Laredo (/ləˈreɪdoʊ/ lə-RAY-doh; Spanish: [laˈɾeðo]) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and seat of Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a village to the capital of the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande to the largest inland port on the Mexican border. Laredo's economy is primarily based on international trade with Mexico, and as a major hub for three areas of transportation: land, rail, and air cargo. The city is on the southern end of I-35, which connects manufacturers in northern Mexico through Interstate 35 as a major route for trade throughout the U.S. It has four international bridges and one railway bridge.
According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 255,205, making it the 11th-most populous city in Texas and third-most populated U.S. city on the Mexican border, after San Diego, California and El Paso, Texas.[8] Its metropolitan area is the 178th-largest in the U.S. and includes all of Webb County, with a population of 267,114. Laredo is also part of the cross-border Laredo-Nuevo Laredo metropolitan area with an estimated population of 636,516.[9]
Laredo's Hispanic proportion of 95.15% is one of the highest proportion of Hispanic Americans of any city in the United States outside of Puerto Rico.[10]
Texas A&M International University and Laredo College are in Laredo. Laredo International Airport is within the Laredo city limits, while the Quetzalcoatl International Airport is nearby in Nuevo Laredo on the Mexican side.
The biggest festival, Washington's Birthday Celebration, is held during the later part of January and the majority of February, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists.[citation needed]
The Spanish colonial settlement of Villa de San Agustin de Laredo was founded in 1755 by Don Tomás Sánchez Barrera, while the area was part of the Nuevo Santander region in the Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Villa de San Agustin de Laredo was named after Laredo, Cantabria, Spain and in honor of Saint Augustine of Hippo. In 1840, Laredo was the capital of the independent Republic of the Rio Grande, set up in opposition to Antonio López de Santa Anna; it was brought back into Mexico by military force.[citation needed]
In 1846 during the Mexican–American War, the town was occupied by the Texas Rangers. After the war, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ceded the land to the United States. A referendum was taken in the town, which voted to petition the American military government in charge of the area to return the town to Mexico. When this petition was rejected, many who had been in the area for generations, moved across the river into Mexican territory, where they founded Nuevo Laredo. Many others, especially original land grantees on the north side of the Rio Grande remained, becoming Texans in the process. In 1849, the United States Army set up Fort McIntosh (originally Camp Crawford). Laredo was rechartered as a city in 1852.
Laredo is one of the oldest crossing points along the Mexico–United States border, and the nation's largest inland port of entry. In 2005, Laredo celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding.
The etymology of the name for the Spanish town of Laredo is unclear. Some scholars say the name stems from glaretum, which means "sandy, rocky place". Others state Laredo stems from a Basque word meaning "beautiful pastures".[12][13] Laredo might also stem from the Latin larida, which means gull.[14]
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma brought his Bach Project to the Juarez–Lincoln International Bridge in April 2019.[15][16]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 102.6 square miles (265.7 km2), of which 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) (1.37%) are covered by water.[17]
Laredo is on the west end of the Rio Grande Plains, south of the Edwards Plateau, west of the Coastal Plains, and east of the Mexican Mountains. The area consists of a few hills and flat land covered with grasses, oaks, and mesquite.
Notable geographic features are the Rio Grande and Chacon Creek's man-made reservoir,Lake Casa Blanca, in Lake Casa Blanca International State Park. The lake is 371 acres (1.5 km2) of land and 1,650 acres (7 km2) of water. The six major creeks are Chacon Creek, San Ildefonso Creek, San Ygnacio Creek, Santa Isabel Creek, Sombrerillito Creek