20
% humidity 67 64 59 61 66 62 60 62 66 68 69 69 64
Mean monthly sunshine hours 138.0 161.7 180.6 185.0 193.5 254.0 272.6 268.2 206.4 188.2 145.5 133.0 2,326.7
Source #1: Servicio Meteorologico Nacional[4]
Source #2: Colegio de Postgraduados (humidity and sun)[5]

Natural Resources

Coal used in the thermoelectric physical

This region generates a large amount of the national production of coal, one of the most economically important non-metallic minerals in the state.

Piedras Negras in film and television

  • 1993 Like Water for Chocolate
  • 2007 No Country for Old Men (scene in the town square were filmed in Piedras Negras)

Tourism

Church Our Lady of Guadalupe

Piedras Negras' main tourist attractions are:

  • The Macro Plaza (Designed and Built by Cesar Dominguez, AIA, LEED AP) a large square surrounded by restaurants, shops and other businesses
  • The ruins of San Bernardo Mission (18th century)
  • The Handicrafts Museum
  • The Culture House
  • The Hunting and Fishing Club
  • De La Ventana Caverns
  • Mercado Zaragoza, known simply as El Mercado ("the Market"), a traditional Mexican market where one is able to buy a variety of hand-made arts and crafts from the state: vases, leatherworked items, clay and ceramic wares, as well as traditional Mexican candy from the region.
  • El Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Built in 1859 of ashlar, cement and wood, this church has survived the battles of the Cristero movement in 1927 and an explosion in 1934, leading to its renovation in 1935. The construction of its current towers began in 1950.
  • Plaza de las Culturas (Cultures' Plaza), a new park completed in 2005. The Plaza is a homage to Mexico's three main indigenous cultures: Aztec, Mayan, and Olmec. It features a replica of a pyramid representative of the style of each of the cultures, the biggest one being a replica of the Pyramid of the Sun, located in Teotihuacan, near Mexico City.
  • Estadio Piedras Negras
  • Estadio Sección 123
  • Catedral de Piedras Negras (Diócesis de Piedras Negras)[6]
  • Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Construido en 1859 de cemento y madera, este santuario sobrevivió los movimientos Cristeros en 1927 y una explosión en 1934, se remodeló en 1935. La construcción de sus torres empezó en 1950).
  • Presidio militar de Monclova Viejo (1773 ruins)
  • Casa Redonda o Maestranza (Donde se constuyeron los cañones constitucionalistas)
  • Antiguo Hotel del Ferrocarril (Ruinas)
  • Antigua Presidencia Municipal (Próximamente, Museo de la Frontera Norte)
  • Plaza de las Culturas
  • Plaza de Toros Monumental "Arizpe"
  • Monumento a Venustiano Carranza (Blvd. Carranza)
  • Monumento al Centenario de la Independencia (Inaugurado el 16 de septiembre de 1910 por el presidente Porfirio Díaz, ubicándolo entre las calles Zaragoza y Fuentes, para ser trasladado posteriormente a la Plaza Central de la Colonia Roma el 15 de julio de 1963)
  • Monumento a los Niños Héroes de Chapultepec (Macroplaza I)
  • Monumento a las víctimas de la inundación del 04/04/04 y el tornado del 24/04/07 en Villa de Fuente
  • Monumento al Venado Cola Blanca
  • Monumento '"Héroes de Coahuila"
  • Misión de San Bernardo (Guerrero, Coah. / 40 km de Piedras Negras)
  • Casa de la Cultura
  • Edificios de Telégrafos y Correos
  • Edificio de la Universidad Autónoma de Piedras Negras
  • Antigua Hacienda de San Isidro
  • Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Ejido Piedras Negras
  • Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Col. Presidentes
  • Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Col. Doctores
  • Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Col. Lazaro Cárdenas
  • Centro Cultural Multimedia 2000
  • Macroplaza I
  • Macroplaza II
  • Gran Bosque Urbano - El Vergel [7]
  • Teatro del IMSS (Hospital General de Zona #11)
  • Teatro de la Ciudad "José Manuel Maldonado Maldonado"[8][9]
  • Auditorio de Piedras Negras[10][11]
  • La Gran Plaza[12][13]
  • Asta Bandera Monumental "Puente Internacional II" (50 mts.)
  • Asta Bandera Monumental " La Gran Plaza"[14] (120 mts.) [15]
  • Infoteca[16][17]
  • Museo del Niño "Chapulín" (En Construcción) [18]
  • Casa de las Artes[11][19]
  • Paseo del Río[20][21]

International Day of the Nacho

The International Day of the Nacho takes place every October 21. It was initiated in the 1990s in the United States and Mexico to commemorate the invention of nachos by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya in 1943 at El Moderno restaurant in the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

Local media

Newspapers

Radio

  • EXA FM 105.5
  • Di-94.5 FM Dinámica Auditiva
  • K93 FM (Eagle Pass,TX)
  • Súper Estelar 107.9 FM
  • Amor 107 FM
  • Romántica 99.9
  • Ke Buena 99.1 FM XHSL
  • Radio Gente FM 102.5 XHPNC
  • La Consentida 104.4 FM
  • Fiesta Mexicana 106.3 FM XHPSP
  • La Mexicana 1320 AM
  • La Norteñita 830 AM XEIK
  • Radio Popular Fronteriza S.A. 920 AM XEMJ
  • La Rancherita del Aire 580 AM XEMU

Local Television

Internet

  • Internet Cablecom – Internet / Cable
  • Prodigy by Telmex – Internet / Telephone

Internet Local News

Sports

Recent events

  • On 4 April 2004, the Río Escondido (a tributary of the Río Bravo) broke its banks and some 36 residents of the Piedras Negras area were killed or vanished after the resulting flash floods.[22]
  • In 2007, a tornado hit both Piedras Negras and Eagle Pass on April 24, killing three people in Piedras Negras and seven people in Eagle Pass. Several others were injured and homeless in both communities. See also Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass Tornadoes
  • On Monday, September 17, 2012, at least 30, and possibly more than 100, inmates broke out of a prison here, near the U.S.-Mexico border, by digging a tunnel from the prison's carpentry section. In some of Mexico's prisons, some guards have been accused of complicity with past escapes involving prisoners and the drug cartels, in the context of an ongoing campaign against the cartels, involving infighting within and among them and their branches, that has eliminated many cartel leaders and had some effect but which has also killed about 55,000 people since it began at the end of 2006 six years ago in the beginning days of Felipe Calderon's presidency (he leaves office in December 2012).[23]

Sister cities

Piedras Negras has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Piedras Negras, una de las ciudades más calientes del país". ZÓCALO SALTILLO. 08/03/2009. Retrieved 12 April 2011. 
  4. ↑ NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1951-2010 (in Spanish). National Meteorological Service of Mexico. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Normales climatológicas para Piedras Negras , Coahulia." (in Spanish). Colegio de Postgraduados. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013. 
  6. ↑ Bienvenidos Diocesis de Piedras Negras
  7. ↑ "Verbena popular por inauguración del Bosque Urbano "El Vergel"". Retrieved 1 April 2010. 
  8. ↑ Youtube - Teatro Piedras Negras!!!
  9. ↑ "Entrega el Gobernador Humberto Moreira el Teatro de la Ciudad de Piedras Negras "Pepe Maldonado"". Retrieved 28 December 2010. 
  10. ↑ Youtube - Spot Coahuila El Norte - P Negras Nuevo Auditorio.Flv
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Inauguran Auditorio y Casa de las Artes de Piedras Negras". Retrieved 21 December 2010. 
  12. ↑ YouTube - SPOT COAHUILA EL NORTE - PIEDRAS NEGRAS GRAN PLAZA 2.avi.flv
  13. ↑ "Entrega Humberto Moreira "Gran Plaza" a Piedras Negras". Retrieved 9 December 2010. 
  14. ↑ Youtube - Spot Coahuila El Norte - Piedras Negras Asta Monumental.Flv
  15. ↑ "Asta Bandera Monumental de Piedras Negras es un símbolo de identidad nacional". Retrieved 23 December 2010. 
  16. ↑ Youtube - Spot Coahuila El Norte - Piedras Negras Infoteca.Flv
  17. ↑ "El Gobernador Humberto Moreira Valdés entregó la moderna Infoteca de Piedras Negras". Retrieved 29 December 2010. 
  18. ↑ "Museo del Niño "El Chapulín" se construirá en Piedras Negras". Retrieved 21 April 2010. 
  19. ↑ YouTube - SPOT COAHUILA - CASA DE LAS ARTES EN PIEDRAS NEGRAS.mp4
  20. ↑ YouTube - Spot Coahuila - Paseo del Rio Piedras Negras.flv
  21. ↑ "Inauguran Paseo del Río de Piedras Negras". Retrieved 28 November 2010. 
  22. ↑ NOAA Global Hazards and Significant Events April 2004
  23. ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49067600

External links

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