Villahermosa

The capital city of Villahermosa epitomizes the development of Tabasco, where the airplane arrived before the automobile. Thanks to oil and the money it brought in, the cramped and ugly neighborhoods in the mosquito-ridden town of the 1970s have largely been replaced by spacious boulevards, shady parks, and cultural centers. Running alongside the fast-flowing Río Grijalva, the Zona Luz has been redone as a brick-paved pedestrian zone, with plenty of cafés, coffee shops, and ice-cream parlors.