Ciudad Juárez

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Coordinates: 31°44′22″N, 106°29′13″W
Juarez City (Ciudad Juárez)
Founded	1659
Government
- Mayor	Héctor Murguía Lardizábal ( PRI)
Elevation	1,120 m (3,674.5 ft)
Population (2005)
- City	1,301,452
- Density	6,477/km² (16,775.4/sq mi)
Time zone	Central Time zone (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-6)
Website: http://www.juarez.gob.mx

Ciudad Juárez, or simply Juárez, is a city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua with an estimated population of 1,301,452 as of 2005. It stands on the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte), across the border from El Paso, Texas. The two cities form a Metroplex metropolitan area of 2,280,782 making it the largest international border community in which the Developed and newly industrialized worlds meet in such a close proximity. It is the major port of entry and transportation center of north central Mexico and the eight largest city in Mexico. It is a growing industrial center with more than 300 maquiladoras (assembly plants) and now is the main logistic center in Mexico.

1 History
2 Education
3 Sports
4 Broadcasting and media
5 Films and other media
6 Places of Interest
7 Famous People from Juarez
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

Ciudad Juarez was founded as El Paso del Norte ("North Pass") in 1659 by Spanish explorers, seeking a route through the southern Rocky Mountains.

The wood for the bridge across the Rio Grande first came from Santa Fe in the 1700s.

The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo established the Rio Grande as the border between Mexico and the United States, separating the settlements on the north bank of the river from the rest of the town. The portion of the city allotted to the United States would later become El Paso, Texas. Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas are one of the 14 pairs of sister cities along the U.S.–Mexico border.

Benito Juárez, Twice President of Mexico

During the French intervention in Mexico (1862–67), El Paso del Norte served as a temporary capital of Benito Juárez's republican forces. In 1888, El Paso del Norte was renamed in honor of Juárez.

Ciudad Juárez sunset

Ciudad Juárez again served as a provisional Mexican capital during the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution, when forces loyal to opposition candidate Francisco I. Madero, led by Pancho Villa, seized the city on 20 November 1910. The scene of intense fighting for a decade, Juárez recovered during the US Prohibition era (1919–33) as an entertainment center. Juárez continued to attract tourists from the southwest USA during the 1940s and 1950s, with its bars, nightclubs, brothels, bullfighting, and shopping. Juárez has grown substantially in recent decades due to a large influx of people rapidly moving into the city in search of jobs with the maquiladoras. Now, more technological firms have been attracted like the largest Delphi Corporation Technical Center in the Western Hemisphere, which is located in Ciudad Juárez and employs more than 2,000 engineers. Large slum housing communities called colonias have become extensive.

Juárez has gained further notoriety as a major center of narcotics trafficking linked to the powerful Juárez Cartel, and for hundreds of unsolved murders of young women since 1993. Unfortunately, because of widely alleged police complicity (and perhaps even participation on the part of police and government officials and local elites), the serial murders continue and most of them remain "unsolved" despite the years that have gone by, though homicides have dropped a bit since 2004 despite the increase of population. As a result of the murders, Juárez (along with the capital of the state, Chihuahua City) has become a center for protest against sexual violence throughout Mexico.^[1] Meanwhile, many continue working to maintain a positive image of Ciudad Juarez.

Songs 'Juarez' by the music artist Tori Amos and 'Invalid Litter Dept.' by At the Drive-In refer to Ciudad Juarez and the murders of women therein.

A giant Mexican flag, banderas monumentales, was erected in Chamizal Park on June 26, 1997.

[edit] Education

Juarez has 3 public universities -one of them being one of the most important universities in Mexico- and 1 private. They are: Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez (ITCJ), Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (UACH) and ITESM Campus Ciudad Juárez.

[edit] Sports

Like in most of Mexico, football soccer is the most popular sport in Juarez. The local soccer team is Indios de Ciudad Juárez. Also baseball, basketball, tennis and football are popular, most of these being practiced mostly in high schools and universities.

Juarez has 2 large stadiums: Estadio Olímpico Benito Juárez and Estadio 20 de Noviembre.

[edit] Broadcasting and media

There are 16 open TV channel signals in the city making Juarez the city with the most open TV channels in the world:[1]

Name	Channel
Canal 5 (XHGC)	2
Canal 4 (KDBC)	4
Canal 5 (XEJTV)	5
Canal 7 (KVIA)	7
NewsChannel 9 (KTSM)	9
Azteca 13 (XHCJE)	11
KCOS Channel 13 (KCOS)	13
KFOX-TV (KFOX)	14
Azteca 7 (XHCJH)	20
Canal 16 (KINT)	26
El Canal de las Estrellas (XEW)	32
Multimedios (K40FW)	40
Canal 44 (XHIJ)	44
Telemundo (KTDO)	48
Canal 56 (XHJUB)	56
Telefutura (KTFN)	65

Juarez has 4 local newspapers: El Diario, El Norte, El Mexicano and PM. Also, there are 24 radio station signals in AM and 21 in FM. There are 3 different paid television signals available.

[edit] Films and other media

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Man on Fire (2004)
The Virgin of Juarez (2006)
Bordertown (2007) (The film was not actually filmed in Juarez).
Juarez was featured as the setting of a Mexican rebellion in the video game Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2.
In Cocaine Blues by Johnny Cash, the song states that, "they overtook me down in Juárez, Mexico."
In the single "Cd. Juárez" by Mexican singer María Barracuda.

La Catedral in downtown Ciudad Juárez

[edit] Places of Interest

Auditorio civico Benito Juarez: The local theater for the arts.
Auditorio Municipal: The new state of the art theater built behind the UACJ Med School.
Zona Pronaf: Bars, museums, shops, restaurants, entertainment.
Estadio Olimpico Benito Juarez: Home of the local soccer team Los Indios (The Indians).
Avenida Juarez; Bars and shops.
Parque Chamizal: Green area of the city, once shared by El Paso and Juarez.
Museo del Concorde: A place to see original parts of the airliner.
Centro Cívico Paso del Norte (Just opened December 2006).
Misiones, Galerias Tec, Plaza Juárez and Rio Grande shopping malls.
Parque Central: (Central Park) A family-oriented recreational area located 10 miles south of the US-Mexico border.
Parque Xtremo: The largest extreme park in Latin America.

[edit] Famous People from Juarez

Vanessa Guzmán (Nuestra Belleza Mexico 1996 -finished 6th on Miss Universe- and actress)
Ramón Valdéz* (El Chavo del 8 actor)
Germán "TinTan" Valdéz* (comedian)
Manuel "El Loco" Valdéz* (comedian)
Juan Gabriel* (singer and song writer)
Liliana Dominguez (super model)
María Barracuda* (singer and song writer)