Urique

Nestled in the very bottom of the Urique Canyon, the pueblo of Urique is the county seat (cabicera municipio) of the county that carries the same name. The word “Urique” comes from the Tarahumara word “Uli” meaning land below which to them is synonymous with hot land. The “Uli” was followed by “-qui”, a meaningless ending added to words so they sound better, thus “Uliqui” which the Spanish changed to “Urique”.The municipal of Urique extends from Sinaloa to Posada Barrancas, near Divisadero, and requires 9 hours to cross by vehicle on rugged mountain roads that would be known as “jeep trails” elsewhere. It has a total area of 3968.6 square kilometers. The Urique Canyon is one of the major canyons within Copper Canyon.

With an elevation of 549 meters (1757 ft.) Urique is characterized by a tropical climate ideal during winter months but almost unbearable during May and June when temperatures can reach 120˚F. Cooling summer rains bring a respite during the summer months. Edible products of this tropical town include peanut, grapefruit, mango, orange, papaya, lime, avocado, guaba, and plums. Seeds of the wild guamuchil tree and pitaya cactus fruit are special treats during May and June.

In 1684, the Jesuit Priest Juan Maria Salvatierra passed by Cerro Gallegos and became the first white man to descend to Urique. While making the descent, the good Father decided that the deep precipices were more than he was willing to handle mounted so he descended from his mule on the wrong side, the side away from the cliff, and continued the descent on foot. Father Salvatierra is better known for founding the mission of Cerocahui in 1680 and later accompanying the famous Padre Kino to Baja California. There Father Salvatierra began construction of the mission at Loreto, the first mission in what later became known as California’s famous mission trail.

The good father Salvatierra was followed by the Spaniard Juan Tarango Vallejo who is credited with the founding of Urique on the 12th of January, 1690, the same year he claimed gold deposits in the region. This claim was made in Cusihuiriachi. Mining claims were administered there until 1731 when the claims office was moved to Batopilas. In 1847 Urique was placed in the municipio of Guazapares where it was designated a sección in 1859, thus making Urique responsible for area law enforcement, legal matters and vital statistics. On the 14th of December 1860 Urique was designated a municipio and in 1866 it was placed under the Cantón de Arteaga. The same year President Benito Juarez formally gave the designation Villa (town) to Urique.

Oral history claims Urique was site of the only battle in Chihuahua between French and Mexican forces during the farcical pastry war in the mid-1800s. Revolutionary troops (1910-1922) were active in the county, their impact on the population has been documented in Victor Villaseñor’s delightful family biography “Rain of Gold” named after an Urique county mining pueblo of the same name (see Lluvia de Oro).

Heavy raids on the mines by revolutionaries and federales[i] eliminated large-scale operations in Urique and the population declined from 5000 to 1300 today. Years ago it was even smaller. About 1969 the town began construction of an access road. This construction was taken over by the state and completed October 1975, just in time for county Presidents Carlos Silva’s first informe.[ii] The first vehicles entered Urique at noon on 3 August, 1965. They were SCT (Secretaria de Communicaciónes y Transportes) trucks. The road was inaugurated October 1975, just in time for county Presidents Carlos Silva’s first informe.[i][ii]. The government celebrated the inauguration by sending down a truckload of black beans. Unfortunately, the people of Urique ate only pinto beans!

While in Urique, we ran across a coin from Urique's early days. Undated, it was probably a trade voucher.

In 1943, the business passed to the father of long-time owner Carlos Silva. Don Carlos was a permanent fixture in the store until his death in December, 2006. Today his descendents operate the store where people arrive seeking anything from tomatoes to rope and flashlight batteries.

This road provided the first vehicular access to Urique. Prior to its construction, all merchandise and people came to Urique on foot or on the backs of animals.

Urique received long distance telephone service in May, 1995. Local telephone service was installed in 2001. Power lines reached the town in fall, 2001. Prior to then, a diesel generator that operated several hours per night provided electricity. And now, to our astonishment, there is a satellite internet connection available!

The road to Urique offers the only vehicular access to the bottom of the Urique Canyon, known as the Barranca de Cobre farther upstream. Tourism has had small impact on Urique to date but is growing with the advent of adventure tourism and construction of the tourist-class Estrella del Rio 8-room hotel. Urique presently serves as a distribution center for goods entering even more remote ranchos and pueblitos. Cargo burros are frequently seen on the streets and many visitors arrive riding horses and mules.

"La Central" still serves the town as one of the original general stores. A Spaniard, Alfredo S. Monge, started the business and the front of the building displays a 1909 date near the top. During the revolution, the Spanish were forced to leave the country and a descendent carried on the business. In 1943, the business passed to the father of the late owner Carlos Silva. Unlike many of the more modern stores, La Central is unusually large and spacious. Carlos kept a letter dated December 1910 describing a transaction for one peso and fifty centavos which he has showed us. It is written on the ornate letterhead characteristic of those days. Carlos is one of the individuals we interviewed for his historical knowledge of the area. You can read his story in our "Human History" section.

i][ii] Informe—In this case, an annual report given by the Presidente Municipal on accomplishments within the county. Details on road construction were provided by Carlos Silva who was Presidente Municipal when the road was completed.