Kino Bay Chronicle

New Kino Today

The community of which Club Deportivo is part: is an interesting mix of the old and the new.

Seri Indians who, a few years ago came down the coast in boats to camp near the Caverna and on the outskirts of Old Kino, now make the trip in pickup trucks and return each night to their village at Punta Chueca. Their women still wear their traditional long, full skirts and colorful blouses. Many of the men, the older ones at least, still wear their hair long, sometimes in braids.

Mexican fisherman, in their seaworthy pangas, still ply the waters of the bay, harvesting fish, crabs, shrimp, lobsters and sea cucumbers. In contrast, young visiting weekenders speed up and down in jet-powered ski boats. A fleet of shrimp boats, varying in number from a dozen to 75 or more, is part of a Sonoran fleet of some 500 boats. Anchoring in the lee ofAlcatraz Island in daytime, their lights can be seen scattered over the bay at night.

Concern over a decline in shellfish yields has led Mexico to launch research programs aimed not only at improving natural production but also at development of alternative methods of producing seafood. Two such research facilities are operating in Kino Bay, one under supervision of the State of Sonora and the other a program by the University of Sonora. Spawn of oysters, scallops and shrimp is produced and moved to facilities elsewhere for further growth and sale. One plant is located at what has come to be known as "Windy Point" and the other at the estuary southeast of Old Kino. Tours of these facilities can be arranged.

A neighbor of Club Deportivo and headquartered in buildings that were once the home of "Old Blue" Eldon Heaston, one of the principal founders and first president of Club Deportivo, is the field station of Prescott (Arizona) College's Environmental Studies program. Under leadership of Tad Pfister, Field Coordinator, groups of twelve students are brought here for varying lengths of time and do both classroom work and field studies on the outlying islands. An excellent marine environment library is housed there and is open for use by Club members and others. The program, formerly operated out of quarters at Islandia Marina, has been underway here for more than 25 years.

A few blocks behind the Seri Museum, at the corner of Tecolutia and Vera Cruz, is one of the great curiosities of New Kinoa crumbling artifact known only as "the drug house".

This huge unfinished building occupies most of a square block. Little is known about it locally, but a story in the Tucson Citizen at the time its construction was stopped in 1989, related that work on the 20-room, fortress-like building had been underway for 14 months. Although even the 47 workmen knew little about its intended use, it was clearly to have been a luxury residence with facilities for high living.

The house is three stories high, in part. Stairs as well as shafts for elevators and dumb waiters, connect the floors. In its center, partly in open air, is a 50-foot long swimming pool, flanked by twelve fluted columns, 20 feet tall and three feet in diameter. There would have been bedrooms for at least 20 people and many bath- rooms. A large basement was probably intended for kitchens and staff. A separate building contains what appear to be additional living quarters. Another building is a handball court with a balcony for spectators. A garage for a half-dozen vehicles, a gate house and a roofed, tiled, outdoor party area complete the complex, all surrounded by an eight-foot stone-and-concrete wall.

According to the Citizen, the project came to an abrupt halt when the mystery builder/owner was accused of being involved in a large drug cartel. He disappeared but police found him hiding on San Esteban Island. He was linked to the ownership of 20 tons of cocaine discovered in a warehouse near Los Angeles and is presumably still in prison somewhere. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration called it the biggest "bust" in DEA history, according to the Citizen.

An important annual religious event in New Kino is an annual procession to the hill-top shrine honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of all Mexico. The shrine is located north of Mar de Cortez at Calle Selestum, a few blocks west of the Seri Museum.

Another traditional observance, on each November 20, commemorates Mexican Revolution Day. Schools and most businesses close for a parade through the streets of Old Kino. Students, by various groups and ages, march to the beat of a drum-and-bugle corps. Especially interesting are the costumes of young boys who wear broad-brimmed hats and crossed bandoliers (cartridge belts) hanging from their shoulders, representing the peasant soldiers who were a key force in the 1910 uprising against the dictator Porfiric Diaz. Little girls in colorful native dress, their hair in long braids march with "their men".

The water supply for both Old and New Kino comes from deep wells now located about seven miles inland. These wells have had to be moved several times because of the gradual intrusion of salt water. Another is being drilled now, we are told. Sewage disposal in the community is taken care of by septic tanks on individual properties.

Most of the electricity for the community is generated at a hydroelectric plant at Novillo Dam, some 80 miles east of Hermosillo. In addition, some electricity is obtained from a diesel- operated generating plant at Libertad, up the coast north of Kino Bay.

Few traces are left today of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Lester which hit the Kino Bay area on August 23, 1992. Hundreds of homes in Old and New Kino were destroyed or badly damaged by wind and water, leaving many people homeless. The street between Old and New Kino was washed out. Electricity and water were not available for several days until new power-line poles were flown out from Hermosillo by a huge helicopter.

A massive community effort was launched to make at least temporary repairs. Not many Americans were in residence at that time and it fell heavily on a few, like Otis Turner and Chuck McDonagh, to scrounge materials, board up empty beach front homes and locate portable generators to save food in freezers. Tony Zepeda, Club manager, opened the Club building for the use of people whose homes had been destroyed. Some people were transported to Hermosillo because they had no place to sleep.

Mar de Cortez, which runs the full distance from Old Kino through New Kino to the Caverna RV Park, was once a sandy road often blocked by dunes after storms. It is now a well-maintained boulevard, with street lights, pay telephones and mail-collection boxes. From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., a bus to and from Old Kino and Hermosillo runs at hourly intervals.

In the early 1970's, the only telephone available in New Kino was a public phone in a house near the Saguaro RV Park. The operator, "Juan", would receive a call and ride his bicycle to summon the person being called. Few operators were bilingual, as they now are, so Juan's services were greatly appreciated by Americans needing to receive or place calls.

Residential telephone service came to Kino about 1978. Today there are hundreds of telephones in Kino Bay, including recently-installed pay phones along the Mar de Cortez. Many people here, however, are seasonal trailer or motorhome residents who don't want to be bothered with a short-term telephone installation. So, CB radios, and later the VHP radios, came into use for communications throughout the community, as well as on boats. At pre- sent, Channel 11 is used by Rescue One for communication with boats, for launching services and for community announcements. Others, including boats, use Channel 11 for contact only and then change to another channel for conversation.

Following the custom of using "handles" rather than names in radio communication, each VHP user has a designation that is sometimes descriptive of a home base location ("Windy Point"), sometimes the boat name ("La Juanita") is used, and sometimes a purely whimsical ("Rotten Ralph") or other arbitrary choice is made. These "handles" are listed alphabetically in the Club directory. Some people are as well known by the "handle" as by his or her real name.