Tamaulipas (Spanish pronunciation: [tamauˈlipas]) officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas (English: Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas) is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico.

It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the southeast, San Luis Potosí to the southwest and Nuevo León to the west. To the north, it has a 370 km (142.9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border along the state of Texas.

The name Tamaulipas is derived from Tamaholipa, a Huastec term in which the tam- prefix signifies "place where." As yet, there is no scholarly agreement on the meaning of holipa, but "high hills" is a common interpretation. Another explanation of the state name is Ta ma ho'lipam – “place, where the Lipan prey”.

In addition to the capital city, Ciudad Victoria, the state's largest cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico.

Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second most populous city in the state of Tamaulipas. As of 2010, Matamoros counts with a population of 489,193. If its floating population is included in the census count, however, the population of Matamoros can reach up to approximately 700,000 habitants. In addition, the Matamoros–Brownsville Metropolitan Area counts with a population of 1,136,995, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in the Mexico-US border. Matamoros is the 39th largest city in Mexico and anchors the second largest metropolitan area in Tamaulipas.

Matamoros is one of the fastest growing cities in Mexico, and has one of the fastest growing economies in the country. The economy of the city is based on its international trade with the United States through the NAFTA agreement, and it is home to one of the most promising industrial sectors in Mexico, mainly due to the presence of maquiladoras. In Matamoros, the automotive industry hosts the assembly and accessories plants for brands such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Mercedes Benz, and several others. Likewise, Matamoros' economy has historically been based on agriculture, since northern Mexico's biggest irrigation zones are in the municipality.PEMEX announced a multi-billion offshore drilling project for the port of Matamoros, one of the future prospects for Mexico's oil industry.

Enrique Peña Nieto (born July 20, 1966) is a Mexican politician. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI), he served as governor of the State of Mexico from 2005 to 2011. On September 19, 2011, he announced his candidacy in the 2012 Mexican presidential election to succeed Felipe Calderón, and formally registered his candidacy on November 27, 2011.

Peña Nieto was born at Atlacomulco in Mexico State. His father, Gilberto Enrique Peña del Mazo, worked for the Comisión Federal de Electricidad and his mother, María del Perpetuo Socorro Ofelia Nieto Sánchez, was a school teacher. Peña is related to several politicians: Severiano Peña, mayor of Acambay in 1914, 1916, 1921 and 1923; Alfredo del Mazo González, former governor; and Arturo Montiel Rojas, also former governor. In 1993, Peña married his first wife Mónica Pretelini with whom he had three children: Paulina, Alejandro and Nicole. Pretelini died on January 11, 2007 due to an epileptic episode. In 2008, Peña Nieto announced publicly in a TV show his romantic relationship with Televisa soap opera actress Angélica Rivera. Rivera and Peña Nieto married on November 27, 2010 in Toluca.

Enrique Peña Sánchez (Puerto Padre, Las Tunas Province, 17 July 1880 – Havana, 13 April 1922) was a leading Cuban cornet player, orchestra leader and composer.

Born in a small town in the old province of Oriente, Peña studied with Marcos González and José Santos Betancourt. In 1902 he moved to Havana, and founded the band La Juventud, with himself as director and cornet, Rogelio Solis (double bass), Félix González (figle), José Belén Puig (first clarinet), José Urfé (second clarinet), José de los Reyes (kettle drum) and Rufino Cárdenas (güiro). This band had several members who became well known; Puig went on to become a famous leader of his own charanga. The band functioned until 1906.

His second band was called the Orquesta típica de Enrique Peña. Its line-up was Peña (cornet); Antonio González (trombone); Féliz González (figle); José Belén Puig (1st clarinet); José Urfé (2nd clarinet); Julián Barreto (violin); Alfredo Sáenz (violin); José de los Reyes (tympani); Rufino Cárdenas (güíro) and unknown (double bass). This orchestra became famous for being the first to play El bombín de Barreto (Barreto's bowler hat), written by Urfé, which was supposedly the first danzón to incorporate a syncopated third part, influenced by the son. The group recorded about 150 numbers, some of which are available on CD.