by BELO Border Bureau Chief Angela Kocherga

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico -- As Juarez copes with more than 2,000 murders, Nuevo Laredo, another violent border town, is healing.

It may look like a library but this is about more than reading; it's about recovery.

"Human development is going to give us progress, give us peace in our town," said Nuevo Laredo Mayor Ramon Garza.

It's no small task in this city torn apart by drug violence. The mayor of Nuevo Laredo is helping his hometown heal using arts, education and culture.

The cornerstone of that effort is the new cultural center, Estacion Palabra. It is housed in a renovated train station and is named in honor of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The famous Latin American writer came for the opening and donated some of his books. But the building is much more than a building filled with books. It's also a public space where people can gather and rebuild a sense of community.

There is a gallery for artwork and a conference area for community activities, all free and open to the public.

"Para toda clase de gente (for all types of people)," said Armando Gonzalez, a Nuevo Laredo resident.

He was helping his daughter with a school project.

"If we built a strong society, strong people, strong families that won't go to the other side or wrong side, that will be good citizens, we're going to win this battle," Garza said.

Nobody denies the drug traffickers still operate in Nuevo Laredo, but now that the turf war is in the past, residents are beginning to build a future.

Written for KVIA.com by Web Producer Annette Arrigucci