Mesillas

Mesillas is a village in the municipality of Concordia, in southern Sinaloa, about 4 km south of the town of Concordia in the low hills where the coastal plain rises toward the Sierra Madre Occidental. With 1,716 people at the 2020 census it is one of the larger communities in a municipality of about 25,000, and it is the seat of one of Concordia's sindicaturas, the rural districts into which the municipality is divided. It is close enough to Mazatlán, under an hour away by way of Villa Unión and Concordia, that it often appears on the same day trips as Concordia's baroque church and the mining village of Copala.

What brings people here is furniture. Making furniture by hand has been the heart of the village for more than 80 years, a craft handed down from parents to children, and today Mesillas has more than 25 furniture stores and about 40 workshops. They make rustic dining sets, fitted kitchens, cupboards, dressers, bed frames, wardrobes and living-room sets in wood, much of it sold as colonial-style furniture. Buyers come from all over the country, and although social media has helped, the village's reputation has been built mostly by word of mouth from satisfied customers. The giant rocking chair on Concordia's plaza is the municipality's tribute to this trade.

The furniture makers also put on an annual fair. The Expo Muebles Mesillas 2025, held in Concordia from March 15 to 17 and opened by the governor of Sinaloa, brought together more than 40 furniture businesses, with 20 food stalls of regional dishes and banda music, to promote the trade that supports many families in the municipality. For visitors, a stop in Mesillas means walking from one showroom to the next and, where the doors are open, watching carpenters cut, carve and finish pieces in the workshops. Local off-roaders also know the Camino Viejo a Mesillas, the old dirt road between the village and Concordia.