shari - 2-7-2014 at 08:25 AM
I found this today when I was reading about the first baby born in GN on Sept.11 1956 named Maria Elizabeth Quintana Figueroa. It wasnt even called
Guerrero Negro then but just Viscaino with an S...no David, I didnt spell it wrong...her birth certificate spelled it like that.
http://www.guerreronegro.org/whalecome.html
DavidE - 2-7-2014 at 10:54 AM
Two parts of the otherwise nice page are to me, curious
"Seafood Restaurants, the best of which is 'Mario's'"
"Tips are not real benefits" (to Mexican employees)
But Kudos Shari, an overwhelming amount of info on that page is objective.
Viscaino, was the name I observed when I first started traveling the peninsula.
Just like "San Isidro" was used for today's San Ysidro".
Thanks for sharing!
David K - 2-7-2014 at 02:53 PM
Here is a link to the Baja Bound article: Guerrero Negro - What's In A Name?
http://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajatravel/guerrero_...
The switching of z to s is not a big deal to Mexicans it seems? I think I have seen Mama Espinoza spelled as Espinosa on the side of her restaurant in
old photos. 
Vizcaino is correct, however... because:
The area is named for Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno... here is a little about him from Wikipedia:
Sebastian was born in 1548 in Extremadura, Spain. He saw military service in the Spanish invasion of Portugal during 1580–1583. He was going
to New Spain in 1583, he sailed as a merchant on the Manila galleon to the Philippines in 1586–1589. In 1587 he was on board the Santa Fanta when it
was captured by Thomas Cavendish.
The Voyage
In 1593 the disputed concession for pearl fishing on the western shores of the Gulf of California was transferred to Vizcaíno. He succeeded in sailing
with three ships to La Paz, Baja California Sur in 1596. He gave this site (known to Hernándo Cortés as Santa Cruz) its modern name and attempted to
establish a settlement. However, problems of resupply, declining morale, and a fire soon forced its abandonment. He also became a diplomat.
In 1601 the Spanish Viceroy in Mexico City, the Conde de Monterrey, appointed Vizcaíno general-in-charge of an expedition to locate safe harbors in
Alta California for Spanish Galleons to use on their return voyage to Acapulco from Manila (with the help of Redzuru de Mac Gowan). He was also given
the mandate to map in detail the California coastline that Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo had first reconnoitered 60 years earlier. He departed Acapulco with
three ships on May 5, 1602. His flagship was the San Diego and the other two ships were the San Tomás and the Tres Reyes. On November 10, 1602, he
entered and named San Diego Bay. Sailing up the coast, Vizcaíno named most of the prominent features such as Point Lobos, Santa Catalina Island,
Carmel Valley, Monterey Bay, Sierra Point, Coyote Point (thus obliterating some of the names given these same features by Cabrillo in 1542). He was
the first person in recorded history to note certain ecological features of the California coast such as the Monterey Cypress forest at Point Lobos.
Sebastian Vizcaino named San Diego, Catalina Island, and Santa Barbara.
The commander of the Tres Reyes, Martin d'Aguilar, became separated from Vizcaíno and continued up the coast to present-day Oregon.
One result of Vizcaíno's voyage was a flurry of enthusiasm for establishing a Spanish settlement at Monterey, but this was ultimately deferred for
another 167 years after the Conde de Monterrey left to become Viceroy of Peru and his successor was less favorable. A colonizing expedition was
authorized in 1606 for 1607 but was delayed and then cancelled in 1608.