Tampico is a city and port in the state of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, directly north across the border from Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth largest city in Tamaulipas, and counts with a population of 297,284. The Metropolitan area of Tampico, however, counts with a population of nearly 859,419 habitants. Economic development during the 1920s made the city a pioneer in the aviation and soda industries. Oil is the chief export, but the city also is a major exporter of silver, copper, and lumber, together with wool, hemp, and other agricultural products. Containerized cargo, however, is mainly handled by the neighboring ocean port of Altamira.

The present city was initiated on April 13, 1823, though there had been a series of human settlements in the area for centuries.

The region had several early Huastec settlements, among them the important site at Las Flores, which flourished between 1000 and 1250 CE.

Among the earliest European colonists, the Spanish Franciscan priest Andrés de Olmos established a mission in the area during 1532. At his request, Spanish officials founded a settlement named San Luis de Tampico in 1554. Its population was relocated in 1684 to the south of the Pánuco River due to frequent pirate attacks, among them a particularly destructive incursion by Laurens de Graaf.

Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led an innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was active as an educator.

Stan Kenton was born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised first in Colorado, then in California. He learned piano as a child, and while still a teenager toured with various bands. He attended Bell High School, in Bell, California, where he graduated in 1930. In June 1941 he formed his own band, which developed into one of the best-known West Coast ensembles of the 1940s. In the mid-1940s, Kenton's band and style became known as "The Wall of Sound", a tag later used by Phil Spector.

Kenton played in the 1930s in the dance bands of Vido Musso and Gus Arnheim, but his natural inclination was as a band leader. In 1941 he formed his first orchestra, which later was named after his theme song "Artistry in Rhythm". A competent pianist, influenced by Earl Hines, Kenton was much more important in the early days as an arranger and inspiration for his loyal sidemen. Although there were no major names in his first band (bassist Howard Rumsey and trumpeter Chico Alvarez come the closest), Kenton spent the summer of 1941 playing regularly before a very appreciative audience at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, CA. Influenced by Jimmie Lunceford (who, like Kenton, enjoyed high-note trumpeters and thick-toned tenors), the Stan Kenton Orchestra struggled a bit after its initial success. Its Decca recordings were not big sellers and a stint as Bob Hope's backup radio band was an unhappy experience; Les Brown permanently took Kenton's place.

June Christy (November 20, 1925 – June 21, 1990), born Shirley Luster, was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a solo career from 1954 and is best known for her debut album Something Cool. After her death, she was hailed as "one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time."

Shirley Luster was born in Springfield, Illinois and moved with her family to Decatur, Illinois when she was three years old. She began to sing with the Decatur-based Bill Oetzel Orchestra at thirteen. While attending Decatur High School she appeared with Oetzel and his society band, the Ben Bradley Band, and Bill Madden's Band. After high school she moved to Chicago, changed her name to Sharon Leslie, and sang with a group led by Boyd Raeburn. Later she joined Benny Strong's band. In 1944, Strong's band moved to New York at the same time Christy was quarantined in Chicago with scarlet fever.

Carlos Loret de Mola Álvarez (b. October 17, 1976 in Mérida, Yucatán) is a Mexican journalist. He is a popular news anchor in Mexico, hosting a show called Primero Noticias (1: N) on Televisa channel 2, as well as a news radio show "Back" on Radio Formula.

He has appeared as a guest on the Spanish-language version of Sesame Street called Plaza Sesamo, in season 10.