Edward James Garden
“Located in Xilitla, a small town of about 10,000 people in the Huasteca region of southern San Luis Potosi state, Las Pozas is the creation of Sir Edward James, the eccentric English poet and artist and patron of the Surrealist movement. Its origins date back to 1947 when James, living in semi-exile in Mexico at the time, acquired the coffee plantation near Xilitla.
James registered his new property in the name of his friend and guide Plutarco Gastelum, who would later become the foreman and overseer of all construction that took place there. For the next ten years, James used Las Pozas as a home for orchids and exotic animals. After an unprecedented frost in 1962 destroyed many of his plants, James started building the extraordinary sculpture garden that sites on the site today. The design of Las Pozas was inspired both by James' orchids and the vegetation of the Huastecan jungle combined with architectural elements taken from the Surrealist movement he was so closely involved with.
In the 1960s and 1970s, James dedicated more and more of his resources to his "Surrealist Xanadu," and he referred to it, spending millions of dollars and employing hundreds of masons, artisans, and local craftsmen. By the times James died in 1984, he had built 36 Surrealist-inspired concrete sculptures spread out over more than 20 acres of lush tropical jungle.
Over time, Las Pozas became known to artists, writers, travelers, and photographers interested in James and the Surrealist movement. After James died, the Gastelum family took over the running of Las Pozas ”
James registered his new property in the name of his friend and guide Plutarco Gastelum, who would later become the foreman and overseer of all construction that took place there. For the next ten years, James used Las Pozas as a home for orchids and exotic animals. After an unprecedented frost in 1962 destroyed many of his plants, James started building the extraordinary sculpture garden that sites on the site today. The design of Las Pozas was inspired both by James' orchids and the vegetation of the Huastecan jungle combined with architectural elements taken from the Surrealist movement he was so closely involved with.
In the 1960s and 1970s, James dedicated more and more of his resources to his "Surrealist Xanadu," and he referred to it, spending millions of dollars and employing hundreds of masons, artisans, and local craftsmen. By the times James died in 1984, he had built 36 Surrealist-inspired concrete sculptures spread out over more than 20 acres of lush tropical jungle.
Over time, Las Pozas became known to artists, writers, travelers, and photographers interested in James and the Surrealist movement. After James died, the Gastelum family took over the running of Las Pozas ”