Pueblos mágicos y nuevas ruralidades. El caso de Álamos, Sonora

Abstract

The Mexican town, Alamos in Sonora has specific urban and rural characteristics thatare central in the national Mexican tourism policy program “Magic Villages”. Thisprogram is related to the local development and the redesign of touristic cities. Theapproach of the New Ruralities allows identifying the processes of socio-spatialtransformation of these centers and also the role of the productive sectors. The servicesfor the rural sector, led by the means of governmental plans and programs, arereflected in the everyday life, before and after the Magic Town Program; operativebureaus, commerce and general services are evidence of this transformation. Also, therecent operation of two mines reactivates the local economy through the generation ofdirect and indirect jobs. In summary, before being a Magic Town, Alamos was alreadya touristic city and yet, the center of one of the most poor municipalities of the state.