For years Sonoyta was a tiny little border town that for visitors to Puerto Peñasco served only as a place to mark the beginning of the Mexican section of their trip. There were only a few houses visible, and the business section was scarcely noticeable. But in recent years this town has undergone a renaissance. The business area has expanded; homes are being built and refurbished everywhere; the highway through town is newly paved, and large legible green signs help tourists find their way through.

Typical of this community's expanding commercialism is the San Antonio complex of businesses. Owned by the Robles family, it consists of a restaurant, a bar with Karaoke, a motel, a money exchange, a Salon de Eventos still under construction, and a mini-market soon to come.

We often stop in the San Antonio restaurant when we are in Sonoyta at meal time. The restaurant is clean and attractive, the service is prompt, and the food is delicious. On our most recent trip, we spoke with Luis Robles, who, with his father, runs all the businesses. He took us over to see the new Salon, which will be very elegant when finished, with its white tiled floors, high windows, and enormous bar. It would be a perfect place for a wedding reception, a quinceañera, a large party, or a conference.

The salon adjoins the motel, which has 26 rooms surrounding a central pool. Luis told us they will be remodeling it starting in May. He was enthusiastic about the new mini-mart, which will be opening in a month or so. It will be like a Circle K, he told us. The bar features Karaoke from 3 p.m. till midnight every night. We've never had a chance to check it out, but on one of these trips we'll stop in. If it's up to the standard of the rest of San Antonio, it should be great fun.

We changed some dollars into pesos at the money exchange next door to the restaurant and were on our way to another interesting Sonoyta business. This was the El Ranchito campground south of the city. We had been there once before but wanted to go back again and check it out.

To get there you go around past the baseball stadium and follow the road, which is well- marked by signs, around several corners, through small farms and residences, to the site.

It's in a beautiful spot, very rural, surrounded by trees, with mountain views all around. There are hookups for RVs and motor homes and room to pitch tents if desired. The manager's house has an old-fashioned outdoor oven made of brick and cement in the shape of a beehive, but with a surprising feature--a cow's skull cemented into the top like an overgrown hood ornament. The yard behind the oven has citrus trees with something we hadn't seen before, sheets slung under the branches, presumably to catch the fruit as it falls. Burros graze peacefully nearby, and there's even a small museum. Unfortunately it was closed, so we couldn't see inside.

Returning down the side roads to the main highway, we noticed a large building we hadn't seen on previous visits. A newly-painted sign on the outside read Chuchicam O'Odham, and a logo underneath said Unión Nacional de Trabajadores Acricolas. (National Union of Agricultural Workers). The doors were open so we decided to stop in and see what it was.

Inside it became evident that this was a general store. Shelves held everything from diapers and yellow soap to fresh eggs. Refrigerated cases had cold juices, lettuce, chicken, and beef. The condiment section boasted 4 kinds of salsa, canned jalapenos, soy sauce, and ketchup.

We talked to the managers, Eleazer Morales and his wife Elva Ramon. We learned that they are Tohono O'Odham Indians, relatives of the tribe of that name in Arizona. In Mexico, however, they are called Chuchicam. Eleazer told us that there are about 1,000 members of the tribe in the Sonoyta area and others all over northern Sonora, perhaps 100 in Puerto Peñasco.

The store is a coop owned by the O'Odham community. It has been open for only about 2 months. It was put up by 24 men, and they obviously did a good job. The structure is solidly built, and the electrical wiring looks very professional.

Eleazer and Elva live in a house nearby. They have 4 children--three sons and a daughter. They were very gracious and friendly and answered all our questions readily. We bought some items we needed for our dinner, said goodbye, and were on our way to Puerto Peñasco.