Torreón

Torreón is a city of 735,000 people (2021) in Coahuila state in Mexico. It forms the Comarca Lagunera - known as the Cradle of the Mexican Revolution - with the neighboring cities of Gómez Palacios, Lerdo, Matamoros and several municipalities of Coahuila and Durango. It is also part of the La Laguna metropolitan area. The city is known as La Perla de la Laguna ("the pearl of La Laguna").

Understand

Monument to Juárez

Torreón is the center of the largest metropolitan area in the state of Coahuila, and it is one of Mexico's most important economic and industrial centers, focusing on textiles, clothing and metals processing.

History

In 1911, Torreon was the site of a vicious race riot in which 300 Asian immigrants were murdered.

During the Mexican Revolution, Torreon was a hotbed of unrest. The Federal Army presence made it a target for Pancho Villa's Division del Norte and there were three major battles fought over Torreon during the war. The first battle was in September 1913 when Pancho Villa attacked Federal troops loyal to Victoriano Huerta. The revolutionaries trounced the federal troops, capturing much needed supplies. Huerta's troops weren't too smart and they came back a few months later, only to get a second can of whoop ass opened up on them. This time, Villa's men not only captured military supplies, they found that the Terraza family (Huerta loyalists) were hiding a cache over 600,000 pesos. Villa accepted their kind contribution to his war effort and used the money to buy a small airplane and hire a gringo to pilot it.

A Third Battle of Torreon took place in 1916 when 16,000 troops had reinforced the city of Chihuahua. Figuring that meant Torreon was left with a token defense force, Villa moved into nearby Gómez Palacio and bombarded the city. The defending troops knew that Villa preferred to attack at night, so they figured they'd stay in the city as day broke and would move out in the afternoon. Villa's cavalry attacked at 8am, taking the city and capturing hundreds of prisoners. Switching tactics, Villa decided to let the prisoners join his army instead of facing a firing squad. Ironically, one of the spared prisoners would participate in Villa's assassination 7 years later.

Climate

The city has a desert climate. Rainfall is scarce but more prominent in the summer, whilst temperatures are very hot by day and cool at night, although the urban heat island effect causes temperatures on summer nights to be considerably warmer than nearby areas.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Francisco Sarabia International Airport (TRC  ^IATA), Torreón San Pedro road km. 9, Center. It is the airport that serves the city and most of the Lagunera region. It connects the city with several cities in the country, such as Mexico City, Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Tijuana and Dallas (Texas). (updated Jun 2021)

By train

There is no passenger train service to Torreón.

By car

You can access to Torreón by several federal and state highways. Some of the most important are:

• México 30 Known as the Carretera Torreón-San Pedro (Torreon-San Pedro Highway) connects with San Pedro de las Colonias and Monclova.
• México 40 Known as El Periférico (The Peripheral). It connects with Saltillo (to the East); and Gomez Palacio and Lerdo in the State of Durango (to the West)
• México 40D Known as Libramineto Laguna Norte (North Laguna Beltway). It is a toll highway that surrounds the city. It connects with the same cities as the Mexico 40 but it is much faster and safer.

By bus

• 2 Central Camionera, Av. Juárez No.4700 Oriente, Nueva California, ☏ +52 800 800 0386. IThe bus station has several bus lines with national and international destinations. (updated Jun 2021)

Get around

Cyclists in Torreon

There are several taxis and buses across the city, but the best way to move around is by car, there are several car rental agencies and they are easy to get in the hotels and in the airport. Another good way to get around is by bicycle. Torreon is in a semi-desert area and it may be hot, so it is recommended to do it in the evening or early in the morning.

In the center of the city it is common to walk to avoid traffic and finding parking spaces.

See

"El Cristo de las Noas"

• 1 The Christ of the Noas. A sculpture on top of a hill, with a church and shrines related to the Holy Land. This sculpture is the third largest in Latin America after the one Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and the Cristo de la Concordia in Bolivia. Christ is shown with open arms, as if giving a big hug, symbolizing protection for the city. It has an excellent panorama, much of the city is observed. At Holy Week it is visited by many local and foreign people.  

El Canal de la Perla

• The Pearl Channel (El Canal de la Perla): This channel was built in the late 19th century as an irrigation canal bypassing the waters of Nazas river to irrigate the south east of the city. It is used as an underpass by the population in addition to temporary art exhibitions and demonstrations art.
• The Historic Center (Centro Histórico)
• 2 Venustiano Carranza Forest (Bosque Venustiano Carranza). 
• Ignacio Zaragoza Grove (Alameda Ignacio Zaragoza)
• 3 Plaza Mayor, Avenida Allende 333 Poniente.  
• 4 Teatro Nazas, Calle Cepeda 155, ☏ +52 871 712 4797.  

Teatro Isauro Martínez

• 5 Teatro Isauro Martínez, Galeana 73 Sur (=), ☏ +52 871 192 0839.  
• Door of Torreon (Puerta de Torreón)
• Founders Park (Parque Fundadores)
• Urban Forest (Bosque Urbano)

Among other attractions and museums.

Do

• Local football (soccer) team Club Santos Laguna play their matches at the Corona Stadium north of the city between Federal 30 and Coahuila 60 highways.
• The Jefes Fuerza Lagunera basketball team have their matches at the Municipal Auditorium in Ampliación Colón, Luis Echeverría Álvarez, where other events such as concerts, local sporting events, recreational events and summer courses are also held.
• 1 Centennial Coliseum Torreón, Highway to San Pedro and Periférico S / N, E. Ignacio Allende, ☏ +52 871 455 9000. A bullring and entertainment center.  

Spectator sports

• 2 Revolution Stadium (Estadio Revolucion), Av. Juárez s / n, Centro ((downtown, 1 block from the Venustiano Carranza Forest)). This beautiful art deco stadium is the oldest baseball stadium in Mexico. It is home field for the Algonderos de Union Laguna baseball team (Liga Mexicana) from spring through early fall. The stadium sometimes serves as a venue for popular concerts and other events. (updated Nov 2023)
• 3 Estadio Corona, Carretera Torreón-San Pedro Km 7 y Av, Territorio Santos Modelo. Home field for Club Santos Laguna, a top-tier professional soccer team playing year-round in Mexico's Liga MX. This modern football stadium was built in 2009 to seat 30,000 cheering fans. Stadium tours are available. 

Events

• Cotton Fair. In the month of September, the traditional Cotton Fair takes place, where cultural and musical events, installation of mechanical games, are held.
• Lala Marathon. Between the months of February and March, the Lala Marathon is commemorated in the Venustiano Carranza Forest, a regional sporting event, in which residents of the Lagunera Region and even nationals and foreigners have participated.

Buy

• Galerías Laguna (Galerías, Gale), Periferico Raul Lopez Sanchez 6000, Residencial el Fresno, ☏ +52 871 750 7955. 11:00-23:00. It has a movie theater, 3 department stores, a food area, and a hotel. (updated Jun 2016)
• Plaza Cuatro Caminos (Cuatro Caminos, Cimaco), Blvd. Independencia 1300 Ote. Col.Navarro, ☏ +52 871 722 58 11, atencion.clientes@plazacuatrocaminos.com.mx. 11:00-23:00. Other of the most popular shopping malls of the city with a wide variety of stores. (updated Jun 2016)

Eat

Budget

You can find cheap and delicious food all around the city in many tacos or gorditas stalls

Mid-range

Mid-range restaurants are mainly located in the Independence Boulevard (Bulevar Independencia), but you can find them in many places of the city. Some popular restaurants are:

• Los Farolitos (The Little Lanterns): It is a local franchise which serves tacos, flautas and tostadas among other Mexican dishes. You can find it in different parts of the city.
• El Pueblito (The Little Village): Also known as the "OK Maguey" is a restaurant decorated as a Mexican village, which also has traditional Mexican food among different cuts of beef. This restaurant is on the Constitution Boulevard (Bulevar Constitución)
• El Pinabete (The Pinabete, a "pinabete" is a kind of tree that grows on the region): This restaurant serves mainly fish and seafood. It is on the Independence Boulevard in front of a Wal-Mart.
• Encomenderos (doesn't has a translation, it is a word game that mixes the words comer which means "eat" and encomendar which means "entrust"): This is a restaurant mainly dedicated to serve tacos.
• El Tacotote (The Big Taco): in the Independence Boulevard, it is a restaurant which serves big tacos.

Splurge

If you like gourmet food, Torreon is also for you. Torreon has a great variety of gourmet restaurants. Most of this restaurants are located in the Feliciano Cobian Avenue. Some of them are:

• Capricciosas Gourmet Pizzas
• Il Monasterio
• Rincón del Bife
• Oriental Grill
• Bistro Garden

Sleep

Budget

Most budget hotels are in the Historical Center of the city; some of them are famous for having hosted prominent figures of the history of Mexico. We can include:

• Hotel Calvete
• Hotel Río Nazas (Nazas River Hotel)

Mid-range

Most mid-range hotels are located in the Independence Boulevard. They are mostly hotels belonging to hotel chains:

• Fiesta Inn: next to the Galerías Laguna Mall
• El Fresno Galerías
• Holiday Inn Express

Splurge

• Crowne Plaza, Blvd. Torreon-matamoros : 4050, Col.ex-hacienda Antigua Los Angeles, 27260 Torreón, ☏ +52 871 729 9600, toll-free: 01 800 000 04 04. Considered the most luxurious hotel in town, the Crowne Plaza offers a comfortable place to stay with a lot of amenities and a modern building. M$1,462 per night. (updated May 2015)

Stay safe

Most of the city is considered safe although precautions should be taken and the most marginalized areas avoided. Avoid carrying a lot of money and valuables and at night you should avoid remote areas or with poor lighting.

Go next

• Gómez Palacio
• Parras de la Fuente
• Saltillo
• Monterrey
• Durango