Cócorit is a town located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Cajeme Cajeme is one of the 72 Municipalities of Mexico, municipalities of the northwestern List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora. It is named after Cajemé, a Yaqui people, Yaqui leader. The municipality has an area of 3,312.05 km2 (1 ...

in the southern part of the Mexican

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de 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 divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

. The name of the town is derived from the Yaqui (Yoem noki, or Hiak noki) word for a chili pepper, ''ko'oko'i.'' Cócorit and the municipality of Cajeme are within the Yaqui River Valley. The ''comisario municipal'' ("municipal commissioner") of Cajeme is Ing. Arturo Soto Valenzuela. Cócorit reported a 2005 census population of 7,953 inhabitants, and is the fifth-largest town in the municipality of Cajeme (after

Ciudad Obregón Ciudad Obregón is a city in southern Sonora. It is the state's second largest city after Hermosillo and serves as the municipal seat of Cajeme. As of 2020, the city has a population of 436,484. Ciudad Obregón is south of the country's U.S.� ...

, Esperanza, Pueblo Yaqui, and Tobarito).

History

Yaqui resistance

The town was founded in 1617 by the Spanish

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries Andrés Pérez de Ribas and Tomás Basilio as Espíritu Santu Cócorit. The Spanish inhabitants were eventually forced to leave by the Yaqui native population of the area. In 1835 the town was reestablished, this time in an independent Mexico; the town was a dependency of the municipio of Buenavista. In 1867, the governor of Sonora (Pesqueira) organized two successful military expeditions to control the Yaquis in Cócorit, and in neighboring Guaymas. In 1875, Cajemé, a prominent Yaqui leader, attacked Cócorit, setting the town on fire. Under the protection of the Mexican army, Cócorit was repopulated in 1885 with inhabitants from the neighboring towns of El Quiriego and Baroyeca. In 1886, the Yaquis continued to strengthen their positions, but the state and federal governments confiscated more than 20,000 head of livestock that belonged to the Yaquis, weakening their position. In 1887 Cajemé was captured. After an interview with Ramón Corral, Cajemé was taken in the custody of a Mexican army detachment led by Lieutenant Clemente Patiño to El Médano on the steamboat "Demócrata." He paraded through some of the Yaqui towns, and was then shot by the detachment on the pretense that he was trying to escape.Troncoso, Francisco P. ''Francisco de Borja del Paso y Troncoso'' (1905)
guerras con las Tribus Yaqui y Mayo del estado de Sonora, Mexico.''
Mexico: Tipografia del departamento de estado mayor.

American and European immigration

In the early 20th century, the Conant family received a concession from the Mexican government to develop agriculture in the Valley. American immigrants arrived and built a fire station and a water tower. The area was

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ed after two years, and the population sought refuge in Providencia. In 1917, after the first

World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

, German and Yugoslav families sought refuge in the Valley. A year later, one of the immigrants, Herman Bruss, introduced the first internal combustion tractor, further supporting agriculture. In 1927 Cócorit became its own short-lived municipio. In 1928 when the growing neighboring town of Cajeme changed its name to "

", it became the ''cabecera'' (capital) of the municipio.

Tourism

The main attraction of the town is ''La Casona Cócorit'' ("Cócorit Mansion"), built in the (19th century) in the style of colonial architecture. The mansion is currently an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

with permanent exhibits of paintings and

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

s. Also, old adobe houses in the town are still preserved, and are an attraction. One of the main festivities is the ''Feria de San Juan Cócorit'' ("San Juan Cócorit Fair") that takes place every summer on June 24. The "Fundación Cócorit" ("The Cócorit Foundation") also organizes its own fair with artistic presentations.

References

External links

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
History
of

.
History
of Cajeme at the Universidad de Sonora site (in Spanish).
History
of

on the Houston Institute for Culture site.
Yaquis Museum
English Tourist Information for the Yaquis Museum.

(in Spanish).

of the Yaqui Valley (in Spanish).
Sitio Oficial de Cajeme
Official website of Municipality of Cajeme {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocorit Populated places established in 1617 1617 in New Spain Populated places in Sonora 1617 establishments in New Spain Missions in Sonora