Kendal Blust / KJZZ

Dancers perform in the plaza en the Villa de Seris neighborhood of Hermosillo during the annual Fiestas de la Candelaria on Feb. 2, 2019.

One of the oldest neighborhoods in the Sonoran capital Hermosillo has received national recognition for its history, culture and food.

Just south of Hermosillo’s bustling city center, the charming Villa de Seris neighborhood has been designated as a Barrio Mágico, or magical neighborhood.

The federal recognition was established late last year to promote tourism in some of the country's most iconic neighborhoods.

It will highlight and protect Villa de Seris' unique culture, history and gastronomy, said Ramses Valenzuela, part of Villa de Series Historico, a group that has been pushing state and federal officials to give the area special status.

"It's a joy to see this finally happen," he said, calling it the toward boosting tourism and economic investment in the area.

Villa de Seris was established in 1742 as a colonial settlement. Later it was home to members of the Indigenous Comcaac Nation — also known as the Seris — and became known as Pueblo de Seris. In 1939, it became part of Hermosillo but maintains a special place in the city, both for its centuries old buildings and its coyotas — a Sonoran pastry said to have originated there in the 1950s.

"We want to show that off to the world," Valenzuela said. "It's calm, it's beautiful, there's great food and coyotas. You can't find them anywhere else in the world. And people should experience how delicious, how wonderful they are."

Officials say their first steps after inaugurating the new Barrio Mágico will be to restore some facades and murals neighborhood.

Villa de Seris is among the first neighborhoods to given the new designation — part of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos, or magic towns, program, which has been highlighting and providing resources to historically and culturally significant towns since 2001.