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24-657: Xilitla is known for its fertile mountains and springs which create panoramic landscapes throughout the municipality. Las Pozas gardens are a major tourist attraction. The rugged landscape has partly shielded Xilitla from industrialization, helping preserve its indigenous Huastec and Nahuatl cultures and traditional agrarian lifestyles. Most of Xilitla's residents live in over 100 rural villages of several dozen up to several hundred people. About 30,000 people in Xilitla live in indigenous households and about 20,000 of them speak an indigenous language, principally Huastec . Most of

48-592: A tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen climate classification ). Xilitla's altitude moderates the hot temperatures recorded in nearby areas at lower altitudes. Receiving more than 100 inches (2,500 mm) of precipitation annually, Xilitla is one of the wettest areas of Mexico. Rainfall occurs throughout the year, with maximum precipitation coming in summer, but winters are not as dry as in many other parts of Mexico. The natural beauty of Xilitla inspired eccentric English artist Edward James to create Las Pozas ("the Pools"),

72-622: 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 , he hired Plutarco Gastelum as a guide. They came to know Xilitla in November 1945. Eventually, Plutarco got married and had four children. James

96-426: A garden in a subtropical rainforest just outside the town of Xilitla. It includes more than 80 acres (32 ha) of natural waterfalls and pools interspersed with towering surrealist sculptures in concrete. James' objective was to create a " Garden of Eden " at Las Pozas. A foundation now owns and operates Las Pozas which is open to the public. Edward James house, near the centre of Xilitla is known as El Castillo and

120-404: A number of caves and caverns in Xilitla, as well as many natural springs . Parakeet Cave, a short walk from the town, is home to a large number of green parrots which leave and re-enter the cave at dawn and dusk every day. The land is largely sedimentary rock with striations visible on cliffs and roads. The climatic classification for Xilitla is a humid subtropical climate closely bordering

144-474: A prominent thumb-shaped mountain, scalable only with mountain climbing gear, rises to 8,350 feet (2,550 m) six miles west of the city. The land area in the municipality is largely steep but habitable slopes. To the south and west, Xilitla borders the mountains of Querétaro and Hidalgo states. To the northeast, Xilitla borders flat terrain along the Tancuilin river, and Mexican highway 85. There are

168-464: A subtropical rainforest in the Sierra Gorda mountains of Mexico . It includes more than 80 acres (32 ha) of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering surrealist sculptures in concrete. 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 , and then decided that he "wanted

192-529: 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 . 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

216-404: Is approximated he employed over 100 local workers. Upon hearing of James’ death, Plutarco Gastélum halted construction of Las Pozas leaving several structures unfinished. 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

240-568: Is held in August. A local food specialty is the zacahuil, a giant tamale (3 to 4 feet long) wrapped in banana leaves and filled with pork on one side and chicken on the other. The town of Xilitla has an elevation of 676 metres (2,218 ft) and is located in the eastern slopes of the Sierra Gorda mountain range, part of the Sierra Madre Oriental . Narrow valleys in the municipality dip to 400 metres (1,300 ft). La Silleta,

264-432: Is now a hotel. A museum with sculptures of Leonora Carrington opened October 19, 2018. The highway to the southwest winds around tight curves through the mountains to Querétaro and Mexico City . Heading northeast from town, the highway winds 10 km to La Y Griega , a large T-intersection into highway 85. Ciudad Valles is 100 km north along 85, and Tamazunchale is 50 km south. Buses run hourly from

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288-550: 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

312-686: The Indians in 1569 and 1587 and largely abandoned by the Augustines. In the 17th century, the Dominicans made another attempt to evangelize but were unable to overcome the hostility of the Indians. Finally, in the mid-18th century, Fray Junípero Serra and the Franciscans succeeded in establishing a permanent missionary presence in the region. The economy is primarily agricultural with the main crops being coffee and citrus . A coffee fair

336-417: The company Cemex , and the government of San Luis Potosí paid about $ 2.2 million for Las Pozas and created Fondo Xilitla , a foundation that oversees the preservation and restoration of the site. 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

360-405: The height of 20m. 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

384-509: 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. 21°23′49″N 98°59′49″W  /  21.3970°N 98.9970°W  / 21.3970; -98.9970 Ciudad Valles Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

408-540: The shape of the mold. Originally, Edward James used his stay in San Luis Potosi, Mexico as a ground to grow orchids and create his own private zoo. 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

432-565: The speakers of an indigenous language also speak Spanish. Augustine missionary activity in the Xilitla area began in 1537 and in 1553 construction began on the St. Augustine Convent. It was built to serve both a religious building and a fortress as the Chichimeca war was in progress and one of the hostile Chichimeca tribes, the Pame , lived to the northwest. The convent was attacked and burned by

456-544: 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,

480-467: 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

504-532: The structures he was designing to form part of that. 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. 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

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528-457: The town to Ciudad Valles and Tamazunchale and several times daily to Monterrey , Mexico City , San Luis Potosí and Tampico . More frequent buses are available at Y Griega. 21°23′02″N 98°59′24″W  /  21.384°N 98.990°W  / 21.384; -98.990 Las Pozas Las Pozas ("the Pools") is a surrealistic group of structures created by Edward James , more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level, in

552-401: 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

576-611: 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. 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 . There were also plantings and beds full of tropical plants, including orchids — there were, apparently, 29,000 at Las Pozas at one time — and

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