Matamoros, Mexico

MATAMOROS, across the Río Grande from the southernmost point of Texas, at Brownsville, is a buzzing little town with more history than the settlements strung out to its west. What began in the mid-eighteenth century as a cattle-ranching colony eventually became known – with the introduction of the port of Bagdad – as "La Puerta México", and in the nineteenth century Matamoros (along with Veracruz) became the main port of entry for foreign immigrants. At the turn of the nineteenth century, rail lines from both sides of the border were directed through Matamoros, and again the city found itself as the necessary link in the trade crossroads. And since the passage of NAFTA in 1994, Matamoros has established itself as an important point for trade.