San Pedro Garza García
| File:Escudo San Pedro.gif Coat of arms of the Municipality of San Pedro | |
| Motto: Libertad con Orden y Justicia ("Liberty with Order and Justice") | |
| Foundation date | November 20, 1596 |
| Population | 225 005 (2005) |
| Population Metro Area | 3 837 910 (2005) |
| Population density | 1,743/km² (1990) |
| Altitude | 540 meters |
| Coordinates | 25°40′N 100°18′W / 25.667°N 100.300°W |
| UTC | - 6 hours(Central) |
| Telephone code number | 81 |
| Sources: INEGI, Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México,) CONAPO | |
San Pedro Garza García, commonly referred to as either San Pedro or Garza García, is a residential and commercial suburb of the larger metropolitan city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. With a population of over 120,000 people (93.7% of them Catholic[citation needed]), it sits in a valley surrounded by mountains; most notably La Loma Larga and Sierra Madre Oriental. The city is highly developed with many parks, private schools, gardens, and corporations. It hosts the administrative offices of important companies like Cemex, Gamesa, Vitro, Pyosa and Cydsa. It is often regarded as Latin America's most affluent suburb[citation needed]. However, San Pedro is one of Mexico's cleanest and safest cities thanks in part to its wealthy citizens taking such an active part in their community.
In 2005 San Pedro signed an agreement with South Padre Island, Texas, United States to become Sister Cities (see Sister-Cities Intl). It is also twinned with El Porvenir, Chiapas, Mexico a municipality at the country's other extreme, in geographical terms.
History
Two months after the foundation of its neighbor, Monterrey, in 1596 the land on which San Pedro Garza García lies was turned into a large plantation called "Los Nogales", where crops like corn, wheat, beans, and many other foods were produced. During the 18th century, the plantation often went by the name of "San Pedro", in honor of Saint Peter. The city was not elevated to the status of "Villa" (Village) until December 14, 1882, when it was given the name Garza García, in honor of the governor of Nuevo León, Genaro Garza García. It was not until 1988 that the mayor at the time, Alejandro Chapa Salazar gave the city its current name, adding the reference to what it was called centuries before.
Government
The current municipal president (mayor) of San Pedro is Fernando Margaín Berlanga representing the National Action Party (PAN).
Landmarks and sightseeing
1. Chipinque Park (see below under "Natural Areas")
2. Centro Cultural Alfa. A science interactive museum, the first one of its kind in Mexico. It is located within a tilted column-shaped structure and surrounded by lush gardens. It is worth to visit, specially for kids. There is a good planetarium, and an impressive masterpiece glasswork by Rufino Tamayo.
3. Auditorio San Pedro. A middle-size cute place for plays and concerts.
4. Shopping Malls. The elegant Paseo San Pedro, Plaza Fiesta San Agustín and Galerías Valle Oriente malls boast the hottest shops in town.
5. Calzada del Valle and Calzada San Pedro. Beautiful 3 lane intersecting gardened boulevards. Some of the most exclusive shops lie right here. Joggers can be seen in the mornings. In Christmas time trees are lit by thousands of lights to add splendor to the zone.
6. Opened in 2003, the Puente de la Unidad (sometimes called Puente atirantado) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Río Santa Catarina and joins San Pedro Garza García with Monterrey.
7. El Centrito. A traditional place to drink a good coffe, have dinner or meet friends in a casual environment. Many restaurants and discos are located here.
8. The Dataflux Tower. The tallest building in the Monterrey metropolitan area, and the tallest in Mexico outside Mexico City. Previously named Dataflux Tower.
Education
The American School Foundation of Monterrey, a private school in Mexico[citation needed], offers a non-religious co-educational alternative for wealthy families. ASFM provides a U.S.-type education to international and Mexican students. While the school offers a curriculum similar to U.S. schools in many respects and is fully accredited in the U.S., it is incorporated and licensed in Mexico.
The Legion of Christ, a strong and growing Catholic order among Mexico’s elite, holds three different private Catholic schools in this suburb. The first two offer a bilingual same-sex educational program. Instituto Irlandes de Monterrey is an all boys prep school and C.E.C.V.A.C. is the all girls version of the same. Both schools offer pre-school (Irish Valley), primary, secondary and preparatory (Bachillerato Anahuac) schools. Instituto Himalaya is the Legion’s new pre-school and primary school which offers a bilingual co-educational program. All three of these schools require daily formal uniforms and are part of Oak International Academies.
Instituto San Roberto offers trilingual education that ensures that students communicate with clarity, purpose and understanding of audience in Spanish, English, and French. This school was founded by the same family that made Monterrey a very important city; Eugenio Garza Sada and family.
Other schools like the American Institute of Monterrey (AIM) and Colegio Ingles offer other excellent bilingual programs.
Prepa Tec Campus Santa Catarina is the most popular[citation needed] elite Private High School among San Pedro's most prominent and affluent families, although it is actually located in the neighboring municipality of Santa Catarina. It includes an extensive list of the most notable prominent families in San Pedro. It is regarded as the most important Private High School in the country[citation needed]. Prepa Tec offers three different multicultural and multilingual programs (including the IB Diploma Programme) and is part of the ITESM: Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, one of the most important school systems in Mexico.
The Catholic Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM) ranks among the top universities in the country[citation needed]. Although much smaller in size and endowment than ITESM, it offers similar bachelor and master degree programs. The university's main campus is located within the suburb of San Pedro and it also offers several high school programs in separate campuses.
The Liceo de Monterrey, a catholic school under the personal labor of Opus Dei; is one of the most distingushed girl school of the country. It offers: trilingual education (Spanish, English, and French), the KUMON math system, and SOI -a learning/studying system-, and -the same as ITESM- the IB Diploma Programme for high school. Its differentiated system (girls only) makes the students learn better, because of the focus the school gives to its subjects. Its campus is located among on the best areas of the city, in front of Plaza Fiesta San Agustin mall.
Natural areas
San Pedro boasts one of the best preserved national parks in the country, the "Chipinque" park, within the Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey. See Chipinque website.
The park is located at the foothill of the breathtaking Sierra Madre, and is the only naturally forested spot in metropolitan Monterrey. It's an excellent place for biking and jogging. There is a resort hotel within the park, with facilities for small business conventions.
A good number of tree species, birds and mammals can be seen within the park. Fires are a continuous threat during the dry hot summers and have caused devastation in the past.