GUERRERO STATE, Mexico — Life in Iguala has always moved at a deliberate pace.

Located in southwestern Mexico in the pacific coast state of Guerrero, the city is known for its historic, peach-colored church and for the tamarind trees that lend Iguala its nickname: "la Ciudad Tamarindera" - the Tamarind city.



Although Mexico's bustling capital of 20 million people is only a three-hour drive north, this area feels decidedly peaceful. Many people still work the fields and dinner is sometimes still alive when you buy it.

To most Mexicans, however, Iguala has come to stand for something else than rural tranquility.