Laredo

About Laredo

Laredo is a city on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, directly across the border from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Founded in 1755 as a Spanish settlement, it has flown seven flags, including those of Spain, Mexico, Texas and the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande, whose capitol building still stands downtown as a museum.

Today Laredo has about 260,000 residents, most of them of Mexican heritage, and Spanish is spoken widely. The city is the busiest inland port in the United States, with thousands of trucks crossing its international bridges every day, and its economy is tied closely to trade with Mexico.

The historic center around San Agustin Plaza keeps old stone buildings, the San Agustin Cathedral and the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum. Lake Casa Blanca International State Park offers fishing, camping and trails on the city's east side, and the Laredo College campus occupies historic Fort McIntosh. The city's George Washington's Birthday Celebration, held each winter for more than a century, is one of the largest of its kind in the country.