Bertha Teilechea de Urrea, three of her daughters, and her son gathered in her home in Ciudad Obregón to discuss the connection of the family to Álamos.

Bertha at that time was the family matriarch. She was in good health at the time of the interview, and wore her age very well. She was born in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, in 1915. Her ancestors came to the Sonoran area from Spain and settled in Torim, where they established a business as traders with the local Indians.

Her husband, Rafael Urrea, was descended from Tomás Urrea, who in the 19th Century, with his wife Loreto, came from Sinaloa to the Álamos area to manage ranches for his uncle. Tomás bought a house in Álamos, in the barrio la Capilla, for Loreto and the children, but his main residence was at Cabora--which became the home of the renowned Teresita of Cabora.

Teresita was the illegitimate daughter of Tomás and widely acclaimed for her miraculous healing powers. Her following grew until thousands gathered at the ranch daily, and her influence over the Indians disturbed President Porfirio Diaz to the extent that he considered her a threat to his rule. He had her exiled from Mexico in the early part of the 20th Century, and Tomás joined her in exile.

Tomás and Loreto’s son, Tomás hijo, took over the management of the ranches after his father went into exile, but during and after the revolution (1910 - 1920) all the property was lost. The government first took half of properties, and eventually everything else. Tomás hijo took his own life by gunshot while in Álamos, and the last owner of the property was Angel Santini from Huatabampo.

The next generation included five sons (Antonio, Miguel, Alberto, Tomás, and Manuel), three daughters (Michaela (m. Santini), Maria (m. Palomares), and Olita (m. de Guiterrrez.

Tomás in the third generation had a son, Raphael, who became the husband of the hostess, Bertha. They met when he returned from his studies in the U.S.A. due to the untimely death of his father. The family possesses some lovely photographs from the early 1930s: one shows Raphael as he was finishing his student days, and another is with his wife, Bertha, in 1934--the year of their marriage. (The Álamos History Association hopes to have copies of these photos for its archives.)

It was a rewarding afternoon spent with the family who showed such interest in their history and who helped “fill in” information on Álamos during the first third of the 20th Century.

Note: William Curry Holden’s book Teresita is a great source for information on Teresita of Cabora.