Hermosillo, Sonora's Connection to the Titanic
Manuel Uruchurtu Ramírez was a Mexican lawyer and politician born on June 27, 1872, in Hermosillo, Sonora, and died on April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic Ocean due to the RMS Titanic disaster.
He came from an affluent family during Mexico’s Porfiriato era and moved to Mexico City to study law. Later, he married Gertrudis Caraza y Landero, an aristocratic classmate, and they had seven children together.
Uruchurtu had close ties to the regime of Porfirio Díaz and was forced to leave Mexico after the fall of the Díaz government in 1911 with the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution.
He sought refuge in Europe and visited his friend Ramón Corral, a prominent member of the Díaz inner circle, in France in 1912. Through Corral's son-in-law, Guillermo Obregón, Uruchurtu obtained a ticket to travel on the RMS Titanic's maiden voyage.
We know for certain that he perished that fateful night of 1912 and his body has never been recovered. For many years in Mexico, there even circulated a legend that he had given up his seat on a lifeboat for a fellow woman passenger. While this life-saving act has never been confirmed, this chivalrous deed would be natural for Mexican gentlemen.
Uruchurtu is not only historical for being the only known Mexican aboard the ship but also his former residence in Hermosillo is now the seat of the Sonoran nonprofit organization, Sociedad Sonorense de Historia (The Sononoran Historical Society). I’ve had the fortune to attend several functions and presentations in the historic house’s back auditorium.
On our visits to Hermosillo, I always made it a point to acknowledge the house and the story for our travel companions.
Do you want to see this local piece of Titanic history?
Well, you won’t want to miss our upcoming Hermosillo Culinary Tour.