In 1859, Villa la Libertad was declared Puerto Libertad (Port Libertad) by General Ignacio Pesqueira, who had a vision, ambitious and strategic for its time, of the port spearheading the development of this expansive area.

Adjacent to the city, there were 91,500 acres of undeveloped land with a promising future - an abundance of water, farming land and land for orchards, and even a large area with gold deposits waiting to be taken from the ground. Also, there were large extensions of clay dirt and lime, necessary for the construction of houses and buildings, as well as a large supply of limestone.

The climate was another advantage of this zone: fresh, clean air and clear atmosphere. There are also mineral and thermal waters in the surrounding mountains.