A modest mausoleum on the edge of the Plaza honours Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, the most-mourned politician in modern Mexico and a son of Magdalena. He was born here in 1950, served the town as a federal deputy, and was assassinated in Tijuana on 23 March 1994 during his run for the presidency.
The building is plain: white walls, a low dome, an inscription, and a permanent honour guard during business hours. Mexicans of a certain generation visit in silence; foreign visitors will see something of how this town has been shaped by the loss. The Universidad Tecnológica de Sonora's local campus and the main avenue south of town also bear his name.