Bargains on the Border
An autumn tradition for many Texans is a trip to a border town in Mexico across the Rio Grande to do some Christmas shopping. For some, it’s a matter of their dollars buying more gifts. For others, prices aren’t the attraction. They’re looking for distinctive, exotic gifts not readily found in the United States.
This year many who traditionally make the annual pilgrimage to the border will skip it because of heightened security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. U.S. Customs personnel are scrutinizing travelers entering or re-entering from Mexico much more diligently than in the past, and this tends to slow down the flow of vehicles and people across the international bridges. Lots of political pressure is being exerted to get traffic flowing more smoothly, and reports indicate that waiting times are decreasing.
Shoppers can alleviate some of the delays by not attempting to return to the U.S. during peak crossing hours which generally coincide with morning and afternoon “rush hours” elsewhere. They can also, in some locations, speed up the process by choosing the less utilized facilities where multiple bridges are available. In fact, impatient travelers would be well advised to avoid crossing at locations where cities are served by single bridges.
For residents of most parts of Texas and neighboring states, the most popular destinations probably are “Los Dos Laredos” – Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Nuevo Laredo isn’t the largest city across the Rio Grande from Texas. Juarez, across from El Paso, has that distinction. But Nuevo Laredo, reached via an easy drive down Interstate 35, is more accessible to all but those residing in far West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
As those fluent in Spanish are aware, “nuevo” translates as “new.” Therefore, Nuevo Laredo is the newer of the two cities. What became Laredo, Texas was founded in 1755 as the last of a number of communities in southern Texas and northern Mexico established under the authority of Jose de Escandon. Three families settled there originally, and by 1789, the population numbered 708. When Texas declared and won its independence from Mexico in 1836, Laredo was part of territory in dispute. Texas claimed its southern boundary was the Rio Grande, but Mexico placed it farther north at the Nueces River. Although Republic of Texas officials regarded Laredo as part of their country, they made no effort to extend governmental jurisdiction to it.
After the U.S.-Mexican War of 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo established the Rio Grande as the international boundary, residents of Laredo who regarded themselves as citizens of Mexico found themselves residing in the United States. Many of them opted to move south of the river and settle in the village they named Nuevo Laredo. Ironically, the new town grew more rapidly than its predecessor on the north bank of the Rio Grande. According to the 2000 census, Laredo’s population is slightly more than 190,000. Nuevo Laredo’s has been estimated at 335,000.
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