Ceci Flores Armenta

At the plaza's inauguration, Hermosillo's mayor was joined by groups dedicated to searching for their loved ones, including the Madres Buscadoras, or Searching Mothers.

Activist Ceci Flores, a longtime leader of that group, recently found the remains of one of her sons who went missing in 2019.

This is a commemoration of all the mothers who have been left with empty arms, Flores says.

Rates of disappearances related to cartel violence over the past two decades have remained high in many parts of Mexico, including Sonora.