Hermosillo’s Villa de Seris neighborhood hopes to win Pueblo Magico recognition

By Murphy Woodhouse
Published: Monday, May 2, 2022 - 5:45am
Updated: Monday, May 2, 2022 - 8:54am

A shop in Hermosillo’s Villa de Seris neighborhood.
Murphy Woodhouse/KJZZ
A coyotas shop in Hermosillo’s Villa de Seris neighborhood.

A centuries-old neighborhood in the Sonoran capital Hermosillo is looking to preserve its historic character — and get national recognition.

Just south of a major, often bustling government complex, Hermosillo’s charming Villa de Seris neighborhood offers a break from the rush: narrow streets are lined with old homes, and on weekends the smell of coyotas — a signature Sonoran pastry said to have originated there — wafts through the air.

“That’s why we’re in this fight,” said Ramses Valenzuela, with Villa de Seris Historica. “To conserve the essence of a small town within a city.”

The group was founded last fall by neighborhood residents, and it’s working to earn recognition by the state as a so-called Sonoran Treasure, a designation given to places with unique historic, cultural or natural qualities. Then they hope to become a Pueblo Magico, a similar national designation.

Toward those ends, they’re now organizing regular cultural events in Villa de Seris.

Sonora