Villa de Seris

Villa de Seris is Hermosillo's old quarter, south of downtown on the far side of the Río Sonora riverbed. For centuries it was a separate town growing up opposite the city, and in February 2023 it became the first Barrio Mágico in northern Mexico and the third in the country, after downtown Chetumal and the Barrio de Tlaxcala in San Luis Potosí. Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco and Governor Alfonso Durazo presented the designation to Mayor Antonio Astiazarán.

The colonial settlement dates from 1742, and remains of the first presidio of Pitic, from which the Spanish ruled over the Seri, survive here. Comcáac (Seri) families later settled in the village, which became known as Pueblo de Seris. It stayed a separate town until 1939, when it was absorbed into Hermosillo, and its short streets still hold houses from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Its heart is the Plaza de la Candelaria, with a wrought-iron bandstand, and the church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, raised from parish to sanctuary in 2015 because of the devotion it draws. Tradition says the image first stood at La Sauceda, until the river carried it off, then in front of the Universidad Kino, before coming here. Hundreds of worshippers come every day, some from Ensenada, La Paz, Mexicali, Ciudad Obregón or the United States, and on February 2, Candlemas, families bring the Christ Child figure to be presented at the altar. Close by is the Plaza de los Tres Pueblos, a tribute to the communities the village grew from.

Villa de Seris is also the birthplace of the coyota, the flour tortilla filled with piloncillo sugar that is now sold all over Sonora. In 1954 María Ochoa González began baking them from a recipe given to her by Agustina Araiza, a neighbour from the village, and her descendants later took them as far as Arizona. Today one street is lined with coyota shops, and on Calle Álvaro Obregón the Xochimilco restaurant is still known for its carne asada.