Tampico
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Tampico, located at Template:Coor d, is the main city in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the Mexican Gulf's main economic powerhouse. The city lies in a rich petroleum-producing region; it is a chief commercial center of northeastern Mexico and one of the most important seaports of the country. The present city was founded with the granting of its formal charter in 1824, although an earlier settlement, known as Tampico Alto, was founded by Spain in 1554. In 2003 the estimated population of Tampico was about 307,000 people, although the metropolitan area, including Ciudad Madero and Altamira, raises that number to 769,070.
The name "Tampico" is believed to be of Huastec origin: tam-piko, meaning "place of – otters", (literally "water dogs"). The city is surrounded by rivers and lagoons which hosted a large population of otters in the past.
In 1921, Mexican commercial aviation started here, as its first flight, by Mexicana Airlines, took off from Tampico's General Francisco Javier Mina International Airport(IATA airport code: TAM) to Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City. This airport was also one of the first ILS equipped airports outside Mexico City.
In 1926, the first Coca-Cola bottling plant in Mexico was built there. It is still in operation today under the ownership of Grupo Tampico SA de CV.
Tampico's Country Club, and its golf course, is one of the oldest in Mexico. Seafood is important in the city - even its locals are informally known as jaibos (crabs).
Jimmy Buffett wrote the song "Tampico Trauma" about his experiences there. John Huston´s epic movie, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is set in Tampico in its opening scenes. Joseph Hergesheimer's 1920's novel Tampico tells an engrossing tale of expatriate lives there.
Tampico's downtown architecture is an electic mix and reflects the growth of the city during the Porfiriato (the period of rule by President Porfirio Diaz). It includes many New Orleans inspired balconies (mostly built of English cast iron)in Plaza de Libertad, a fine Neo-classical Town Hall (or Palacio Municipal) in the Plaza de Armas and a superb English redbrick Customs House in the docks.de:Tampico fr:Tampico es:Tampico