24 April 2017 // Puck Gall //Amsterdam

//LAS POZAS

Las Pozas,

It feels like a fairy tail and it looks like a dream, the gardens of Las Pozas. Deep in the middle of the Mexican jungle lies this incredible garden of sculptures, created by English poet Edward James. He started in 1949 and kept developing it until his death in 1984.

Edward James was a renowned poet and surrealist. Next to that he also inherited a lot of money, which made him ridiculously rich in his time. He had a wondrous spirit and grew a bit bored of rainy England. When he travelled to Mexico he fell in love with the country. Edward was a quirky guy with a love for the exotic things in life: surrealist art, nature and tropical animals. So it comes as no surprise that he bought a big piece of jungle to create a getaway for him self and his artistic friends. After a forest fire hit his garden and destroyed lots of beautiful plants Edward decides to take revenge and created an indestructible garden of concrete. Nowadays it is seem as one of the biggest and most unknown surrealistic pieces of art. With the help of Plutarco Gastelum and over 70 Mexican workers he transferred his dreams into reality. Good side note is that Mr. Edward was known for paying his workers very well, therefor he is extremely loved in Xilitla which is the nearby village.

 Las Pozas has now been turned into a foundation that is open for the public but also is a place where artists, philosophers and others host readings or workshops.

Mexico has always been high on the top of my list to visit but now that I know about this magical place I should really start looking at tickets!

Have a magical Monday everyone.

“I have seen such beauty as one man has seldom seen, Therefore will I be grateful to die in this little room surrounded by the forests, The great green gloom of the trees, my only gloom - and the sound, the sound of green.”

Edward James