Las Pozas ("the Pools") is a surrealistic group of structures created by Edward James, more than above sea level, in a subtropical rainforest in the

Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí. Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from ...

mountains of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. It includes more than of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering surrealist sculptures in concrete."Dream Works: Can a Legendary Surrealist Garden in Mexico Bloom Again?"
''New York Times Style Magazine'', 30 March 2008

Location and conception

Las Pozas is near the village of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, a seven-hour drive north of Mexico City. In the early 1940s, James went to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and then decided that he "wanted a Garden of Eden set up . . . and I saw that Mexico was far more romantic" and had "far more room than there is in crowded Southern California". In Hollywood in 1941, his lifetime friend and cousin, Magic Realist painter Bridget Bate Tichenor, encouraged him to search for a surreal location in Mexico to express his diverse esoteric interests. In

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...

, he hired Plutarco Gastelum as a guide. They came to know Xilitla in November 1945. Eventually, Plutarco got married and had four children. James was "Uncle Edward" to the children and frequently stayed with them in a house Plutarco had built, a mock-Gothic cement castle, now a hotel – La Posada El Castillo.

Construction

Between 1949 and 1984, James built scores of surreal concrete structures which carry the names ''The House on Three Floors Which Will in Fact Have Five or Four or Six'', ''The House with a Roof like a Whale'', and ''The Staircase to Heaven''.Gini Alhadeff
"Concrete Jungle"
''Travel + Leisure", September 2003 There were also plantings and beds full of tropical plants, including orchids — there were, apparently, 29,000 at Las Pozas at one timeJoanna Moorhead

''The Guardian'', 6 November 2007 — and a variety of small homes, niches, and pens that held exotic birds and wild animals from the world over—James owned many exotic animals and once even took his pet boa constrictors to the Hotel Francis in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. Massive sculptures up to four stories tall punctuate the site. The many trails throughout the garden site are composed of steps, ramps, bridges and narrow, winding walkways that traverse the valley walls. Construction of Las Pozas cost more than $5 million. To pay for it, James sold his collection of surrealistic art at an auction. In the construction of the structures, large amounts of workers were always needed. It is said for an average project over 40 masons, carpenters, bricklayers and black smiths were needed. From the beginning of La Pozas to the death of Edward James it is approximated he employed over 100 local workers. Holmes, Mathew. “A Garden of Earthly Delights.” AA Files, no. 66, 2013, pp. 37–41. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23595437. Accessed 4 May 2021. Upon hearing of James’ death, Plutarco Gastélum halted construction of Las Pozas leaving several structures unfinished.Matchette, Nicole. "A Proposed Approach for Stabilizing Verdant Concrete of Stairway to the Sky, Las Pozas, Mexico." (2011).

Surrealism

Edward James had a passion for the surrealism style and he believed he was born a surrealist. He created Las Pozas as his expression of surrealism. He often emphasized how Mexico is “naturally surrealistic” and how he wanted the structures he was designing to form part of that.Degollado Brito, Mauricio. "Xilitla, The Architectural Delirium of Edward James." Voices of Mexico (2007) He went to great lengths to achieve his desired surrealistic style in creating his sculptures and at one point he also conducted electricity from the nearby town Xilitla to light up the forest.

Design and creation

One significant artisan who played a large role in the creation of the concrete sculptures is Jose Aguilar, a skilled Mexican carpenter. Using the sketches and designs of Edward James he made wooden molds in which cement could be poured in through, and when dried would harden to the shape of the mould. Originally, James Edward used his stay in San Luis Potosi, Mexico as a ground to grow orchids and create his own private zoo.De Maria, Walter. "The Lightning Field." Artforum 18 (1980): 52-59 For this reason, many of the original structures found in Las Pozas at one point were meant to house his pets: deer, flamingos, ducks, boa constrictors, etc. Jose Horna was the artisan who was given the job to create the cages for the boa constrictors. Besides the structures designed for the animals, most of the structures the James’ brought to life had no intended functionality, their main purpose was purely for aesthetics. Edward James often described how wanted his structures to form part of nature and/or blend into it. For this reason many of his designs were of plants, flowers, mushrooms and other natural elements. There are arches made to imitate plants like the Indian shot leaves (papatla), flowers made of concrete and birds made of concrete. Edward James, at one point had also constructed a house made of concrete, bricks and bamboo in which he resided when he traveled to Mexico. One of the most popular structures would have to be “the stairway to heaven,” which refers to the concrete structure composed of columns that imitate the reproductive aspects of an orchid flower, with two staircases spiraling around them and connecting at the height of 20m.

Ownership

After the death of Edward James in 1984, Plutarco Gastélum Esquer, a Yaqui indian who was a photographer. He met James when he first traveled to Mexico became responsible for Las Pozas, which he unkept for a couple years in the 1980’s. Gastélum had always overseen construction for Las Pozas while James was not in Mexico as he was the true land owner of La Conchita. However due to the strong financial burden of its upkeep Gastélum was forced to take certain measures. At first, he had sold parts of the land for which Las Posas reside on. Due to the Mexican law that declares waterways federal property any, in 1994 the land was opened to the public which eventually led to its declaration of a state culture heritage site in 2006. In the summer of 2007, the Fundación Pedro y Elena Hernández, the company

Cemex CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., known as Cemex, is a Mexican multinational building materials company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Mexico. It manufactures and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in more than 50 countries ...

, and the government of

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

paid about $2.2 million for Las Pozas and create
Fondo Xilitla
a foundation that oversees the preservation and restoration of the site.

Tourist attraction

As a result of opening Las Pozas to the public in 1994, the town of Xilita began to receive a higher number of tourists. Today one can visit Las Pozas to see the sculptures of Edward James and also to bathe in the natural pools found in the area. Tours are available to take. There are several hotels surrounding the area and restaurants that surfaced as a result of the area's gain of popularity.

Gallery

File:Xilitla 2 0692.jpg, Steps and landing, ''Las Pozas'', Xilitla, 2010 File:Xilitla Las Pozas 0407 013.jpg, Walkway through garden, ''Las Pozas'', Xilitla, 2007 File:Xilitla Las Pozas 0407 104.jpg, ''Las Pozas'', Xilitla, 2007 File:Las Pozas - Edward James Surrealist Garden - San Luis Potosi - Mexico - 05 (46424744191).jpg, Edward James Surrealist Garden, 2018 File:Las Pozas, Xilitla (7159119811).jpg, Pillars, ''Las Pozas'', Mexico, 2012 File:Las Pozas, Mexico (7159139867).jpg, A flight of steps, ''Las Pozas'', Xilitla, 2012 File:Las Pozas, Xilitla, Mexico (6177144793).jpg, 'Staircase to Heaven' the main building 4 stories above the ground, 2011 File:Xilitla Las Pozas 0407 036.jpg, The surrealist sculpture park ''Las Pozas'', Xilitla File:Las Pozas, Xilitla, Mexico (6177230915).jpg, The Pools are surrounded by forms with paths to further down the valley. 2011 File:Las Pozas, Xilitla (7344211394).jpg, Stream running through gardens, ''Las Pozas'', Xilitla, 2012 File:Castillo Surrealista de Edward James.jpg, Castillo Surrealista de Edward James, 2019

References

External links

Official Las Pozas website
— ''info + images + media + resources''.
Archdaily.com: "Inside Las Pozas, Edward James' Surrealist Garden in the Mexican Jungle"
— ''with photos''.
YouTube.com: "The Secret Life of Edward James" — 1975 biographic video by George Melly (54 minutes) Fundación Pedro y Elena Hernández website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozas, Las Gardens in Mexico Visionary environments Buildings and structures in San Luis Potosí Concrete sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Mexico Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in North America Surrealist works History of San Luis Potosí Landscape design history Tourist attractions in San Luis Potosí 1949 establishments in Mexico 1949 in the arts World Heritage Tentative List for Mexico