Kino

Hermosillo (supposed to mean beautiful, but . . .)

by jmbredeck

"No water but lots of carne asada"

This desert town has grown a lot in the past few years for reasons which remain a little vague to me. After all, you're in the middle of a desert with no reliable source of water for the 500,000+ residents (and growing) who live here. It's a 2.5 hr drive to the coast, where there IS (salt) water - but here, in Hillo, the reservoir (indicated on all city maps as a large lake) has done dried up looonng ago, and noone is talking about how to solve the problem. Politicians slap each other like some Saturday puppet show at the local library as they 'explore' the possibilities of a desaliniazation plant, which remains on the drawing boards as we all adjust to no water half of the year. Mexican politics protects what matters -- and I guess it ain't my water (or yours, friend.)
In the meantime, be prepared to have your water shut off at about 4 in the afternoon, and turned on again at about 5:30 the following morning. About as subtle (and effective) as a speed bump.

P.S. One explanation for the growth might be the NAFTA, and the rapid growth of maquiladoras (more notable at the border in Nogales.) Inside these massive complexes, like the Motorola plant in Nogales, hundreds of people work assembling cel phones, TV cable boxes and computers. A recent decision (announced in 2004) by Ford to expand their assembly plant is going to fuel Hermosillo?s growth The Ford site is a sprawling complex that will no doubt change the face of Hermosillo - but how?