An upper view of Garcia, a small town near Monterrey with nothing but the caverns and hundreds of small houses for factory workers. Monterrey, also known as "Sultana del Norte" (Sultan of the North), is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo Le鏮. It has the third largest metropolitan area in Mexico, after Mexico City and Guadalajara. In 2005, its population was an estimated 1.13 million and its metropolitan area had a population of 3.8 million. Monterrey is located in northeast Mexico, at the foothills of Sierra Madre Oriental. The city is an important industrial and business center, serving as operation host for an array of Mexican and International companies like CEMEX, Vitro, Carrier, Daewoo, General Electric, LG and so on. Mexico. July 11, 2009.