The American Trotter in Arizona..

Sonoras are a proud people, and Hermosillo is a proud city with a glorious historical heritage. They say in Mexico that Sonorans are best characterized by intense pride in their state and their capital city is one of their showplaces. The plaza, in the heart of the city, is large, a jumble of trees, shrubs, flowers and sunshine. On one side of the plaza is the cathedral, big and beautiful, sombre and imposing, as befits the house of God. The cathedral watches over the plaza and the city, like a good angel. On the other side of the plaza is the state government building, "el palacio del gobierno," equally big, imposing, and lasting, as befits the governing center of a great people. Here the Sonoran governor, General Macias, adminsters affairs of state.Hermosillo is a clean, modern city. There are fine schools, a vocational college, and a public playground of which any American city could boast. You see in Hermosillo signs of a government at work trying to improve the country and better the lot of the people.

Streets are curt, business-like affairs. Houses jut abruptly to the street, as if the owners were trying to shut themselves off from the passer-by. Yet, a peek through the open doors of these houses reveal patios, beautiful and cool and full of flowers, and the passer-by. should he be an American, knows that this is Mexico. The patio is the center of the home and of family life. It is a sanctuary of rest, conversation, and privacy, an institution as Mexican and Spanish as "Yo te amo!"

The residents of Hermosillo realize that to them the state looks for leadership. The city has an air about it of a person going some place, a rather vigorous person not to be caught forever stifling a yawn.

Hermosillo looks to the United States for counsel and for a plan of action and life. Baseball is the big sport in Hermosillo, and the municipal stadium of the city is dedicated to the sport and other athletic events. American baseball players playing at Hermosillo remark on the spirit and partisanship of the fans. It is worse than "Viva el toro!"

The city is on the Sonora River, and is the center of the agricultural area of the Sonora Valley. The citizens of Hermosillo fully realize the importance of the tourist industry to themselves as well as to all the state, and every effort is being exerted to stimulate this business in every way possible.

Americans are "bien venidos." Welcome, indeed.

By road or by rail, the traveler between Nogales and Hermosillo comes upon such interesting little towns as Imuris, Magdalena and Santa Ana, all in the Magdalena Valley, farm towns by the Magdalena River. In Magdalena is the old church which holds the Shrine of San Francisco, and here is where the Fiesta of San Francisco takes place the first week in October each year. If you are very devout and especially beloved by the Saint, you may refer to him familiarly as "San Pancho."

From Hermosillo to Guaymas, a distance of 85 miles, you pass no little towns or villages. Only the desert and an occasional ranch house in the foothills. To your east is the Sierra Madres and to the distant west is a low range of mountains, and when you get around them there, like a vision, is Guaymas and Guaymas Bay. Far to the west, to be seen only on real clear days with no mist, is Baja California, and the great expense of water between is the Gulf of California.

Here, at Guaymas, is the finest fishing center in the world. You can catch, in season, everything from shrimp to giant swordfish. Its popularity can be seen by the many American sportsmen crowding into Guaymas each winter season, when the climate is at its best and deepsea and shore fishing is briskest. Sonora winters are warm and pleasant, like winter in Southern Arizona.

Guaymas is well prepared to take care of the winter visitors. There is, for instance, the Playa de Cortez, a very ornate and pretentious re-

sort, of continental flavor, as fine a place as ever invited a guest to cross its threshold. Nearby is Miramar Beach, a little village of cottages and cabins for guests, operated with American dispatch, and in Guaymas are several small hotels. The sportsman can rent, at moderate prices, fishing boats and launches, fishing tackle and the services of informed native fishermen. Arrangements are very pleasant and very nice.

Guaymas is becoming more and more popular as a travel center. Last winter 4,500 American automobiles checked through Nogales for Guaymas, not to mention visitors who traveled by train.

Prospective travelers interested in Sonora and the west coast of Mexico will receive travel information by writing or calling upon Mexican consular offices, Southern Pacific travel representatives, the Chambers of Commerce in Hermosillo, Nogales, Tucson, Phoenix, Bisbee, Douglas or Casa Grande, or the Arizona highway department.

In Guaymas, as in almost any town or village you visit in Sonora, the American traveler will get along very easily without a knowledge of Spanish.