Álamos Yesterday – Today

now and then photos of alamos sonora mexico

This is a new section that compares scenes from 2014 to those from 1983 to 1996.
We can see that the trees have grown, the church has painted domes, and new homes can be seen in the background. New and old – past and present, together, is the story
of Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.

The Alameda Gas Station Now

2014 - Looking northwest from Guadaloupe Hill. Photo: Huberto Enríquez. alamos sonora mexico.

2014 – Looking northwest from Guadaloupe Hill. Photo: Huberto Enríquez

The Alameda Gas Station Then

1995 - Looking northwest from Guadalope Hill. Photo: Anders Tomlinson. alamos sonora mexico

1995 – Looking northwest from Guadalope Hill. Photo: Anders Tomlinson.

now and then spacer

The Plaza Now

2014, looking west from El Mirador at Plaza, alamos sonora mexico. photo by Humberto Enríquez

2014 – looking west from El Mirador. Photo: Humberto Enríquez.

The Plaza Then

1993 Looking west from El Mirador at the church and plaza in alamos, sonora, mexico

1993 – looking west from El Mirador. Photo: Anders Tomlinson.

The shooting angles are close. But at this distance a few feet here and there will back a big difference along with the type of lens used. One goal of Good Morning Álamos, Sonora, Mexico film project is to replicate scenes that have changed from the same vantage point using the same lens, if possible. Big shout-out to Humberto Enríquez our man of the moment in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. Looking at these photos one can also see the difference between 35 mm slide and digital images. But that is another story.

To see more Álamos Journal pages.

To return Home.

©2014 Alamos-Sonora-Mexico.com and the respective photographers, all rights reserved.

Alamos Photo Portfolios

Chasing the moment and capturing that which allows itself to be captured.

Photographing Alamos, Sonora, Mexico was a great pleasure, and challenge, for Anders Tomlinson. His portfolio of 1,200 selected scans from 35mm film – Fuji Velvia 50, Provia 100, Provia 400 and Fujichrome Tungsten 64 – is divided into 17 subjects.

Anders shooting with a 35mm Canon body before the digital dawn.
photo- Jim Morgan

Presented below are one image representing each of the subjects with the number of images in that collection. There is a DVD of all the slide-scans that is available upon request.

Aduana Time… 25 images

This donkey could have been related to animals used to grind mercury in the 17th century, The satellite dish brings a rural Aduana school in touch with all of modern Planet Earth. photo- Anders Tomlinson

Alameda Action… 87 images

Only in the afternoon heat of a summer day is the Alameda this quiet.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Barrio Life… 222 images

Near the northern edge of town it is a simple life, not easy, but simple.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Church Days… 52 images

Our three-tiered belfry glows gold in spring morning light.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Flood Stage… 23 images

End of August, this is not the day to take a bicycle trip to the east side.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Garden Graces… 74 images

Serenity and the touch of tropical sun upon bare shoulders,
it is Alamos time... photo-Anders Tomlinson

Cemetery… 45 images

Alamos families, and friends, are here in the Cemetery-Pantheon.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Inside Walls…15 images

Art, artists and music are part of the Alamos lifestyle.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Mirador… 24 images

A summer kite festival at the Mirador ovelooking Alamos.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Views from High Ground…30 images

Alamos in the summertime from Red Cross Hill.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Nature Notes… 47 images

Looking south towards Sinola from atop Sierra de Alamos.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Night Music…90 images

Cat and dog rest near a house filled with bird cages.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Palacio… 26 images

The Palacio is the cultural and governmental center of Alamos.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Portraits… 96 images

Not all roads lead to Navojoa, but this one does.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Plaza Promenade… 109 images

Later that evening a tropical storm would tear through the Plaza.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Colonial Center… 156 images

These kids continue a long history of public education in Alamos.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Ruins…66 images

Time to restore and build a new roof, and drink beer.
photo-Anders Tomlinson

Anders is looking for partners to publish a book that Anders would design using these photos.
These images will also be used in high-definition multi-media Alamos presentations.
Later this year more slides will be scanned with an emphasis on details of daily life in Alamos.

To see more Anders Alamos photos visit the Daily Journal or enjoy Alamos Slideshows
as well as Night Magic photos.

Return to the home page.

©2010 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.

Alamos Slideshows

A Way of Life

Behold a Cornucopia of Color, Shapes, Textures and Scents.The flora of Alamos is the many splendors of Sinaloan tropical forest and Sonoran desert living together in unexpected harmony. Many properties have gardeners watering, pruning, consulting, planting, cutting, raking, commiserating, trimming and… year round. Flowers and vegetables are planted in November for winter blooms and crops that last until May or June’s heat… Mangos, papayas, bananas, palms, amapas, orchidias and other trees provide food and shelter for native and migrating birds. Cascades of colors come from flowering vines: blue veracruzana, orange trumpet, red, magenta and orange bougainvilla and… And the smells and scents that envelope one’s senses… Formal, informal… it all contributes to this symphony and riot that is the passing seasons in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
Photos, editing and produced by Anders Tomlinson. Music is “Jardin de Colores”, written and performed by Samuel Delatorre Dorame, from his 2013 CD “Memorias de Alamos, Sonora.”

View from Above

Mt. Alamos is some 6,500 feet above sea level. It towers 5,000 feet above the town of Alamos. 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.

Here was Silver

Here, seven miles west of Alamos, at 2,500 feet elevation with surrounding mountains as high as 4,700 feet, Aduana has a few hundred 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 are surrounded by the past. 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.
Photos and editing by Anders Tomlinson. Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

Graveyard

It is another day in the graveyard. Not just another day… but another day. It has been this way since 1794 when this plot of land was deemed the municipal cemetery. Graveyards are a special place: they are public art, they are public history and they are markers of their own civilization. And another day begins… and somewhere out there someone is dying and somewhere near here someone is being born. In the end it is all about this precious balance we call life.
Photos and editing by Anders Tomlinson. Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

Bishop Reyes Cathedral

Bishop Reyes’ Cathedral takes up the entire southern side of the Plaza de las Armas. Its three tiered belfry towers above town and touches low passing clouds. Along with multiple daily services the church is also a religious classroom. Religion speaks of yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows. It speaks of better days and better places. Religious followers are asked to endure and conceptually, eventually, benefit from their days of survival and struggle on this small planet.
Photos and editing by Anders Tomlinson. Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

And Then the Storm Came

The summer rains are here, the sweet night air cools warm bodies bringing relief and contemplation. The purity and hope of laughing young couples, alone with each other, drenched to the bone, clinging wet clothes, make their way home late at night splashing and dancing in cobblestone puddles. Above, the heavens explode, a cannonade of thunder rumbles across silhouetted mountain ridges backlit by fantastic lightening. It is time to go to asleep under one sheet in the cool of a warm night. And then the big storm, remnants of a tropical typhoon, arrived. In an instant the sky turned angry dark, the air became colder and a deafening wind shrieked through the trees. It rained and continuously howled from late afternoon until just before dawn. In the morning, stunned town folk came out and watched from a safe distance the fast running rivers that are normally dry arroyos. Over the coming days waters receded, children played in cool shallow pools and rock men filled their trucks with fresh sand. Photos and editing by Anders Tomlinson.
Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

The Commercial center of Alamos

The commercial center of Alamos, Sonora, Mexico, the Alameda, was laid out in 1769 and it has been busy ever since, some decades more than others. Today, it is bustling with activity. The bus station is the transportation hub for surrounding towns and ranches. he Alameda, center of activity, transportation hub, bars, offices, shops, gas station and markets … This is Mexico working, traveling and playing. Boom boxes serenade food carts and shoe shines.
Photos, editing and produced by Anders Tomlinson. Music is “Vientos Sonorenses”, (Antonio Saavedradorame and Samuel Delatorre Dorame) Antonio and Samuel both added to this beautiful melody titled “the Winds of Sonora”, It was arranged for the classical guitar by Samuel for his 2013 CD – “Memorias de Alamos, Sonora.”

These images were shot in 1996. The Alameda is different now. Hurricane Norbert, on October 12, 2008, flooded the Alameda and took out the giant cottonwood shade trees. It remains the commercial center.

The Place to Be and Be Seen

It is a wonderful feeling to sit with a friend in the plaza on a pleasant evening. Here, one can watch people come, be and go. This is the a place to be seen and see. When all have come and gone it becomes a romantic refuge for a young couple. 
Imagine horse drawn carriages, burro pack trains, and cars that have come into Alamos along these streets. Imagine the families that have been here for centuries. Imagine the change of government, some peaceful some violent. It is all here in the shadows of night. Photos and editing by Anders Tomlinson.
Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

It is In The Night That the Past Dances Down Narrow Streets

Oh little town of Alamos. Lights sparkle in the evening darkness. Pungent smells float with the shifting breeze. Music, live and recorded, rises up from the homes and neighborhoods. Birds sing under star filled skies. Dogs bark and cars pass by. Footsteps on cobblestone and smoke from fireplaces create mystic moments. Children of all ages play late into the night on the quiet streets. Night time is not threatening, it is a celebration of another day both coming and going. Night time is magical. The town seems smaller. The world becomes all you can see looking down a street. It is easy to focus on the smallest thing. And behind the walls there are other worlds: private legacies, conversations., comforts, learnings, entertainments, deliberations, dreams.
 Photos and editing by Anders Tomlinson. Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

To see more Alamos Journal pages.

To return Home.

©2013 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.

Night Magic Photos

Nightfall brings out spirits, ghosts and legends.

Oh little town of Alamos dreams, as seen from Gringo Point in the Sierra de Alamos.

Lights sparkle in the evening darkness. Pungent smells float with the shifting breeze.
Music rises up from the homes and neighborhoods. Birds sing under star filled
skies. Dogs bark and cars pass by. Footsteps on cobblestone and smoke from
fireplaces create mystic.

Friends gather outside a Friday night dance.

Anders arrived his on first visit to Álamos at 4 A.M. after an 18 hour drive
from Tijuana. Coming into town at night accented the fact he had arrived
in a place where time stood still and discovery awaits. Seeing the
town in morning light did not diminish his first impression.

Thick walls embrace outside and inside a house on Calle Comercio.

Children of all ages play late into the night on the quiet streets.
Dogs and cats lay together by front doors. Night time is not threatening,
it is a celebration of another day both coming and going.

Romantic songs, live and recorded, come from many houses aglow with music.

Music concerts happen on a public and private level. Guitars and singing
takes place all over Álamos. Singing and dancing are part of the
passion for life that begins as little children and continues
throughout life. It is felt with every step and heartbeat.

The plaza at night is refuge for a young couple.

It is a wonderful feeling to sit in the plaza on a pleasant evening
with a friend. Here, one can watch the people come and go. The church
draws people throughout the day and into the evening.
It is a joy to listen to the church choirs practice.

The Estudiantina entertains at a local hotel.

The Estudiantina de Álamos are a group of young men learning music and
performance styles from the days of old. The Museo de Costumbrista
de Sonora coordinates their training and busy schedules. They are
bring a pride and joy wherever they go.

For over 300 years people have been in their homes on this corner.

The thick walls help keep out the cold and heat and hold in the spirits
of anyone who has walked inside. If there is a place where past, present
and future come together it is inside the walls of Álamos. These photos
are slices, literally. from a portfolio of 100 Álamos night scenes by
Anders Tomlinson. Some day Álamos may be able to look at them on
exhibit or projected at night.

On a road heading out of the colonial center lights become fewer..

Imagine the horse drawn carriages, the burro pack trains, and cars that
have come into Álamos along these streets. Imagine the families that
have been here for centuries. Imagine the change of government,
some peaceful some violent. It is all here in the shadows of night.

Two friends share thoughts at the entrance to town center.

Summer nights find townsfolk outdoors in the cooling air. The sky can
light up with a roll of distant thunder. If it begins to rain people
stay under the sky and embrace the blessed moisture. Listen to the
crickets. Listen to your heart.

Rain is always welcomed in Alamos. It is Life.

Night time is magical. The town seems smaller. The world becomes all
you can see looking down a street. It is easy to focus on the smallest
thing. And behind the walls there is another world. Private legacies.
Conversations. Comforts. Learnings. Entertainments. Deliberations. Dreams…

The Place to Be and Be Seen

It is a wonderful feeling to sit with a friend in the plaza on a pleasant
evening. Here, one can watch people come, be and go. This is the a place
to be seen and see. When all have come and gone it becomes a romantic refuge
for a young couple. 
Imagine horse drawn carriages, burro pack trains, and cars
that have come into Álamos along these streets. Imagine the families that have
been here for centuries. Imagine the change of government, some peaceful some
violent. It is all here in the shadows of night. Photos and editing by Anders
Tomlinson. Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

It is In The Night That the Past Dances Down Narrow Streets

Oh little town of Álamos. Lights sparkle in the evening darkness. Pungent
smells float with the shifting breeze. Music, live and recorded, rises up
from the homes and neighborhoods. Birds sing under star filled skies.
Dogs bark and cars pass by. Footsteps on cobblestone and smoke from fireplaces
create mystic moments. Children of all ages play late into the night on the
quiet streets. Night time is not threatening, it is a celebration of another
day both coming and going. Night time is magical. The town seems smaller.
The world becomes all you can see looking down a street. It is easy to focus
on the smallest thing. And behind the walls there are other worlds: private
legacies, conversations., comforts, learnings, entertainments, deliberations,
dreams.
 Photos and editing by Anders Tomlinson.
Music from “Camino Songs” by SonicAtomics.

Return to the home page or visit the Alamos photo portfolios.

©2010 -2017 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.