10 Things You Didn’t Know About Sonora, Mexico
Thought today would be a fun opportunity of showing you more about the state I was born and raised in: Sonora. Despite the fact that is the 2nd largest state in Mexico and an important economic figure since it is right next to the USA a lot of people don’t know much about it!
If they know something, they just assume it’s just a large desert with cacti and people sleeping under some shadow. But I’m here to show you about the rich history and precious hidden gems Sonora has to offer!
1. Hermosillo once held the title for hottest populated city in the whole world. It registered temperatures of 50-53 degrees Celsius last June. The thing is most of the time high temperatures are registered in places where the population is close to non-existent, and at the point Hermosillo turned to be the first populated city with such temperatures.
2. Sonora is home to 8 indigenous groups: Mayos, Yaquis, Pimas, Guarijíos, Series, Pápagos, Cucapá, Kikapoo. Seven of them live in their own autonomous regions. The Yaquis are the indigenous group with most inhabitants, close to 35,000. Our state’s symbol is their Danza del Venado (Deer Dance) and it represents a battle between the hunter and deer. The Papagos are also spread around parts of the USA, and they are the indigenous group creators of the ‘dream catchers‘. One of the Seris most important ceremonies is the “Puberty Celebration” where the whole town gathers for 3 days of consecutive festivities upon celebrating the first menstruation of one of the girls from the village, talk about #femalepower.
La Danza del Venado(Source)
3. Sonora’s most popular sport is baseball. The Sonoran Stadium is one of the largest baseball stadium of Latin America with a capacity of hosting 16,000 people.
4. One of the most famous and successful boxers of all time, Julio Cesar Chavez, was born in Cd. Obregon, Sonora.
5. The largest desert biosphere reserve is in Sonora, El Gran Desierto del Pinacate. It’s part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site due the dramatic combination of two very distinct landscape types: volcanic landscapes (El Pinacate) and sand dunes (Gran Desierto de Altar). Actually, the Sonoran Stadium architecture is inspired by this one-of-a-kind natural monument.
6. The Mirador Escénico of San Carlos, Sonora is considered the #1 Ocean Scenic View of the world according to National Geographic. And I for one I’m a witness of the astounding sunsets this place has. Grab your bags people because views like this don’t come too often.
7. The #1 player from the Top 10 MLB Players From Mexico is Fernando Valenzuela. Born in Navojoa, Sonora and creator of the “Fernandomania” in 1981, when the 20-year-old left-hander dazzled the National League and won the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award that very same year.
8. Mexico’s largest island is in Sonora, it’s La Isla del Tiburon (Shark Island). Though, no tourists are allowed there. It is uninhabited by humans, the island was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President López Mateos and has the largest diversity of plant and animal species in the Gulf of California. The island is home to a large variety of resident and migratory bird species as well as desert big horn sheep and bura deer. A large variety of reptiles and desert turtles are among the protected species. I got a chance to visit it after an expedition with Rotaract to Punta Chueca, the town next to the Island and home of the Seris indigenous group. After a day of working with them, they invited …