Aguascalientes, Mexico

🇲🇽 Aguascalientes is the capital of the Mexican state of Aguascalientes and its most populous city, as well as the head of the Aguascalientes Municipality. The metropolitan area also includes the municipalities of Jesús María and San Francisco de los Romo. It is located in North-Central Mexico, which roughly corresponds to the Bajío region (Lowlands) within the central Mexican plateau. The city stands on a valley of steppe climate at 1880 meters above sea level.

Originally a Chichimeca Indian territory, the city was founded on October 22, 1575, by Spanish families relocating from Lagos de Moreno under the name of Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de las Aguas Calientes (Village of Our Lady of the Assumption of the Hot Waters), in reference to the chosen patron saint and the many thermal springs found close to the village, which still remain to this day. It would serve as an outpost in the Silver Route, while politically, it was part of the kingdom of Nueva Galicia. In 1835, President Antonio López de Santa Anna made Aguascalientes the capital of a new territory in retaliation to the state of Zacatecas, eventually becoming capital of a new state in 1857. During the Porfiriato era, Aguascalientes was chosen to host the main workshops of the Mexican Central Railway company; bringing an industrial and cultural explosion. The city hosted the Revolutionary Convention of 1914, an important meeting of war generals during the Mexican Revolution.

Formed on a tradition of farming, mining and railroad and textile industry; contemporary Aguascalientes has attracted foreign investment of automobile and electronics companies due to its peaceful business climate, strategic location and existing infrastructure. The city is home to Renault-Nissan's largest and most important manufacturing plants in Latin America and a shared facility by Nissan and Mercedes, which has given the city a significant Japanese immigrant community. Other companies with operations in the city include Jatco, Coca-Cola, Flextronics, Texas Instruments, Donaldson and Calsonic Kansei. The city of Aguascalientes is also known for the San Marcos Fair, the largest fair celebrated in Mexico and one of the largest in Latin America.

Economy According to the World Bank, Aguascalientes has one of the most business-friendly environments in Mexico and is one of the best places in the world to invest. 240 multinationals were installed during the last 30 years, representing the United States, Japan, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Brazil among others. 70% of Japan's investment in Mexico is in Aguascalientes. Softtek, the largest software development company in Mexico, has large operations in Aguascalientes.

Aguascalientes is home to two large Nissan manufacturing plants, including the most important outside of Japan. Among other models of cars, they manufacture the Sentra and the Versa. The Aguascalientes plants are responsible for the majority of Mexico's overall annual production of 850,000 Nissan automobiles. Due to their presence, the city has a significant Japanese population.

Texas Instruments has one plant in Aguascalientes, which is dedicated to integrated circuitry (IC) manufacturing. Sensata Technologies has one plant in the city, making sensors and controls for automotive, HVAC and industrial use. Flextronics is another electronics manufacturer that has a plant located in Aguascalientes City. There are also several companies that work in the robotics industry, the most notable being FANUC Robotics.

Cycling Aguascalientes is known as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in Mexico. The municipality is also developing a system of interconnected green bicycle routes, greenways, the aim being to facilitate fast, safe, and pleasant bicycle transport from one end of the city to the other.

Roads Aguascalientes has a large network of roads connecting different municipalities of the city together and to other cities. Most of the city grew as a planned city, having been pioneers in urban development regulation since 1936. The city is planned around three concentric highway loops. The third beltway loop is expected to be fully operational in 2022. The first and second loop have overpasses and underpasses at major intersections to avoid traffic from stopping.

Airport Lic. Jesús Terán Peredo International Airport serves the city, with four daily non-stop international flights from/to Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and Chicago; as well as domestic flights.