álamos became the capital of what was then the state of occidental in the early 1800s. occidental encompassed today's state of sonora, the northern portion of the state of sinaloa, and some of baja california and southern arizona. álamos was the northernmost “silver city” in mexico. while it has much in common, architecturally, with mexico's other “silver cities,” álamos has not succumbed to large-scale commercialism and has managed to retain the charm and pace of earlier times.