Veracruz

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Veracruz is the name of both a state in Mexico and that state's largest city. This article is about the state. For the city, see Veracruz, Veracruz. For other uses, see Veracruz (disambiguation).

Veracruz

Location

Statistics
Capital	Xalapa
Largest City	Veracruz City
Area	71,699 km² Ranked 11th
Population (2005 census)	7,110,214 Ranked 3rd
HDI (2004)	0.7457 - medium Ranked 28th
Governor (2004-2010)	Fidel Herrera Beltrán (PRI)
Federal Deputies	PRI: 14 PAN: 9
Federal Senators	PRI: 2 PAN: 1
ISO 3166-2 Postal abbr.	MX-VER Ver.

The state of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states that compose Mexico (does not include the Mexican Federal District).

It is located in the east central part of the country, between 17°10' and 22°38' North and between 93°55' and 98°38' West. It has a mainland area of 72,815 km² and includes several islands in the Gulf of Mexico totalling another 58 km².

Veracruz borders the states of Tamaulipas to the north, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south, Tabasco to the southeast, Puebla, Hidalgo, and San Luis Potosi to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.

Its capital is Xalapa, located in the northern part of the state. With 6.9 million inhabitants, the state of Veracruz is the third most populous in the nation, after the Federal District and the state of México.

On the coastal plains and throughout most of the state, the climate is hot and humid. On the foothills of the mountains, the climate is cool and humid. The climate only becomes cold in the mountain regions, where it also rains copiously. From June to October, Veracruz is "occasionally" affected by hurricanes.

Its formal name is Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave in honor of General Ignacio de la Llave, who died in 1863 after wounds received during the French invasion of Mexico. The official of this Mexican state was Veracruz-Llave from 1863 to 2004.

Interestingly, in 1865 rather than surrendering to American forces, Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States of America, Missouri's highest ranking military officer led his army to Mexico where he became leader of a colony of Confederate exiles at Carlota in the state of Veracruz.

Main streets and avenues in the city of Veracruz:

Independencia, 5 de Mayo and Zaragoza cross downtown. The main public bus routes drive on Zaragoza, 5 de Mayo, and Valentin Gomez Farias all day long. If you are in the south of the city and want to go downtown, you must take any bus that reads "Centro". Some of the lines include "Boca del Rio"(white and brown buses), "Playa Villa del Mar" (green and white), "Primero de Mayo" (blue and white).

For a great coffee while mingling with the locals (politicians and journalists gather there between 8 and 10 in the morning) you must go to "Cafe La Parroquia", located few blocks from the main square downtown on Paseo del Malecon (beach side, a large shipping port). The main square is known as "Zocalo" or "Plaza de Armas", where among cries of "guero, guero," for the traditional ice-cream of Malecon, one can find many vendors of all sorts of wares, the "Edificio Pemex," various museums and hotels, the "Palacio Municipal" (city hall) and the impressive "Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion" (Cathedral of our Lady of the Assumption, built in 1721). Double-decker tour busses depart from here hourly to tour the city, passing sites like the newly renovated customs building, the impressively large post office and the "Faro Benito Juarez," a museum dedicated to this revolutionary as well as those that helped him bring law, order and independence to México.

Boulevard Manuel Avila Camacho and Boulevard Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez will take you south towards the "new Veracruz" where nice hotels, great restaurants, a couple of malls ("Plaza Las Palmas," "Plaza Las Americas" and "Plaza Mocambo"), and the "World Trade Center, Veracruz" (convention center) are located.

Among other attractions, there's the "Miguel Angel de Quevedo" Zoo, home of more than 140 animals and a old-fashioned railroad that goes around the park on Sundays. You can also visit the Aquarium ("Acuario de Veracruz") or go to "Castillo de San Juan de Ulúa", a Spanish fort very similar to the one in St. Agustin, FL.