MASECA WAS BORN IN CERRALVO AND HAS EXPANDED ALL OVER THE WORLD.

• The etymological meaning of Cerralvo is  Cerrus Albus : White Hill.
• MASECA is reason for pride among the people of Cerralvo.
• Roberto was a very impetuous boy, just like his father: Teacher María Gómez.

Located in the northeast of Nuevo León, with a surface of 880 km², the City of Cerralvo is the birthplace of MASECA and also of the state, because according to the local columnist Mr. Leonardo Contreras López, Spaniards arrived for the first time 417 years ago to found what would be called the New Kingdom of León, where El Sabinal park is actually located.

Mr. Contreras López explains that Cerralvo has its etymological origin as follows:  Cerrus Albus that means White Hill, just like the homonymous town in Salamanca, Spain.

Also, he narrates that 40 years later, in 1622, Martin de Zavala y Sepulveda changed the name to Villa de San Gregorio de Cerralvo, in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico), Don Rodrigo Pacheco y Osorio whose royal nobility title was Marquis of Cerralvo.

In 1825, after the independence war, it is established that the town be called Villa de Cerralvo, and in 1984 the Congress of Nuevo León issues a decree as the City of Cerralvo.

Cerralvo that was the first capital city of Nuevo León, adjacent to the north with Agualeguas, to the east with the municipalities of General Treviño, Los Herreras and Melchor Ocampo; to the south with Doctor González and Los Ramones and to the west with Higueras.

After talking to  Al Grano magazine about the origin and the changes of name of the city, the columnist from Cerralvo clearly remembers the history of the González Barrera family:  Roberto M. González Gutiérrez was a fighting man since he was young, always in the path of commerce. He was a traveling salesperson that traveled from ranch to ranch, and sometimes even by animal traction to sell his products .

He combined, the columnist adds, trade with work in the United States, as many people from Cerralvo has always done.

Also, he points out that Don Roberto M. González Gutiérrez was a pioneer of collective transport in Cerralvo, where he created (with two vans) the  Autobuses Rojos (red buses), which made the trip to the city of Monterrey between 6 and 8 hours because there were no highways at that time.

During the interesting talking in El Sabinal park, Mr. Contreras López recalls that Cerralvo also had a power plant that generated electricity by means of burning firewood and belonged to Mr. Mariano González.  That plant, which only generated light 7 to 12 AM was bought by Mr. González Gutiérrez .

In those times, a gas pipeline coming from the United States ran through the southern part of Cerralvo. With a great vision, Roberto González senior contacted the owners of the company to feed the plant with the fuel, which improved electric supply. In this way electricity was available 24 hours a day.

  With this adaptation a great step towards modernity was given; electricity allowed the installation of shops and in Cerralvo we could use irons, refrigerators, and other electronic appliances .

Thanks to electricity, Mr. González Gutiérrez built a cinema. At the beginning there were only shows during weekends; then Tuesday, Thursday and weekends, until there was a daily exhibition. People from neighboring towns came to watch movies.

The columnist from Cerralvo also comments to  Al Grano magazine that the González family had a dairy products factory whose products were sold in Mexico City.  The González have always been characterized by their great effort and dedication to work .

Regarding the beginnings of MASECA in Cerralvo, the columnist remembers the old Mexican saying:  Nobody is a prophet in his own land . In the beginning, the flour production factory in Cerralvo faced the rejection by the townspeople, who said the flour was not authentic because it was not milled with metate; tortillas turned out black and did not have a good flavor. There even was a meeting held with the  specialists in the elaboration of dough and tortillas to know why the tortillas made with MASECA were not flavorful; for the excess or lack of lime, or why.

However,  this fact did not stop the Roberto s .

Time does not pass in vain and currently the company is the reason of pride among the townspeople of Cerralvo, because it has grown at levels that were unthinkable 50 years ago, and  MASECA is already international. Also, the company is an example of the fighting spirit, perseverance and tenacity that characterizes the people born in Cerralvo.

Another point highlighted by Dr. Contreras López is that Don Roberto M. González, Doña Barbarita Barrera de González and their son Don Roberto González Barrera are highly appreciated in the birthplace of MASECA and Nuevo León due to their philanthropic work to benefit the inhabitants of their native state.  They always knew and have known how to respond to the petitions of the village , the columnist remarks.

Therefore, as a token of this pride that people in Cerralvo feel towards the González Barrera family, a kindergarten was named after Roberto M. González Gutiérrez; an elementary school named after Doña Barbarita Barrera de González. And very soon one of the streets next to El Sabinal will be named after Roberto González Barrera, since Town Council of Cerralvo has already approved this.

THE FIRST STEPS IN SCHOOL BY RGB:

In this visit made to Cerralvo we had the opportunity to get know teacher María Gómez, who was responsible of teaching the first letters to Don Roberto González Barrera.

  Here (in the living room of her house), she remembers with happiness, his mother brought him and here is where I taught him his first letters .

The teacher also remembers:  Roberto was a very impetuous boy, just like his father, he always wanted to be the first one in the class. If I posed a mathematics problem to be solved, the first student that stood up of his seat to say he had finished, whether it was solved correctly or not, was Roberto .

  I think that such way of being is what has taken (Roberto) it to the place where he is now and who he is .

This is part of the history origin of a multinational company, leader in the production of corn flour in the world: GRUMA S.A. de C.V.

 (Thank to the patronage of Cerralvo for the support provided for the elaboration of this report).