The Brave Land of Monterrey

According to www.munknee.com and other similar sites, my hometown, Monterrey, isn't by any chance among the best places to retire, as the following list shows:

1. Lake Chapala, Jalisco
2. Ensenada, Baja California
3. San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
4. Guadalajara, Jalisco
5. Merida, Yucatan
6. Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo
7. Mazatlan, Sinaloa
8. Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
9. La Paz, Baja California
10. San Cristobal de las Casas Chiapas

 Now this is nothing new, and perhaps that's why the first human inhabitants were native American nomads. Then came the settlers form Spain, who encountered a fierce resistance from the indigenous people.
The city of Monterrey went through three foundations: the first by Alberto del Canto in 1577, but the small population named Santa Lucia didn't last long because this man was apprehended the next year. A few years later, the expeditioner Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, following the orders of King Philip II of Spain, brought with him a bunch of outlaws, criminals, and murderers to found the Villa de San Luis Rey de Francia. For about 8 years, there was a town but there were no inhabitants.
Then in 1596 Diego de Montemayor and 12 families from the nearby city of Saltillo came to this land and on September 20th. baptised it with the magnificent name of Ciudad Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey.
Ever since the first settlers set foot on this land, life has not been easy in Monterrey: we have to face extremely high temperatures most of the year followed by an inclement weather in wintertime. Because rain is scarce and there are no rivers or lakes, the landscape boasts imposing mountains but very few trees. Because we've managed to survive in such a hostile place, the natives of Monterrey are considered as a brave and tough people.
And truly, our ancestors have succeeded in transforming a desolate desert into a modern, striving city with some of Mexico's most important industries, renowned universities, hospitals, museums, and shopping malls.
I resent that art and culture are not promoted here as much as in other Mexican cities, especially Mexico City. Most people know nothing about the Fine Arts, but they are obsessed with the two local soccer teams and their pathetically mediocre players. Other Mexicans consider us as barbarians, and in many respects they are right, I have to admit. Writer, politician, and philosopher Jose Vasconcelos reportedly said that "civilization ends where grilled meat (carne asada) begins"...
Carne asada is more than Monterrey's second typical dish (the first is cabrito, or grilled baby goat); this terms also refers to the ubiquitous parties where family members and friends gather around a grill set on open fire every single weekend of the year, but also on any other time. There's no special occasion or reason to set up a carne asada with good meat and a lot of ice-cold beer in Monterrey.

As of recently, I can sense a general feeling of discontent, mainly with our local authorities. There is a number of problems that these have failed to solve, such as the recent raise in the local bus fares, which affects the people with the lowest incomes. Protests are now being held in several areas of the city. And this I can understand: we pay perhaps the most expensive bus fare in Mexico, but the service is deplorable and even dangerous.
Maybe I should write about this issue in detail, in a later post. I also would like to address other problems in my city, such as the poor quality of the air, the chaos in streets and avenues, the ghost of the flu, and the drug-related crimes that have decreased a little but not nearly disappeared.
But not everything is grim: I'm going to write about many other good aspects of my city as well. My hometown has become a famous place and some of its most beautiful scenes have been shown in domestic and international media. All in all, there is more good than bad, as many people who have come to live here can testify.