The tale of New York and Neza York

CIUDAD NEZAHAULCOYOTL, Mexico — It's an overcrowded, working-class city that abuts Mexico's capital and has some of the best graffiti south of the border. It's famed for nightlife and street culture, a melting pot that attracts people from all over. The sidewalks form grids and its people have attitude.

It's a city that never sleeps, just like New York. Call Ciudad Nezahaulcoyotl what some of the locals do: Neza York.

Bonded by immigration and grit, New York and Neza York have now become a true tale of two cities, with inhabitants flowing back and forth between the two.

While the 2010 census identifies Mexicans as the fastest growing Hispanic group in and around New York, most of the estimated more than one million people originally hailed from rural parts, according to the Mexican consulate in Manhattan. However, a growing contingent are arriving from Neza York.

“Ciudad Nezahaulcoyotl is an enormous city, so you can expect it would be easier for these immigrants to adapt,” explained Carlos Gerardo Izzo, a spokesman for the consulate. “There’s a lot of common ground between the two places.”

He estimated that 5 percent of Mexicans in the greater New York metropolitan area came from Nezahualcoyotl. As with most migrants, remittances to send home are a big draw, but so too is the culture, which is accessible to those raised amid cement and hustle.

“That’s my dream, my mecca,” said Jorge Corona, 27, a hip-hop artist from Neza York.  “A rapper has to go to the source.”

Adjusting his oversized black T-shirt over low-hung camouflage pants, he stood by a skateboard park and rattled off lyrics that could apply to either metropolis:

If one trains the eye at street level, and ignores the high-rise nature of New York, the two cities look remarkably similar. Both are lined with nail salons and money-wiring parlors that support the economy back home. Carts hawk carved mangos, and the taco joints have shrines to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the symbol of Catholic Mexico. Even the posters advertising tropical bands look the same; musicians in New York order them from designers back home in Neza York to keep the style consistent.

Another cluster of Neza Yorkers settled in Washington Heights, in the upper reaches of Manhattan. There, Raul Velez manned his “Tacos Neza” truck outside a beauty supply shop on 182nd Street. He wore a black knit cap with, what else, the words “New York,” to protect against the 10-degree chill. 

Hovering over the grill to stay warm, Velez, 48, said he has made regular visits south during his 33-year tenure in New York, which created a decent balance.

“Destiny sent me here, and this is my home now,'' he said. "I like going back to visit, but you know, aside from the better money and schools, things aren’t really that different if you have family with you. Family is the key.”

The genesis of the term “Neza York” is a matter of debate back in the 36 square miles of 1.2 million people that makes up Nezahualcoyotl. Primo Mendoza is an artist who has written extensively about the city's history, and he believes that immigration played a major role in the popular pet name.

“People here love puns,” said Mendoza as he drove a pair of visitors around.  “Other nicknames are Mi-nesota, pronounced like the American state, a play on the Spanish for My Neza. Before, everyone spoke about "Nezahualpolvo'' or dusty Neza. The reference to New York resonates most widely, because in the last decade so many people have gone there and they saw parallels with urban survival.”

He also drew analogies to the dual melting pots. Ever since it was founded a half a century ago, Neza has attracted people from all over Mexico’s diverse country, “a cultural mosaic,” as he put it.