Mi Pullman is a Mexican art nouveau home and a famous landmark in Chapala. Built in 1906 by architect Guillermo de Alba and restored by the author, it is seen here in it's ghastly shade of mustard! © Ros Chenery, 2010

Mi Pullman: remodeling a Mexican Art Nouveau townhouse III

To Part One:  Agreement to purchase Part Two:  Buying the house Now that the house was legally mine, I had to make some important decisions about how I would go about restoring the property. Alberto and I spent two exhausting weekends cleaning the house with the help of some hardworking guys who took the rubbish away, cleaned […]

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Rosalind Chenery and her beautiful art nouveau town house in Chapala, Mexico. © Arden Murphy, 2009

Mi Pullman: remodeling a Mexican Art Nouveau townhouse II

To Part One:  Agreement to purchase Part Three: Restoration, time to make decisions The first step on my journey to buy the Mi Pullman house had been achieved — the family had agreed to sell. However, the distance between agreeing to sell me the house and making the escritura was vast — I had no idea that the […]

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Church dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua in San Antonio Tlayacapan on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico © Taner Sirin, 2011

Saint Anthony and John the Baptist: June festivals at Lake Chapala

Christianizing their way around Lake Chapala in the early 1500s, taking the path of least resistance, Franciscan missionaries left each well-established settlement of Indians with their centuries-old community name. As the Franciscans were moving from village to village, they were selecting a Patron Saint for each new congregation, then adding the Saint’s name to the […]

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How the Huichol Indians brought their art to Lake Chapala

For centuries Indians have been leaving offerings of votive bowls and clay figurines in Lake Chapala for the deities of the waters. Today the Huichol Indians of Jalisco and Nayarit continue the tradition. But their story has a peculiar twist. One person’s mythology is another person’s religion. The Huichols have a vast store of both. […]

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White Pelicans on Lake Chapala; photo: John Mitchell, Earth Images Foundation

Did you know? Mexico’s largest bird is the American White Pelican

Two distinct kinds of pelican thrive in Mexico. Excluding exotic species held captive in zoos, the American White Pelican is North America’s largest flying bird. It grows to about 1.58 meters (5 feet 2 inches) in length, weighing up to 11 kilos (25 pounds), with a wingspan of up to 2.74 meters (9 feet). Its […]

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