Matamoros

Prehispanic history

There is very little historical evidence about the native tribes that lived in present-day Matamoros.

But just like in many parts of northern Tamaulipas, the region of Matamoros was most likely occupied by one of these three tribes that inhabited Tamaulipas—the Olmecs, the Chicimecs, and the Huastecs—before the colonization by the Spanish colonials.

Foundation

In the year 1519, the same year that Hernán Cortés arrived in the Americas at the port of Veracruz, a captain named Alonso Álvarez de Pineda carried out a brief expedition to the region of northern Tamaulipas, where he named the town known today as Rio Bravo (Rio Grande) as Rio de las Palmas (Palms River).

Nevertheless, the actual founding of Matamoros began in 1686, when Captain Alonso de León explored the area and concluded that the Rio Grande was an excellent route for navigation and that the area of Matamoros was an ideal spot for cattle raising.

In the year 1749, thirteen enterprising families, twelve from Camargo and one from Reynosa, decided to invest and begin a new, influential cattle industry in the area.

Former landowners were reluctant that this new investment would be successful since the frequent overflows from the Rio Grande caused severe floods, and because ranches were occasionally attacked by Indians.

Nonetheless, these thirteen families effectively carried out their business plan and structuralized 113 cattle-raising sites. In the year 1774, they officially named the area San Juan de los Esteros Hermosos, known today as Matamoros.

In 1793, to colonize the province of Nuevo Santander, two Franciscan missionaries named Francisco Pueyes and Manuel Júlio Silva established a parish in the main plaza of Matamoros. They proposed a new name for the community: Villa del Refugio, in honor of the parish and patron saint, Our Lady of the Refuge of the Estuaries.

Mexican Independence

In 1826, the governor Lucas Fernandez dispatched a decree to change the name of the city to Matamoros, in honor of Mariano Matamoros, a hero of the Mexican War of Independence who participated along with José María Morelos.

During the Texas Revolution (1836), Matamoros was the fortress for many Mexican soldiers against rebel attacks. In 1851, the city of Matamoros was again heroic for defending soldiers against attacks, and the troops of Francisco Avalos were able to repel their enemy.

After that victory, the state congress granted Matamoros the title of “Heroic”, countersigned by the Mexican Congress.

The future of the city radically changed after Matamoros declared itself an international free trade zone in 1858. This transformation brought about urbanization, industrialization, and the expansion of the Bagdad Port, which experienced an economic boom for being the only entrance port for mercenaries for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The Port of Matamoros, also known as the Port of Bagdad, was during the American Civil War one of the leading commercial ports of the world.

Texas Revolution

The city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas was a strategic and fortified city during the Texas Revolution. The Matamoros Expedition was launched to attack Matamoros and defeat the forces of Antonio López de Santa Anna. It proved controversial and divisive. The roots of the controversy lay in the division within the provisional government between Governor Henry Smith and the General Council over whether to remain loyal to the Constitution of 1824 and support the liberals of Mexico in the Federalist cause against Santa Anna or to declare independence from Mexico and seek to become an independent territory. The division, on the other hand, was mirrored within the provisional government and among the commanders in the field, who compounded the situation and contributed to the near destruction of the Texan army.

American Civil War

At the beginning of the American Civil War, the city of Matamoros was simply a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande from Brownsville. It had, for several years, been considered a port, but it had relatively few ships arriving. Previous to the war, accounts mention that not over six ships entered the port each year. Nevertheless, in about four years, Matamoros, due to its proximity to Texas, was to assume the state as a port and multiply its inhabitants in number. Following is a quote from a Union General in 1885 describing the importance of the port in Matamoros:

“Matamoros is to the rebellion west of the Mississippi what New York is to the United States—its great commercial and financial center, feeding and clothing the rebellion, arming and equipping, furnishing it materials of war and a specie basis of circulation that has almost displaced Confederate paper…The entire Confederate Government is greatly sustained by resources from this port.”

The cotton trade brought together in Bagdad, Tamaulipas, and Matamoros over 20,000 speculators from the Union and the Confederacy, England, France, and Germany. Bagdad had grown from a small, seashore town to a “full-pledge town.”

The English-speaking population in the area by 1864 was so great that Matamoros even had a newspaper printed in English—it was called the Matamoros Morning Call. In addition, the port exported cotton to England and France, where millions of people needed it for their daily livelihood, and it was possible to receive fifty cents per pound in gold for cotton when it cost about three cents in the Confederacy, “and much more money was received for it laid down in New York and European ports.”

Other sources mention that the port of Matamoros traded with London, Havana, Belize, and New Orleans. The Matamoros and New York City trade agreement, however, continued throughout the war and until 1864, and it was considered “heavy and profitable.”

By 1865, Matamoros was described as a prosperous town of 30,000 people, and Lew Wallace informed General Ulysses S. Grant that neither Baltimore nor New Orleans could compare itself to the growing commercial activity of Matamoros. Nevertheless, after the collapse of the Confederacy, “gloom, despondency, and despair” became evident in Matamoros—markets shut down, business almost ceased to exist, and ships were rarely seen. “For Sale” signs began to sprout up everywhere, and Matamoros returned to its role of a sleepy little border town across the Rio Grande.

The conclusion of the American Civil War brought a severe crisis to the now-abandoned Port of Bagdad, a crisis that to this day the port has never recovered from. In addition, a tremendous hurricane in 1889 destroyed the desolated port.

This same hurricane was one of the many hurricanes during the period of devastating hurricanes of 1870 to 1889, which reduced the population of Matamoros to nearly half its size, mounting with it another upsetting economic downturn.

French intervention

During the French intervention, the port of Baghdad was the scene of the Battle of Baghdad, where the Mexican army defeated the French army and its conservative allies.

Mexican Revolution

During the Mexican Revolution, the generals Francisco Mújica and Lucio Blanco executed the first agrarian reform for land in the country (1913). Consequently, in the years to come, Matamoros enjoyed another golden era during The Cotton Age, from 1948 to 1962.

This epoch placed Matamoros as the largest cotton producer and exporter in the country.

Modern era

Since the 1970s, and especially during the 1990s, after the initiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, foreign investment has multiplied in Matamoros, resulting in an enormous population growth, prominently from other Mexican states, like San Luis Potosí and Veracruz.

Costa Azul Beach

Bagdad Beach (Playa Bagdad), also known as Lauro Villar Beach, is 27 km east of Matamoros, about 20 minutes in trajectory. At Playa Bagdad, important fishing tournaments are held each year, where participants from all over the state of Tamaulipas get together.

During Holy Week, the beach experiences an abundant presence of visitors, primarily from Nuevo León, when Playa Bagdad becomes the host of several concerts, sports tournaments, and festivals. In 2014, the mayor Leticia Salazar proposed to change the beach’s name to Costa Azul, about a song of the Matamoros native Rigo Tovar.

In 1985, during the yearly festival of ‘Festival del Mar,’ Rigo Tovar, along with other important attractions, played in Playa Bagdad.

Other second-tier bands like ‘La Firma’, ‘La Mira de Linares,’ and ‘La Leyenda,’ along with several other pop groups, have also played during April, the most visited period of the year. In addition, Playa Bagdad has several seafood restaurants.

Jet skis, surfing, and even motocross and off-road 4×4 racing are allowed with few area restrictions. In a single day during summer breaks, the number of visitors can get as high as 180,000.

Cultural attractions

Fortress of Casamata converted into Museum Casamata in 1970, was a bastion that now guards a fine collection of prehispanic figurines and artifacts dating from central historic moments: the Spanish colonist era, the Mexican War of Independence, and the contentious Mexican Revolution.

Unique and curious items are also exhibited, such as an iron casket where the remains of fearless General Canales once rested (fought against both American and French invasions) and the dark tunnels lounged beneath the construction, an inevitable reference for local horror stories. The existence of a multipurpose hall and newspaper library also provides extra interest to the museum.

The ‘Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Tamaulipas (MACT),’ inaugurated in 1969, is the largest and most important art museum in the city, and one of the most memorable in the state of Tamaulipas.

Art and photo exhibitions are held yearlong at MACT. Artworks from Mexico City, Monterrey, New York City, Los Angeles, Milan, and Paris have been displayed at this museum.

The central ‘plaza’ in Matamoros is home to the Presidential Offices, the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora Villa del Refugio, and the Casino Matamorense, along with other historical buildings.

The ‘Teatro Reforma’, the most important theater in the city, is found a few blocks away. On 28 January 1829, the plaza was named after the heroic and historical figure Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who fought in the Mexican War of Independence.

Moreover, the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora Villa del Refugio, constructed in 1831, was one of the first major constructions and is one of the present symbols of the city. Its neoclassical architecture, along with its rich, historical background, attracts visitors yearlong.

The Casino Matamorense, constructed in 1950, is traditionally considered the center of social gatherings for the principal families of Matamoros. Also with its unique architecture, Centro Cultural Olimpico, is a historical creation built in the city.

Nothing like it had been done before. And finally, the ‘Teatro Reforma,’ once considered the ‘House of the Opera of the 19th Century’, was constructed in 1861.

For decades, the theater was home to important balls held by the richest families of Matamoros and the high-ranking military officers of the state. In addition, ‘Teatro Reforma’ is well known for being the first place in history where the Mexican National Anthem was played.

On another note, Matamoros has a semi-arid climate, with mild winters, and hot, humid summers.

The city of Matamoros has a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate, with mild winters, and hot, humid summers. Its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico accompanies cooler winds during the summers and winters, compared to its sister cities of Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo, which are farther inland.

Moreover, the climate of Matamoros is subtropical, with relatively low precipitation patterns distributed throughout the summer, and with summer temperatures ranging from 30 to 40 °C. Temperatures above 38 °C are very uncommon, just as the other extreme, where freezing temperatures during the winter are rarely seen as well.

Heavy rainfall is usually seen during July and August, although it is not uncommon to go about without any rain whatsoever during the rainy season. The average temperatures during the winters usually range around 0–10 °C; this season is usually attended with rain, drizzle, and fog.

The last snowfall was seen on 25 December 2004, which is the greatest snowfall ever recorded in the city, with up to 3.8 cm in one day. Despite its proximity to the humid Gulf Coast, the city is dry, receiving an average of 698 mm of precipitation annually.

The international exchange of goods and services between the U.S. and Mexico is seen in effect throughout Matamoros with the presence of its four international bridges. Matamoros is the only border city on the U.S.-Mexico border that has 4 international bridges.

Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge (B&M):

It is popularly known as the “Old Bridge” or “Puente Viejo”, because of its original incarnation in 1904.

Gateway International Bridge:

Popularly known as the “New Bridge” or “Puente Nuevo.”

This bridge is located in downtown Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas, just a block away from the University of Texas at Brownsville. It is the most used international bridge for pedestrian crossings in the city.

Veterans International Bridge:

Commonly known as “Los Tomates Bridge”, this gateway is the largest and newest bridge in the Brownsville-Matamoros metropolitan area.

Free Trade International Bridge:

Commonly known as Los Indios Bridge, this international bridge crosses the Rio Grande, connecting the United States-Mexico border cities of Los Indios, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas.