La Aduana, Sonora, Mexico

14 … The landscape of La Aduana has rebounded from the best and worst of man.

Street in La Aduana, Sonora, Mexico. Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

Downtown Aduana on a typical weekday morning. Remants of mining dot the hills.

Spanish conquistador Vasquez de Coronado camped here during the winter of 1540-41.
He was searching for gold in what turned out to be mountains with veins of silver.
The mines closed in 1906 after nearly 400 years of continuous mining. La Aduana
was the “custom office”, it was all about taxes and royalties. Life was hard and
short with the hazards of the mines and the chemicals used in the extraction process.
The curse of quicksilver had a wide footprint.

Looking east at La Aduana, Sonora, Mexico.  Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

Today, seven miles west of Alamos, Aduana is what it is.

Here seven miles west of Álamos, at 2,500 feet elevation with surrounding mountains as
high as 4,700 feet, Aduana has less than 300 people where once there was 5,000. A church,
country store, cemetery, a small restaurant-inn, a plaza with a dry fountain in its center
surrounded by the past is Aduana today. And for some this is their home. And these are
their hills with their months of desert and long summer of jungle.

Cooperativa Artesanos La Aduana, Sonora, Mexico.  Photo by Anders Tomlinson.

The woman come out to show their wares when visitors arrive.

Located near the church is La Aduana Art & Crafts. This is a cooperative of local ladies,
seen here, with their products. This photo was taken in 1997. I wonder what Aduana
is like today. I know the dust is the same and radios and televisions sing and speak
from isolated homes. But has the realities of 2011 arrived? While researching Aduana
on the internet I was surprised to see alamos-sonora-mexico.com being quoted, some
would say plagiarized, by others sites. Indeed, this is 2011. In the next wave of
Álamos video editing – mid May, scenes from Aduana will be posted.

cactus in wall of la adauna church, sonora, mexico.  photo by anders tomlinson.

A cactus grows out of a church wall and people come to pray.

This is not the London Bridge or the Grand Canyon but it is a quiet moment, in a now
quiet town, that inspires those who believe.

burros drinking watr in la aduana, sonora, mexico.  photo by anders tomlinson.

Two generations gather for a drink at the local water hole - more puddle.

These burros could be descendants of working Aduana burros from the 1600’s. It was a
hard life: grinding down ore in quicksilver or moving silver from the mines, to the
Álamos treasury to Mexico City and back for another trip loaded with needed supplies.
Beasts of burden relax and calm La Aduana morning. Birds and insects fill the sky
with sound. It is becoming warmer.

entrance to a mine in La Aduana, Sonora, Mexico. photo by Anders Tomlinson.

Is this the fabled “Entrance to the Spirit World?”

Just think of all that took place deep within this silver mine. Think of the men. Think
of how and why they are there. Think of their typical day. Think of where they laid down
to sleep. Think of what they eat.

Here was Silver

Once this was a major silver mining town in all the world. Today, it is tucked away up
in the hills with a quiet plaza and dry fountain. It is calm. Mining remnants dot the
hillside. They are reminders of what was and what is. Photos and editing by Anders
Tomlinson. Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

View from Above

Mt. Álamos is some 6,500 feet above sea level. It towers 5,000 feet above the town of
Álamos. It is another world, wild parrots, dry tropical forest, granite and… Up and
down is a day’s effort, it is well worth it. To reach the top it is recommended to
start hiking early while it is still dark and cool. Photos and editing by Anders
Tomlinson. Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

For more information on Aduana Silver Mines 1910

For more information on Mines surrounding Álamos today

To see more Alamos Journal pages.

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©2013 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.



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