Walking tour of downtown Cd. Miguel Aleman, Tamulipas, Mexico...

If you really want to explore a town, see the sights, and get to mingle with the locals, the best way to get around is on foot, as you have many opportunities to see and do things that you'll miss if you're in a car, or for that matter, riding a bicycle. Downtown Cd. Miguel Alemán is an ideal environment for walking, as the town has a rather compact footprint, the downtown is logically laid out in a grid pattern, and it doesn't have all of the big city noise and traffic.

Photo: Downtown Cd. Miguel Alemán, looking north, towards the U.S. border, from the corner of Av. Hidalgo and Calle Tres. Note the beautiful potted flowers, and the patriotic decorations, as September is patriotic month in Mexico. Click on this link to visit a Patriotic Ceremony in Cd. Mante, Tamulipas.

Prior to 1950, the town was known as San Pedro de Roma, perhaps because it is just across the Rio Grande River from the Texas town of Roma. In 1950, the name was changed to Cd. Miguel Alemán, named after Mexican president Miguel Alemán Valdés, who was a reformer, and accomplished many achievements in modernizing Mexico's infrastructure. Looking back through the pages of history, the town was basically "nothing" until the international bridge was constructed in 1927, after which, the town became the head of the new municipality, added the title of "city," and took on more significance.

Photo: Av. Zapata, from the corner of Zapata and Calle Quarto, looking north towards the U.S. border, and the Rio Grande River in the background. The main streets in town are one-way, as they're rather narrow.

Although Cd. Alemán is a border town, but its not a typical border town, as it is clean, does not cater to tourists, has no tourist infrastructure, honky tonks, or a red light district. If you approached the town from the interior of Mexico, you'd never guess that it was on the border until you left Mexico, and crossed the bride across the river.

We crossed the international bridge across the Rio Grande River and parked near the corner of Av. Emiliano Zapata and Calle Sexta, near the town plaza. Walking is hungry business, so before beginning our walk, we had to pay a visit to Tacos Chapa, to enjoy a delicious lunch of tacos de barbacoa. After filling ourselves with tacos, we decided to take a walk north on Av. Zapata, and explore the sights of downtown Cd. Alemán.

Photo: San Pedro Hotel, at the corner of Av. Hidalgo and Calle Quarta, is the finest hotel in town. Note the flower pots hung from the street lamp. Downtown Cd. Alemán is very clean, attractive, and safe.

Heading north on Av. Zapata, we noted that the businesses seem to be quite prosperous, and the town is populated by "real people," and not a tourist, nor a tourist attraction was to be seen. Downtown Cd. Alemán is very clean and attractive, and we especially liked the flower pots hanging from the street sign at the corner of Av. Hidalgo and C. Quinta, which reminded us of downtown, Victoria, B.C., Canada. Believe me, Cd. Alemán is a long ways from Victoria!

Photo: During our hike around downtown, we noticed many florist shops, displaying colorful flowers and plants. This shop is located along Av. Hidalgo, near Calle Quinta.

The most impressive building in downtown Cd. Alemán is the San Pablo Hotel, located at the corner of Av. Hidalgo and C. Quinta, five blocks from the border, where we were headed. It's a white, two-story building that has one of those rounded corners, that seem to be popular in this part of the country. The hotel occupies a small footprint, and appears to be quite clean, and in good repair. The only drawback is that we couldn't see a place to park, as we couldn't see a parking lot. It would be hard to stay at a hotel without a safe place to park your car... but I'm sure parking could be arranged at the desk upon check-in.

Photo: Sun and Moon Meet Bar, located at the corner of Av. Hidalgo and Calle Segunda, only a couple of blocks from the border. Someday, we plan to visit and enjoy a beer or two.

Perhaps Cd. Alemán does have one tourist landmark, as on the corner of Av. Hidalgo and C. Segunda, we notice an impressive establishment with a sign that read, "Sol & Luna meet bar." We weren't quite sure what to make of the name, but curiosity didn't get the better of us, and we didn't venture inside to find out.

We spent a bit of time wandering around Mexican customs, which is located at Av. Hidalgo and Calle Premira. You enter Mexico on Av. Zapata, which is a one-way street running south-north, with traffic heading south. One block to the north is Av. Hidalgo, which runs north-south, with traffic running to the north, and ultimately crossing the river and entering the United States. We noted a few street food vendors in the vicinity of the border crossing, but we weren't ready for more tacos... yet.

Photo: This impressive restaurant, Mary's, is located at the corner of Av. Emilano Zapata and Calle Tercera, in downtown Cd. Alemán

On the way back to the plaza, we walked south on Av. Zapata, and were treated to something that I'd never seen before during my travels to Mexico: A lingerie store, namely Lencería Secrets, located at the corner of Av. Zapata and C. Cuarta. We were amazed, as I've never seen a lingerie store in Tijuana, which is one of the most "liberal" cities in Mexico... let alone in Cd. Alemán, a small city of less than 20,000 people in the far-eastern state of Tamulipas?

Photo: This was new to us, as we'd never seen a lingerie store in Mexico, and we were surprised to find one open in a town like Cd. Alemán, which seems to be a very conservative town.

Photo: While enjoying a couple of delicious gorditas at Gorditas Aracely, this Coke truck rumbled by, with these Coke guys clinging to the back of it. Luckily I was alert, and managed to capture this interesting sight with my digital camera.

Altogether, we spent a couple of delightful hours exploring downtown Cd. Miguel Alemán, on foot, which is the best way to explore a Mexican town. It was quite an interesting experience, and it gave us a new insight into Mexican culture, and the culture of the state of Tamulipas.

Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...