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But the city, and state of the same name, is also recognised for a very different reason - as Mexico's data centre capital.

Across the state companies including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and ODATA own these warehouse-like buildings, full of computer servers.

No one could supply an exact number, but there are scores of them, with more being built.

Ascenty, which claims to be the largest data centre company in Latin America, has two in Querétaro, both around 20,000 sq ft in size, with a third under construction.

It is forecast that more than $10bn (£7.4bn) in data centre-related investment will pour into the state in the next decade.

"The demand for AI is accelerating the construction of data centres at an unprecedented speed," says Shaolei Ren, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California Riverside.

So, what's the attraction of Querétaro?

"It's a very strategic region," explains Arturo Bravo, Mexico country manager at Ascenty.

"Querétaro is right in the middle [of the country], connecting east, west, north and south," he says.

That means it is relatively close to Mexico City. It is also connected to high-speed data cables, so large amounts of data can be shifted quickly.

Mr Bravo also points out that there is support from the municipality and central government.

"It's been identified as a technology hub," he says. "Both provide a lot of good alternatives in terms of permits, regulation and zoning."

But why are many US companies choosing this state over somewhere closer to home?

"The power grid capacity constraint in the US is pushing tech companies to find available power anywhere they can," says Shaolei Ren, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California Riverside, adding that the cost of land and energy, and business-friendly policies are also attractive.

Data centres host thousands of servers - a specialised type of computer for processing and sending data.

Anyone that's worked with a computer on their lap will know that they get uncomfortably hot. So to stop data centres melting down, elaborate cooling systems are needed which can use huge amounts of water.

However, not all data centres consume water at the same rate.

Some use water evaporation to dissipate the heat, which works well but is thirsty.

A small data centre using this type of cooling can use around 25.5 million litres of water per year.

Other data centres, like those owned

Meanwhile, Microsoft told the

It said for the remaining 5% of the year, when ambient temperatures exceed 29.4°C, they use evaporative cooling.

For the fiscal year 2025, its Querétaro sites used 40 million litres of water, it added.

That's still a lot of water. And if you look at overall consumption at the biggest data centre owners then the numbers are huge.

For example, in its 2025 sustainability report Google stated that its total water consumption increased

The report also said that 72% of the freshwater it used came from

In addition, data centres also indirectly consume water, as water is needed to produce electricity.

The extra water consumption

At her home in Querétaro, activist Teresa Roldán tells me residents have asked the

"Private industries are being prioritised in these arid zones," she says. "We hear that there's going to be 32 data centres but water is what's needed for the people, not for these industries. They [the municipality] are prioritising giving the water they have to the private industry. Citizens are not receiving the same quality of the water than the water that the industry is receiving."

Speaking to the

"This is a state that is already facing a crisis that is so complex and doesn't have enough water for human disposal. The priority should be water for basic means…that's what we need to guarantee and then maybe think if there are some re

A spokesperson for the government of the state of Querétaro defended their decision saying: "We have always said and reiterated that the water is for citizen consumption, not for the industry. The municipality has zero faculties to water allocation and even less to assign water quality. Nor the state, nor the municipality can water allocate to any industry or the primary sector, that's a job for the National Water Commission."

Another concern for those living near data centres is air pollution.

Prof Ren says data centres typically rely on diesel backup generators that release large amounts of harmful pollutants.

"The danger of diesel pollutants from data centres has been well recognised," he says, pointing to a health assessment of the air quality surrounding local data centres

Mr Bravo responded to those concerns

As for the future, Ascenty is planning more data centres in the region.

"I do see it just kind of progressing and progressing, with a new data centre there every few years," says Mr Bravo.

"The industry will continue to grow as AI grows. It's a great future in terms of what is coming."