Like most Mexican cities, Cd. Miguel Alemán features a plaza near the center of downtown, anchored by the municipal building, and surrounded by businesses.  The plaza provides a shady place to seek refuge from the hot, semi-tropical sun in the lower Rio Grande Valley, and it's very clean, and meticulously well-maintained.  The citizens of Miguel Alemán can be proud of their park.

Photo:  Plaza de Miguel Hidalgo is well-maintained, and offers a shady place to relax.  Why are tree trunks painted white in every Mexican park?

Plaza de Miguel Hidalgo is located in downtown Cd. Alemán at the corner of Av. Emiliano Zapata and Calle Septima, also known as C. Sexta.  It occupies an entire city block, and is arranged exactly like practically any other town plaza that I've seen in Mexican cities, with a bandstand in the middle, and sidewalks branching out from the bandstand, like a square wheel with only four spokes, and sidewalks that parallels the city streets.  Amenities include a clean restroom, with pay-as-you-go toilets, a well-maintained playground for the children, plenty of benches, and food and drink vendors, pushing carts, and riding bicycles.  Tacos Chapa occupies a spot on 6th street, at the north end of the park, in case you're in the mood for some delicious barbacoa tacos.

Photo:  Looking north, from the park, to Calle Sexta, in the background of the photo.  Not shown is the taco vendor, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of Tacos de Barbacoa.

Photo:  Like the park, the children's playground is very clean, and well-maintained.  On this Wednesday morning, there were no takers, as all of the children were in school.

Cd. Miguel Alemán is the seat of the municipality of the same name, and hosts an attractive municipal building, located near the statue of Miguel Hidalgo.  The building is home to the city government, and to the government of the municipality, and bears the slogan that reads "Buen gobierno por un Mejor Miguel Alemán," which translates to "Good Government for a greater Miguel Alemán."  If you're not aware of how local government in Mexico works, a municipality is roughly equivalent to a county, in the U.S., and Cd. Miguel Alemán is the country seat.  Incidentally, the city was named after a former president of Mexico, Miguel Alemán Valdés, who held office from 1946 to 1952.

Photo:  Bust of Father Miguel Hidalgo, a National Hero, who was very instrumental in helping Mexico achieve independence from Spain.

Photo:  The municipal palace, where the sign translates to "Good Government for a greater Miguel Alemán."

We spent a bit of time, walking around the town plaza, relaxing on a park bench, and taking in the local culture.  If you want to experience the local culture of Cd. Alemán, a visit to the town plaza is essential.

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