Bacanora is a small town in

Bacanora Municipality Bacanora (municipality) is a municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora in north-western Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the ...

in the east of the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

. It is located at the geographical coordinates of .

Area and population

The area of the municipality (rural and urban) is 903.17 km². The population of the municipality was 943 inhabitants in 2005, with 568 residing in the municipal seat (2000 census).

History and origin of the name

Originally this territory was inhabited by the Opata Joba Indians; in 1627 the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary Pedro Méndez established the first settlement; its name is derived from the Opata language, from the roots "baca", meaning reed, and "nora" meaning slope of reeds. Bacanora became a municipality in 1932.

Geography

Most of the region lies in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The Bacanora River crosses the area from south to north and flows into the Yaqui River, which flows across the northern region of the municipality. The town lies at an elevation of 1,030 meters above sea level. The fauna in the region is still relatively numerous with deer, puma, owls, coyote, jaguar, lynx, raccoons, skunks, eagles, to name a few, present. The region has been losing population due to immigration to the United States. Since 1995 the population has decreased 3.39%.

Economy

The economy is heavily dependent on cattle raising. There were approximately 17,000 head in 2000. The percentage of the population living in poverty in one of the highest in the state, as a consequence of the land belonging to a few landowners and the majority of the workers working as day workers.{{Cite web , url=http://www.e-local.gob.mx/wb2/ELOCAL/EMM_sonora , title=E-Local -Sonora , access-date=2007-06-22 , archive-date=2008-12-01 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201232501/http://www.e-local.gob.mx/wb2/ELOCAL/EMM_sonora , url-status=dead Agriculture is modest with some production of corn, beans, and sorghum. Agave is planted to produce the regionally famous

Aguardiente de Bacanora :''Other uses: the town of Bacanora, Sonora.'' Bacanora is an agave-derived liquor made in the Mexican state of Sonora. The distillation of Bacanora was illegal until 1992, being bootlegged by ''vinateros'' for many generations. Since 2000 Bacan ...

Communications

There is a tarmacked road linking Bacanora with the state capital Hermosillo, which lies at a distance of 181 km.

Tourist attractions

Templo de San Ignacio de Loyola y el museo de bacanora

In the village the main tourist attraction is the mission church of San Ignacio de Loyola, built in the seventeenth century.

Sources consulted

INEGIEnciclopedia de los Municipios de MexicoGobierno de Sonora: Bacanora
;Specific

External links

(broken link)The producers of the local drink * Bacanora Wikipedia article about the drink
(broken link)Article on the drink from Sonora Turismo
*https://www.sunorabacanora.com/what-is-bacanora/ Populated places in Sonora Populated places established in 1627