Nuevo León (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnweβo leˈon]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Nuevo León), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 51 municipalities and its capital city is Monterrey.

It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer (9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas.

The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Besides its capital, other important cities are Guadalupe, Santa Catarina, San Nicolás de los Garza, and San Pedro Garza García, all of which are part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area.

Nuevo León was originally founded by Alberto del Canto, although frequent raids by Chichimecas, the natives of the north, prevented the establishment of almost any permanent settlements. Subsequent to the failure of del Canto to populate Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, at the head of Portuguese and Spanish settlers, requested permission from the Spanish King to attempt to repopulate the area which would be called the New Kingdom of León, it eventually became (along with the provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo Santander and Texas) one of the Eastern Internal Provinces in Northern New Spain.

Gael García Bernal (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡaˈel ɣarˈsi.a βerˈnal]; born November 30, 1978) is a Mexican film actor and director.

García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was young. He started acting at just a year old and spent most of his teen years starring in telenovelas. Gael studied the International Baccalaureate, with chemistry being his favorite subject.^{[citation needed]} When he was fourteen, he taught indigenous peoples in Mexico to read, often working with the Huichol Indians. In his later teens, he took part in peaceful demonstrations during the Chiapas uprising of 1994.

García Bernal was becoming a soap opera heartthrob, but at age of 19, he left Mexico's television world to study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, becoming the first person from Mexico to be accepted into the program. In the brief period beforehand, he had begun to study philosophy at UNAM, Mexico's national university, before a strike closed the college and he then left for London. Describing his time in London as 'life forming', he considered acting merely an 'odd job profession' until the Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu offered him a part in Amores Perros. Subsequently, García Bernal starred in some of Mexico's most celebrated recent films, including 2001's Y tu mamá también, and El crimen del Padre Amaro (2002). He has also done some theatre work, including a 2005 production of Bodas de Sangre, by Federico García Lorca, in the Almeida Theatre in London. His debut as a working-class dreamer in the Oscar-nominated Amores Perros, however, was what first grabbed Hollywood's attention.

Martha Elba Higareda Cervantes (born August 24, 1983) is a Mexican actress.

Higareda was born in Villahermosa, Tabasco, the daughter of actress Martha Cervantes and artist Jose Luis Higareda, and sister of the actress Miriam Higareda. Her debut was participating in various plays like Bang, Don Juan Tenorio, La Fonda de las Siete Cabrillas, La Casa de Té en la Luna de Agosto, Mujercitas, Muerte Que Te Quiero Muerte, La Corbata, Flores Para Chava Flores and Niñas Mal. She also appeared in diverse advertising campaigns and video clips. It is not until 1999, when she receives her first professional debut as a show hostess in Disney Channel’s "Zapping Zone". After that she also appeared in other Mexican soaps like Carita de Ángel and "Cara o Cruz."

In 2002, Higareda finally appeared in her first movie as a protagonist. The movie "Amarte Duele", directed by Fernando Sariñana, in which she shares credits with Luis Fernando Peña and Alfonso Herrera. A year after, she debut as a protagonist in the Mexican soap opera, "Enamórate", TV Azteca Mexican TV chain, next to Yahir, where she also shared credits with Martha Cristiana, Fernando Sarfati, and Amara Villafuerte. In 2004, she participates in another protagonist for “Las Juanas” another of TV Azteca’s soap opera.