Hermosillo, Mexico

From a distance, HERMOSILLO, the state capital of Sonora, is an odd-looking place. It's surrounded by strange rock formations and presided over, right in the centre, by a tall outcrop crowned by radio masts, surreally illuminated at night to resemble a giant, spiral snail-shell. Close up, though, Hermosillo is less fascinating – the boom of the last half-century has wiped out almost everything that might have survived of the old town. Though the monuments of revolutionaries and the streets named after them reflect pride in local history, today this is a thriving city and big ranching supply centre, with overflowing meat markets and shops full of tack gear and cowboy paraphernalia.