Ciudad Obregón


Ciudad Obregón is the second largest city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and named for Sonoran revolutionary general and president of Mexico, Álvaro Obregón. It is situated south of the state's northern border with the U.S. state of Arizona. It is also the municipal seat of Cajeme municipality, located in the Yaqui Valley.

History

The city, previously named Cajeme, takes its name from Mexican Revolutionary Álvaro Obregón, a native of nearby Huatabampo, Sonora. Álvaro Obregón became president of Mexico after the Revolution and initiated an "agricultural revolution" in the Yaqui Valley, introducing modern agricultural techniques and making this valley one of the most prosperous agricultural regions in the country. Renowned U.S. agronomist Dr. Norman Borlaug, the architect of the "Green Revolution" worked here after successful developments in increasing the resistance of wheat. For his efforts he was later awarded the Nobel Prize.
The origins of this city date back to the year 1906 when the company's rail track South Pacific Railway reached this area of the Yaqui Valley; this route, made it possible to incorporate with the Rio Mayo ' valley May to the domestic and external market, attracting a wave of investors and settlers who brought out populations.
In 1907, a flag station was established for the locomotive crossing the state to supply water, this station was called Cajeme. Cajeme ' Cajeme is the name of a leader who fought against them as part of the Porphyrian army; and then lead the Yaqui rebellion against it Porfirio Díaz.
"The Cajeme station was run by the American Bert Cameron, superintendent, and Emilio Estrella, station manager. They and their families were the first settlers. Soon after, the cowboys arrived to guard the corrals of cattle that from here was sent to other regions. Soon came neighbors of Hope, near the fields cultivated in the Valley." The Yaquis offered resistance to the arrival of the first settlers on their lands.
The first neighborhood was called Plan Oriente. In 1923, 'Cajeme Motors' was installed, owned by American James Huffaker, it was the first auto agency; fact that contributed significantly to the development of Cajeme. At the end of his term as president of the country, the General Alvaro Obregón returned to Sonora and carried out business projects in Navojoa and Cajeme, creating in 1925, the company 'Obregón y Cía.', which provided more work and economic development in the Region.
29 November 1927 was declared the head of the municipality by the governor Fausto Topete, and in 1928 year in which the first town hall was installed, it was decreed on 28 July of the same year on 28 July of the same year change of name to Ciudad Obregón in recognition of Alvaro Obregón, while the name of the municipality was preserved. That same year the first printing press was installed and it was where the first news weekly called 'The Pacific Gazette', owned by Lithuanian immigrant Leo Rosenfeld and his wife Virginia Gámez, was printed.
The first colonies were Plano Oriente, Ladrillera, Cumuripa, Hidalgo, Constitución, El Castillo, Quinta Díaz, Bella Vista and Colonia del Valle.
Rice was the most important crop in the Yaqui Valley in the early ; other crops also include wheat, beans, chickpeas, various vegetables and alfalfa. Over the course of the century, wheat became the most important crop. Due to Cajeme's agricultural vocation, the first industry of great importance was rice mills.
In the 1950s the agronomist Norman E. Borlaug collaborated with the creation of the Northwest Agricultural Research Center and in 1970 received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in research developing better varieties of wheat and maize.
At the end of the twentieth century the railway disappeared as a means of transport for passengers and the station was abandoned.
For the development of productive activities, local commerce offers everything from re-shareholders, agricultural implement stores, agribusiness machinery, safety equipment and all kinds of inputs for production. There are two markets for supplies.
For the realization of economic activities and service to the general public, Ciudad Obregón has offices of the main financial institutions of the country.

Geography

The city is located on the parallel 27-29' north latitude and the meridian 109-59' west longitude. With an altitude above sea level of 40.8 m in the city center.
It is located in the south of the State of Sonora, 50 kilometers from the coast of the Sea of Cortez and 100 kilometers from the Sierra Madre Occidental, is also 240 km from Hermosillo, the capital of the State; and 530 kilometers from the border with The United States.

Climate

Ciudad Obregón has a steppe climate featuring long, extremely hot summers and short, mild winters with cold mornings. It is frequent that in summer the temperature reach or more, with overnight lows greater than and sometimes reaching. Sunny skies and clear nights can be expected through all the year. Many severe thunderstorms with strong winds and sandstorms reach the region in summer. Rainfall is scarce but it is more prominent in the summer. In the winter, daytime temperatures can be hotter than but at night the temperature can fall to. Snow in Ciudad Obregón is nonexistent, but hailstorms can occur during cold fronts.
The extreme temperatures recorded in the box below between 1939 and 2016 were recorded at the Downtown Station of Ciudad Obregón, Sonora.

City origins

Cajeme Municipality has as its head Ciudad Obregón. Its first settlers established themselves in the neighborhood called Plano Oriente, as irrigation canals made by the Richardson company around 1910 and two years later, the South Pacific railroad established a station called Cajeme. The town of Cajeme was initially a part of Cocorit Municipality until its elevation to Municipal Seat on September 28, 1927. The first city government was established on January 1, 1928. The July 28, 1928 decree stated that “the city is known now with the name of Ciudad Obregón, the town formerly known as Cajeme.” In 1937 another legislation stated that Cajeme be the name of the Municipality and Ciudad Obregón its seat.
In 1950 Ciudad Obregon had a population on 120,000.

Roots and traditions

The Yaqui people are settled in eight towns, Potam, Huirivis, Torim, Cocorit, Bacum, Vicam, Rahum and Belem. from the city is the first of the eight Yaqui towns that make the autonomous territory of these people known for their independent character, because it is one of the few American ethnic groups not dominated militarily by Spanish colonialists.
Yaqui history is covered with acts of heroic resistance for the defense of their territory and culture, an ancestral culture enriched by rites and traditions of which the Deer Dance stands out, a symbolic representation of the hunt for this animal whose aesthetic richness has awakened interest the world over.
In the rites of Passover and Easter, or in the Day of the Dead celebration, Yaqui culture reaches its highest splendor and shows us the survival of mystery, the unity of man with the universe and the intimate relationship between people and the nature that surrounds them.
One day the wind of Passover takes the Pharisees to roam the nearby cities hidden behind leather masks; another day rivalries and mundane ambitions are forgotten so that the whole tribe may join in the commemoration of its faithfully departed. Men and women that practice traditional medicine apply ancient knowledge passed on by their ancestors and with herbs and ointments cure the sickness of their relatives.
Dance, music, traditional medicine and Yaqui festivities are the expression of a magical world of religion that coexists in harmony with western culture. Obregon City is also Birthplace to one of its most notorious past inhabitants: El huilito Rojas from the very first settlement in obregon city: plano oriente of Cardenas Ave. and Guerrero.

Demographics

Ciudad Obregón is the second largest city in Sonora with a 2010 census population of 298 625 People. Its municipality of Cajeme had a population of 409,310.
the per capita income for the municipality of Cajeme was $10,940 and the Human Development Index was 0.8635.

Government and economy

In Ciudad Obregón lies the seat of the municipal government of Cajeme. The government's exercise rests with the Municipal President and his cabinet, elected every three years.
Of the twenty-one Congress of the State of Sonora,' Electoral Districts of the State of Sonora, the state electoral districts of Sonora, three correspond to the city. The municipality of Cajeme has its own federal electoral district, the VI Federal Electoral District of Sonora of the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union of Mexico.
The main economic activities in the entity are maquiladora, agriculture, livestock, , and trade. However, the fertile lands of the municipality favour agriculture and the services derived from it, such as its suppliers and their transport. Real estate and construction development has also had a major boom in the city that, because of its relatively recent foundation, has been able to be planned with wide avenues and modern urban development compared to other Sonorense cities.
According to the national census prepared by the INEGI, the economically active population in 2010 corresponds to 54.1% of the inhabitants of the municipality of whom 95% have an occupation.

Transportation

The city is served by Ciudad Obregón International Airport.

Education and health

The following institutions of higher education are based in Ciudad Obregón:
According to the 2010 population and housing census of INEGI in Cajeme the literacy rate for people aged 15 to 24 years is 98.5% and that of people aged 25 and over is 96.1%.
School attendance for people ages 3 to 5 is 44.4%; 6 to 11 years is 97%; 12 to 14 years is 95.1% and 15 to 24 years is 50.5%.
Higher Education Institutions
Ciudad Obregón has multiple institutions of higher education, and has the most important concentration of these in the south of Sonora. The most important institution is the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora which has a tuition of approximately seventeen thousand students, twenty-three bachelor's degrees, and whose main campus is located in the city. Ciudad Obregón has the necessary elements to offer the population all academic levels.
In the city there is also an important campus of the University of Sonora, the , La Salle University, the University of the Valley of Mexico, the State Normal School of, the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Cajeme, the Universidad Tecnológico del Sur de Sonora, among others.
Of these above, they stand out:

Nainari Lagoon

A peculiar tourist attraction, a product of man's whimsy is the artificial “Nainari Lagoon” with a perimeter located at the western city limits between Guerrero and Padre Eusebio Kino avenues. It is used for outdoor sports, and its two piers are a focal point for aquatic activities like skiing, sailing and canoeing being the site for triathlons, marathons, and bicycle races. Cold coconut stands where you can find the freshest coconuts and other fruits such as mango con chile, and restaurants.
This small oasis is artificial, built in 1956, one of the great achievements of City Mayor Rene Gandara, who opened the hydraulic gates to fill the reservoir. Before, it was a lagoon region where there was duck hunting and rice was grown.
The Nainari Lagoon is a tourist attraction that has small boardwalk and a boat dock. It also has a shelter for tourists by the water's edge.
Water is constantly circulating as it is connected with one of the main canals in the irrigation district, the Lower Canal.
The Lagoon has been in recent years better tended and remodeled by the authorities. It has at its entrance a small garden with a bronze statue of a discus thrower which gives it much enhancement.
Just next to the lagoon there is a sports complex "deportivo". It has an Olympic size swimming pool and it has all types of sport courts such as tennis, basketball, soccer, and fronton.

Ostimuri Children's Park

Next to the Nainari Lagoon we have the Ostimuru Children's Park and the Ostimuri Zoo, the best place to stroll with the family, here you will find an ample variety of mechanical rides for your children. The trees that surround this place cover it with lush branches like a caress from the sky.
At the park's edge is the Ostimuri Zoo - an artificial habitat where a wide variety of animals exist, the song of birds as you stroll through this place is like a melody from heaven. As you make your journey in the midst of animals, you are surpassed by a boa as if it were a guardian of this place.

Yaqui Museum

The museum offers a perspective of Yaqui culture having among its objectives rescuing, preserving, investigating and spreading the culture and way of life of the Yaquis. As well as stimulating in the state's population the rediscovery of historical, linguistic and ethnic values of the Yaquis. Another objective is to show Sonoran children and teens the particular characteristics of Yaqui personality and the richness of their folklore. Another objective is to raise consciousness among Sonorans in regards to the development of historical events of the Yaquis as well as the important influence that they had in the formation of groups and classes that constitute the regions current society. This is made more accessible through visuals and scenes of daily life of the population of said tribe, mounted with the instruments, tools and original clothing that has been with them since ancient times and distinguish them on and international level.

Cocorit House

This construction dates from the previous century, its architecture is of colonial style. It has four exhibition rooms and an ample garden where we find permanent samples of painting and sculptures as well as arts and crafts. Among the House's visitors is the internationally renowned sculpture and painter Jose Luis Cuevas.
Among the objectives of Cocorit House is to support art in those people with artistic attributes that don't have enough support. That is why local artists call it the region's haven for the arts.

"Álvaro Obregón" Dam

The General Álvaro Obregón Dam also called the Oviachic Dam, named taken from the place where it is located, starts its construction in the year 1947 and it's finished in 1952, being filled for the first time on July the same year. It is located north of Ciudad Obregón.
Lake Oviachic has a surface of and a storage capacity of 3226 millions of cubic meters; it is part of the dam system on the Yaqui River, it's the state's largest dam and the third located on said river.
From the Oviachic Dam a network of main and secondary canals is derived that irrigate of surface in the Yaqui and Mayo Valleys, being one of the most important hydraulic infrastructures in the country.
During the last two decades this hydraulic work has become one of the main and most visited tourist destinations in our region.

Huivulai Island

Huivulai Island is located south of Ciudad Obregón and off the Sonora coast in the Gulf of California. In Mayo, Huivulai means "long neck". The island is long and wide at its widest part. The island features many natural attractions including sand dunes used by four-wheel drive vehicles. The island has a water well oasis surrounded by date trees that attract many species of birds, including gray and white pelicans, corvetta, gray crested cranes, storks, and albatrosses. The island is ringed by beaches and features fishing opportunities off-shore.

Festivals and cultural programs

''Tetabiakte Art and Culture Festival''

This festival of art and culture takes place in November to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the municipality of Cajeme with the support of the Institute of Municipal Culture and the National Council for Culture and the Arts. This festival offers music, painting, film, poetry, book presentations and shows the culture and traditions of the Yaqui ethnic group.

''ITSON Arts Festival'''

The Festival, promoted by the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora through the Directorate of Extension of Culture and Services and is held annually in October. The Festival is a member of the National Network of Festivals of the National Council for Culture and the Arts. The program serves audiences of higher middle education, university and the community at large, through an artistic program representative of our cultural diversity, with national quality groups, with presentations in university forums, public spaces and theatres, with close access to the commun

"Ars Vocalis México"'

is an international festival and academy dedicated to vocal art that in 2015 is hosted by Ciudad Obregón. This festival, founded by the tenor and cultural promoter Carlos Zapién, has a pedagogical program thanks to which young Mexican singers, previously selected through an audition process, have the opportunity to participate in classes lectures given by renowned figures in the operatic world of Europe and the United States, as well as being able to work with coaches from various opera houses and educational institutions. Students also have the opportunity to work on the German vocal repertoire, ancient and baroque music and Mexican music. The audience has the opportunity to listen to recitals and operatic performances at no cost.

'''IPN International Book Fair''

Since 2013, the National Polytechnic Institute has organized the International Book Fair held in September. The program has been attended by renowned figures in the literary field, such as Elena Poniatowska and the program has the cooperation of several governmental and private institutions.

Sports

The most popular sport in Obregon is baseball. The city's professional baseball team is the Yaquis of the Mexican Pacific League, who play at Tomás Oroz Gaytán Stadium.
Ciudad Obregón has multiple infrastructure works dedicated to sport, among which stand out: the Municipal Gymnasium "Manuel Lira García", with a capacity of 3000 spectators. The , with capacity for 7,500 people and the , can accommodate 16,500 people. As well as small basketball and baseball stadiums scattered throughout the city, these two sports are the most popular of the company.
Ciudad Obregón has the following sports teams:
Football also has acceptance, the stadium "Manuel 'Piri' Sagasta", is the most important venue for its practice with a capacity of approximately 4000 spectators, although the sport is not as popular in the city, it remains a recreational practice by the ease of game development. Next to the football stadium is the sports car "Náinari 2000", an area for the practice of different sports.
The most popular martial discipline in Ciudad Obregón is the TaeKwonDo which is practiced by many young people in the municipality of Cajeme, which has multiple medalists in official competitions, nationally and internationally. The ITSON Potros have won 3 national university championships in Mexico.
Obregón F.C. play professional soccer in the Segunda División.

Gastronomy

The region has a wide variety of typical dishes, such as:
Also known as dry meat, it is a type of dehydrated meat that is made of beef cutting and during venison season can be made of this animal as well.
Some prominent people originating in Ciudad Obregón, or with a track record in their careers connected to the city are -

Twin towns — Sister cities

Ciudad Obregón is twinned with: