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History of the Puerto Peñasco Region
by Peggy Turk Boyer
reprinted from CEDO News Vol. 9 No. 2
Considering the ocean’s powerful and the proximity of the northern
Gulf of California to several large United States population centers, it is not surprising that tourism is one of the region’s most important economic activities. Before the first Mexican fishermen migrated
northwards establishing fishing camps along the coast of the northern Gulf, U.S. visitors ventured southward down the Colorado River and through the Gran Desierto dunes in search of adventures in the Sea of Cortez.
The stream of visitors continues today and the interrelationships between these visitors and the local communities are complex.
Puerto Peñasco – The Building of a Tourism Trade
In the first half of the 20th century only the most adventurous travelers crossed the driest desert in North America to explore the seashores at Puerto Peñasco. Explorers, sport fishing enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, naturalists, scientists, and even outlaws were among those hardy souls attracted more by the natural environment and isolation than by tourist services and amenities. During prohibition in the 1920’s wealthy movie stars and bootleggers traveled by air over this roadless terrain to enjoy drinking, gambling and great fishing. These visitors constructed the first hotel and the first freshwater well at Puerto Peñasco, which were built alongside Mexican fishing camps. As the camps grew into families and communities, opposition to rowdy American behavior increased. In 1931 the Americans were expelled: on their way out they dynamited the only freshwater well in town.
Access to freshwater limited Mexican colonization and U.S. visitation. Until the 1960’s freshwater was trucked 60 miles from Sonoyta and stored in open barrels. Deep wells some 20 miles
north of town now supply Puerto Peñasco with all its water but distribution is still an issue. Water availability has become a major concern given the projected growth in tourism and less than 4 inches of rain a
year to recharge the aquifer.
Completion of Highway 8 in 1942 and the railroad in 1947 were both important in linking the region to Mexican and U.S. populations. These steps literally paved the
way for the development of U.S. markets for the abundant fisheries products that sustained the economy in the region throughout the 60’s and 70’s. In the 70’s high shrimp prices in this export market and
government investment in boats, equipment and a harbor fueled a flood of Mexican immigration to the region in a kind of “gold rush” for shrimp, which was known as “pink gold.”
Some
local entrepreneurs converted these shrimp profits into properties and tourism infrastructure and catered to colonies of American vacationers, sport fishermen and a more elite tourist clientele. U.S. scientists
attracted by the research possibilities in the region began projects on desalinization, hydroponics, and halophyte and shrimp mariculture. In the 1970s the University of Arizona and the University of Sonora
collaborated on a pioneering shrimp farming project.
In the late 1980s a drastic decline in the shrimp catch in the northern Gulf resulted in a collapse of the shrimping industry. This economic
crisis primed the community of Puerto Peñasco, including the shrimping sector, to support the establishment of a reserve which promised both protection for fishery resources and government investment in the tourism
industry as an alternative to fishing. In 1993, as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was being negotiated, the government established the Upper Gulf of California Biosphere Reserve, demonstrating its
commitment to the protection of the environment, especially the endangered vaquita porpoise.
The trade-off, restricted fishing in exchange for increased tourism investment, was supported
through low-interest government loans made to local businesses. Highway 8 was widened, Puerto Peñasco underwent a “face-lift,” and the number of tourist services increased substantially. NAFTA also brought
business opportunities for U.S. tourists, as well as for Mexican investors. June 1995 marked the opening of the first of the tourism mega-projects (Hotel Plaza Las Glorias), developed with Mexican funding from
outside the community. This outside money brought with it an outside labor force, including many professionals, elevating the level of professional services available and competing with local entrepreneurs. The
cumulative effect on this small community has been substantial, converting it into a cosmopolitan town, and sparking the tourism boom that has been underway for the last few years. Today, at least 13 mega-projects
are planned for this region.
The nature of the Puerto Peñasco tourist has changed as the community has expanded its repertoire of services. Families and vacationers wanting greater luxury and
seeking more amenities are now frequenting the area. Though the majority of the tourists are from the U.S. they also come from within Mexico and from abroad – France, Germany and Spain. In addition, numerous
housing developments, condominiums and other types of property are “owned” by Americans and rented out to visitors and a proliferation of trailer parks caters to “snowbirds.” All of these lodgings fill up on
holiday weekends and during peak spring and fall periods.
American and a few local entrepreneurs also offer: ATV rentals, kayaks and jetski rentals, banana boat, airplane and ultralight ride,
horseback riding, parasailing, sunset cruises, fishing charters, etc. Dune buggy races, hobie cat races, triathlons, fishing derbies, jazz festivals, motorcycle rallies and fairs and conferences also draw people to
the area.
In the spring and fall dozens of tour companies operate one to three day bus tours to Peñasco. A handful of local individuals and tourist companies offer organized outings, primarily
to the Pinacate volcanic region. Local dive companies run sightseeing island tours and dive charters.
Since the early 1980s CEDO has given free natural history talks about the region. These
became so popular that tour operators and other groups began requesting talks, and CEDO became an attraction promoted in tourist literature throughout the region. CEDO also offers visitors educational filed
excursions: kayak and walking tours of local estuaries, intertidal explorations, excursions to the dune fields of the Gran Desierto and to the volcanic craters of the Pinacate Biosphere Reserve.
Though sportfishing has been hampered by lack of harbor space, the extreme tidal change (making boarding difficult), and unpredictable weather, it is and has long been an important activity in
Puerto Peñasco. First developed by American visitors using their own boats, sometimes hiring local assistance. Recent years have seen many fishermen using their small boats (pangas) to take tourists fishing
offshore.
With all these attractions, services and its great natural beauty, Puerto Peñasco is one of Sonora’s most important tourist destinations. Though fishing is still important, tourism
has grown and contributes significantly to the local economy.
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