Veracruz

Veracruz,( beɾaˈkɾus ) formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (Spanish pronunciation: [beɾaˈkɾus ðe iɣˈnasjo ðe la ˈʝaβe]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez.

This state is located in Eastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south, and Tabasco to the southeast. On its east, Veracruz has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.

The state is noted for its mixed ethnic and indigenous populations. Its cuisine reflects the many cultural influences that have come through the state because of the importance of the port of Veracruz.

In addition to the capital city, the state's largest cities include Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Minatitlán, Poza Rica, Boca Del Río and Orizaba.

Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz

Club Deportivo Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, commonly known as Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, is a Mexican professional football club based in the city of Veracruz. Veracruz was founded in 1943, and plays in the Liga MX of Mexico. Their nickname "Tiburones Rojos" means red sharks.

History

The club was founded around April 1943 under the name of Club Deportivo Veracruz after two clubs from the city state of Veracruz, Iberia de Córdoba and Veracruz Sporting Club, merged in order to join the Mexican Primera División. At the time, both clubs played in Liga Veracruzana, an amateur league in Veracruz. These two clubs had dominated the Liga Amateur de Veracruz, winning 21 titles combined. Each of these clubs had a short stay in the Primera Fuerza – a now defunct amateur football league in Mexico City – in the early 1920s but due to the distance, the clubs generally played in the local league which was less competitive. The clubs kept the Veracruz Sporting Club colors, red and black, which they used in the early part of its existence and a few years later would switch the black to white, keeping red as the club's main shirt color. In their first year the club played in Parque Deportivo Veracruzano sharing the field with baseball club Rojos del Águila de Veracruz. The club's nickname was given by Manuel Seyde who had also help merge the two clubs. The club had the honor of having been one of the first clubs to play in the professional league as well as having been the first club not from Mexico City to win the tournament. Among other records the club holds is the record for most relegations (four times) including being relegated in 2008 by its hated rival Puebla who had just been promoted the year before. The club has played in the Liga de Ascenso ever since, coming close to promotion a couple of times but falling short each time.

Veracruz (city)

Veracruz (Spanish pronunciation: [beɾaˈkɾus]), officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located along the coast in the central part of the state,90 km (56 mi) southeast of the state capital Xalapa along Federal Highway 140.

It is the state's most populous city, with a population that is greater than the municipality's population, as part of the city of Veracruz extends into the neighboring Boca del Río Municipality. At the 2010 census, the city had 554,830 inhabitants, 428,323 in Veracruz Municipality and 126,507 in Boca del Río Municipality. Developed during Spanish colonization, Veracruz has been Mexico’s oldest, largest, and historically most significant port.

When the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico in 1519, he founded a city here, which he named Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, referring to the area’s gold and dedicated to the "True Cross", because he landed on the Christian holy day of Good Friday, the day of the Crucifixion. It was the second Spanish settlement on the mainland of the Americas but the first to receive a coat-of-arms. During the colonial period, this city had the largest mercantile class and was at times wealthier than the capital of Mexico City. Its wealth attracted the raids of 17th-century pirates, against which fortifications such as Fort San Juan de Ulúa were built. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Veracruz was invaded on different occasions by France and the United States; during the 1914 Tampico Affair, US troops occupied the city for seven months. For much of the 20th century, the production of petroleum was most important for the state's economy but, in the latter 20th century and into the 21st, the port has re-emerged as the main economic engine. It has become the principal port for most of Mexico’s imports and exports, especially for the automotive industry.