“It grew like the tree, without any care”
Carlos Esqueda knew how to interpret what was “the Guamúchil of his time”, he is known for having written works of great value for the region such as Lexicon de Sinaloa and Crónica de Guamúchil, however he also showed an inclination towards painting and photography, and I refer to these last activities to refer to one of the most representative historical legacies of the town: the coat of arms of Guamúchil.
The peoples assimilate their history, and by becoming aware of it, they project their concerns in different ways. The discourse is one of these manifestations, whether oral or written, and why not, with the construction and use of symbols.
With simple forms, but with a very precise symbology, Esqueda elaborated the first coat of arms of Guamúchil during the pro-free municipality movement. The reason was particular: it was the station’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations and a great celebration was being organized for the month of August of the year 1958. The fifty years of the young city were quantified, based on the accurate statement that the date of the Guamúchil’s modern foundation had been on August 1, 1908, according to this, the day the station was inaugurated with its small wooden construction. After this event -an indelible mark for the population-, local history was going to take a course that pointed towards progress.
By 1958, Guamuchilense society conceived of itself as a people that had matured in many aspects, and its inhabitants already showed signs of cohesion and identity, even in their intellectual spheres ideas were being cooked up that transcended the mere plane of subsistence and daily life, since there were inclinations in the inhabitants of the locality who aspired to segregate themselves from the municipality of Mocorito.
Said local economic growth had become evident along with the progress that the country was experiencing during the so-called Mexican miracle, which in turn had an impact on some regions of the national concert. In this sense, towns like Guamúchil, which had experienced such progress, maintained the firm aspiration of having their own administration as a free municipality.
Carlos Esqueda was one of the intellectuals and main promoters of the movement that sought to segregate Guamúchil from the municipality of Mocorito,
although he never said it openly or was among the members of the Free Municipality Committee. This is confirmed by his book Crónica de Guamúchil, which is an apology for the people who fraternally adopted him; and he ratifies it with the creation of the shield, elaborated from his own initiative and from his perspective.
This first shield shows the most emblematic symbols of the population such as: the guamúchil tree, from which the name of the town derives; the railway track and station, to which its formal appearance is due; the Mochomo hill, conspicuous geographical point of its location; and the rising sun with the year 1908 in its center, evidencing the modern birth of the town, the tracks and the railway station as the main symbol. However, it also contains a phrase that is found on the edges of the shield, which says: “it grew like the tree, without any care” alluding to the helplessness with which the population grew, which is nothing more than an apologetic of the author before the authorities of Mocorito, reflecting a feeling of animosity for having avoided institutional support for the benefit of the developing society. The tree analogy complements the defense and exaltation of the town, which despite being abandoned is capable of seeking its own means to survive and grow in adversity and in the inhospitable of its condition. At the same time, it is a reaffirmation that the guamúchil tree has matured and has reached adulthood, just like the town, and can live independently of those who – as can be interpreted – neither planted it nor cared for it.
Under such circumstances and with the vicissitudes that involved facing both municipal and state governments, Guamúchil managed to establish itself as the 17th municipality of the state of Sinaloa on February 27, 1962 through decree 280 under the name of Salvador Alvarado.
Esqueda, despite not having been born in Guamúchil, assumed with all responsibility and passion the impetus of a people who aspired to conquer the ideals of democracy (equality and freedom) in their local space, perhaps without foreseeing the magnitude of the historical legacy that conference of the present city. Today the municipal library and a street in the city bear his name.
To finish, I make a clarification to the reader: this coat of arms -as could be seen previously- was born at a precise moment in the history of the town, without having been considered official. The current official shield of the municipality of Salvador Alvarado was created in 1978.
#shield #Guamúchil