Boy's Town , or "La Zona" en: the Zone as it is known in Spanish , is a commercial district in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas , Mexico, serving primarily as a "zone of tolerance" in the city for legal prostitution , and also a variety of other nocturnal entertainment.
It is a walled compound containing three short east-west streets and two short north-south streets. It is located near the intersection of Monterrey and Anahuac Streets, about 5 km southwest of International Bridge 1. Providencia Cantu was the one who came up with the name.
She used to own a place there named "El Baston". The origins of the Boy's Town concept along the MexicoβUnited States border can be traced in part to the relationship that developed between the United States Army and various ad hoc entrepreneurs in northern Mexico during the army's β17 Punitive Expedition ; specifically when General John J.
Pershing 's forces were pursuing General Pancho Villa in Chihuahua. Eventually, General Pershing ordered that the prostitutes be restricted to the southern end of the camp where they would be inspected and certified by the military medical officers.
A flat rate for sexual intercourse was also established. Within a few decades, this concept was adopted by vice entrepreneurs and city managers elsewhere along the border.
