Here we share some relevant information about this destination with a tourist and fishing vocation.}
A day like today, but in 1531 Mazatlán was founded by a commission sent by the Spanish conquistador Nuño de Guzmán.
And today, on the 492 Anniversary of our beloved port, we will talk about the most important events that have marked the history of Mazatlán until it reached its current development and became one of the most important port cities in all of Mexico.
The attack of the French
On the afternoon of March 31, 1864, Mazatlán was bombarded by the flagship of the invincible French army, the Cordelliére, during the intervention of this country in Mexico, an attack that was rejected and responded with just one piece of artillery, managed to cause severe damage to the frigate.
The patriotic act covered the port with honors, for which the 31 de Marzo fort would be built in 1892, by order of President Porfirio Díaz. In addition, this event is commemorated every year in the traditional fireworks show known as Combate Naval and gave Mazatlán the name of Puerto Heroico.
Belmar hotel 100 years of history
The history of the tourist industry in the port was born and developed with three hotels: the Iturbide Hotel, from the mid-19th century, had its heyday with the gold rush that occurred in California, when many adventurers stopped at the port; the Belmar, the first to be built in front of the beach and offer its ocean view in the 1920s, several Hollywood actors, friends of the owner, stayed here; and the Hotel Playa, from the 1950s, the first to be built on the sand, a few meters from the sea and with this construction the Golden Zone would begin.
Arrival of the Theater and carnival life
According to Enrique Vega Ayala, official chronicler, during Mazatlán’s golden age, coinciding with the Porfiriato era, the port had the first theater in northwestern Mexico, the current Ángela Peralta, the first banks and the greatest industrial activity in Sinaloa.
Without a doubt, this venue, our venue, is a source of pride for Mazatlan society because, in addition to being a faithful representative of the city’s history due to its cultural, aesthetic value and its excellent state of conservation, it has managed to position itself among the most important theater venues.
Added to the local culture, the first official carnival registered in Mazatlán took place in 1898, offering the population a new show to enjoy and make this party the town’s party. At present, the Mazatlán Carnival is considered international and is positioned in third place of the most important Carnivals worldwide.
Mazatlan in development
At the beginning of the 17th century, Mazatlán was used as a shipping port for valuable products such as gold and silver that were extracted in incredible quantities from the minerals of El Rosario and Mazatlán (Municipality), also gold coins and other merchandise that were exported to Spain, these exports were made by the very long and dangerous navigation route of thousands of nautical miles towards the South Pacific to Cape Horn and Europe.
The Economic and Political Potential of Mazatlán grew excessively, which is why the powers of the State were installed in the city from 1859 to 1873; later they moved to Culiacán where they are currently.
The outbreak of the black plague
In Mazatlán during 1902 and 1903 there was a plague epidemic that was controlled, perhaps for the first time in the world.
This outbreak was managed to circumscribe the municipality of Mazatlán, through a very efficient epidemiological work. The Board of Charity came to collect almost 500,000 pesos, with which a total of 1,399 houses were disinfected and 1,103 were incinerated, 2,146 people were isolated and 13,908 rats were eliminated.
In this epidemic, 824 people were infected, of whom 582 (71 percent) died. The facts show that, for the dates of these events, there was cutting-edge scientific knowledge regarding the bubonic plague, but its control in Mazatlán was due to the clarity of the actions carried out and the vocation of service of the participants, this turned to the port in an example of how to act.
German community
According to Leopoldo González, director of the Historical Archive, who should be mentioned the most in this sense of development is the Germans, because they were in charge of enhancing the capabilities of the Pearl of the Pacific through a company known as Casa Melcher’s.
The Germans were an important part of the scope of development, since they were in charge of contributing by creating companies adjusted to the powers in the region.
Mazatlán’s progress was quite remarkable; This strong development was the one that promoted the arrival of migrants who were looking for the riches of the place to obtain a better quality of life. Among the most notorious migrants were the aforementioned Germans, Americans, French and Chinese, who provided skills and abilities through work, but this story will be told in the next one.
Source: Punto
