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. The origins of the Boy's Town concept along the U. 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. The government of Ciudad Victoria , Mexico, has considered establishing a similar zone. The current enclave in Nuevo Laredo was constructed in the s, during the municipal administration of Ernesto Ferrara Ferrara, to concentrate prostitution activities within a controlled zone.
The commercial activities can be differentiated into a number of broad categories, and their spatial organization is outlined in the map. The categories include: 1 primary or major brothels, 2 secondary brothels, 3 "cribs" of freelance prostitutes, 4 cantinas and bars catering to local patrons, 5 transvestite bars, 6 other commercial services, and 7 residences.
Furthermore, Boy's Town is protected by a substation of the municipal police complete with jail, and there is a health clinic that performs blood tests and weekly screenings of sex workers for venereal diseases. Establishments and services exhibit a typical distance decay pattern. All but one of the primary brothels are located near the entrance, secondary brothels and cantinas are located farther from the entrance, and the transvestite bars are concentrated at the far end of the compound.
