Biocultural Alamos

Lime Plaster

2010-03-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Are there any alternatives to mud plaster – compatible with adobe, but requiring less maintenance?

Yes. Lime plaster was prevalent in Mexico and New Mexico (mostly in the southern region of the state) before the introduction of Portland cement. It is very compatible with adobe because it is permeable and, if applied correctly, self-healing. Lime is more durable than mud, and though it requires maintenance, it is not as frequent.

Why is cement plaster bad for adobe buildings?

2010-03-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

There are several disadvantages to applying a cement plaster to an earthen structure, based primarily on the fact that cement plaster is a rigid material and adobe is a soft one: Adobe and cement plasters expand and contract differently. Cement does not "give" like mud does and therefore cracks. Cement does not naturally adhere to an adobe surface and therefore it needs the aid of wire lath that is nailed to the surface of the wall. Nailing the lath to the walls may cause damage to the adobe fabric, especially when the old plaster is removed in order to apply a new one.

Experience has indicated that after about 30 years, adobe walls cased in concrete show damage that is frequently irreparable. Though cement became very popular during the 50's and has been applied with all the best intentions, it is not a sustainable substitute for traditional materials.

Is cement compatible with adobe?

No. Cement used as plaster on historic earthen structures may eventually cause irreversible damage. It is advisable to use compatible, permeable and traditional plasters even if they need cyclical maintenance. It is inaccurate to think that if an earthen wall is not protected by an impervious substrate, such as cement, that the building will disintegrate when exposed to weather.

Read more at: http://cstones.org/FAQS/Adobe_vs__Cement/index.html

Fresco Art Instills Civic Pride

2010-02-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

Interesting article about UNESCO and Getty-sponsored fresco workshops on page 11:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001869/186930e.pdf

News from Nowhere

2010-02-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

As long as I'm on the strange detour from Alamos to Great Britain, I can't resist mentioning this fascinating book by Paddy O' Sullivan and Stephen Coleman. The book proposes that the earliest roots of the current environmental movement can be found in the work of the extraordinarily prolific William Morris, with some antecedents in John Ruskin.

In fact, historic preservation, from its very beginnings was aligned with art and a concern for nature. Morris founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, perhaps the first official group formed for the purpose of historic preservation.

One could say as well that ecology, from its very beginning, was aligned with art and historic preservation.

Morris' writings, much like Ruskin's, contain a passionate defense of what it means to be human in the wake of the dehumanizing influences of industrialization. He championed handmade crafts over the dulling influence of factory work. His defense of old buildings extended into a defense of the landscape. His book Art and Society is a convincing, even undeniable, statement about the true value of art in society, and the dehumanizing and frightening consequences of removing art from a society. One needs to weed out the political fanaticism in this book in order to get to the pure gold.

All of the above currents of thought and action set in motion by Morris and Ruskin led to the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States, a semi-utopian group of artisans who shared similar values, and an antecedent of 1960s communalism.

So HRH The Prince of Wales was saying nothing new when he spoke of the importance of craft, and a desire to reverse its decline. His statements are perfectly in line with a tradition of thought in Britain that is at least 150 years old.

Ruskin, above all, understood that art is derived from nature, from art comes culture, and the decay of culture is a peril to both humanity and nature. Therein lies the primary link between biological and cultural diversity.

Efflorescence, its Causes and Solutions, Strappo, and a Letter to Annet

2010-02-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

That's my friend Annet's husband in the picture, demonstrating the strappo technique in the Netherlands. It is a method used for removing frescos from walls and adhering them to new supports. Fresco murals are, of course, part of the wall on which they were painted. When I used to hear, for example, that a fresco was moved from Crete to a museum in London, I wondered how it was possible. They used the strappo technique. A thin fabric is pasted to the fresco with a reversible glue. The fabric and glue are stronger than the lime plaster, so the fresco skin can be peeled off the wall. Then the back side of the fresco is adhered to a new support, the glue reversed and the fabric removed. Incredible!

Annet Both is a fresco enthusiast who teaches classes in Holland. Since there are few fresco enthusiasts in the world, we tend to know each other, or know of each other.

She wrote to me today asking for my opinion about efflorescence, so I wrote the following:

You asked about efflorescence. It is caused by:
1) Humidity. Almost always there is a roof problem if there is interior effloresence, or another source of moisture (plumbing leak, for example).
2) Salts. Humidity increases the mobility of salts. They seep out of old stone and brick and into plaster. In England restorers determined that most exterior efflorescence low on buildings was due to urine. It contains both salts and uric acid, and water to activate the reaction!
3) Incompatible materials. The fresco/restoration tradition I learned holds that lime is incompatible with cement and gypsum. So all old buildings have lime render. Then, over the centuries it is patched with gypsum and cement. The three react and cause efflorescence.

The solution:
1) Dig out ALL the efflorescence and loose plaster. Dig out ALL previous patches/restorations.
2) Isolate the old material from your new patch, so the materials can't interact, with a material that will bond well to both the old and new, and increase adhesion, and act as a barrier. In the US we call the material "bonding agent," bought at plaster supply stores. In Mexico we know brand names. Your plasterer friend would certainly know. It looks and smells like common white glue. I think it is PVA (polyvinyl acetate), which restorers use alot, a common, but archival material. The formulation for plaster repair is special though. While common glue dries immediately, and cannot be re-wet, the bonding agent dries slowly and reactivates with moisture for about a 24 hour period, so you can apply it, and have a 24 hour window to do the repair. It functions as glue and barrier.
3) Patch the hole. Use the original material whenever possible. Since cement was invented in 1850, the original material is almost always pure lime and sand.

Many owners of historic homes in Alamos have to resolve efflorescence, and they do it over and over and over again. Solving the problem permanently is as simple as following the above recipe.

Natural Cement

2010-01-31T11:35:00.000-08:00

From: http://www.concretethinker.com/detail/History-Portland-Cement.aspx

"In North America, it is believed that the mission priests in charge of construction learned the secret of making natural cement from the Native Americans of Mexico. The widespread knowledge and use of natural hydraulic cement was demonstrated by a diversion dam in San Diego, California. Some believe this was the first concrete structure in America, built in about 1769. "

In other words, indigenous knowledge of natural cement preceeded the development of portland cement in the early 19th century.

Many US state capitol buildings were built with natural cement, not portland cement. See: http://www.cement.org/tech/faq_natural_cement.asp

Spalling in Progress

2009-12-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a good example of spalling in progress. The brittle cement itself is cracking, top center. The expansion and contraction of the brand new cement is accelerating damage to the stone, bottom center.

Somebody Understands!

2009-12-17T07:14:00.001-08:00

From John Messina's book about Alamos architecture, which I highly recommend:

"In recent times, Portland cement has been added to the plaster mix in order to make it harder and less likely to wear away. This combination, however, produces a hard and impervious coating that prevents any of the inevitable moisture that has entered the wall from escaping. Water will thus be retained, and the wall will gradually erode from the inside. Unfortunately, many contemporary masons and plasterers working in Alamos have resorted to cement plasters. Thos entities and authorities charges with preservation oversight urgently need to educate the local trades and owners regarding this problem."

Actually in 2008, before Messina's book came out the same year, I recommended workshops to train local builders in proper materials and methods of restoration. My recommendations went all the way to the national offices of INAH, in Mexico City. The national director of INAH regions came to Alamos to recommend a greater presence of INAH Hermosillo in Alamos. She recommended that INAH Hermosillo send a restoration architect regularly to address residents' concerns and work towards solutions. An architect Jara was to come to Alamos once a month. Either he never did, or the municipal government decided not to share him with local residents.

I was reprimanded by both the mayor and the director in INAH Hermosillo, for going over their heads.

The foriegn (expat) residents of Alamos who came to the meeting were focused more on matters pertaining to local government (grafitti and noise levels), relatively insignificant compared to the destructive power of portland cement and improper restoration methods. INAH officials asked why local matters needed state or federal intervention, or why conservators of cultural property ought to be bothered with matters more relevant to the local police!

The mayor and her entourage swept INAH's national director of regions away before I had a chance to talk to her.

Result? Nothing happened.

I learned a number of important things from the experience. INAH's national director of regions stated correctly that a federal agency has no jurisdiction over private property. They can help to set up educational programs, but the primary thrust of the organization is to work on the conservation of federally-owned buildings.

Another important lesson: municipal administrations in Alamos change every three years, with little to no continuity between administrations. Each administration is focused on what it can achieve during its term, and usually it is about basic necessities---sewage treatment, roads, electricity, and sustenance for the people living in the ranchos. Long-term projects do not often get prioritized.

All has led me to believe that the only possible way to take the steps that need to be taken would be to work via an NGO, rather than municipal, state or federal government.

Messina's work is a valuable confirmation from the academic world about what needs to be done.

First, Wait a Quarter of a Century

2009-12-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

The profession of restoration has a very strict code of ethics that reads somewhat like the Hippocratic Oath:

1) First, do no harm.
2) Every step you take should be reversible.
3) Use the original material whenever possible.
4) Document your work thoroughly with before and after photos. (I'm helping them on this part!)

A friend told me today that construction of the church in Alamos was overseen by the Spanish crown, and the construction statutes of the era called for lime to be slaked for at least 25 years.

During the Roman Empire lime for construction was, by law, slaked for 3 years. When I worked on the frescos at St. Mary's College with Mark Balma, we used 200 year old lime from the Vatican lime pits to make the "bianco san giovanni," the white pigment. European builders and fresco painters in general have long understood that the oldest lime is the best, so they used to pass thier lime pits from one generation to the next.

Interestingly, the Maya invented a shortcut. They added tree mucilage to the lime. The sugar content accelerated the slaking process, so the lime was ready for use in 2 weeks, rather than 2 years.

The old building tradition in Alamos called for adding the mucilage of a tree from the same family the Maya used. I recommended this to the restorers, to no avail.

I was present when new lime was ordered, delivered, slaked and used for the exterior and interior restoration at the Parroquia of la Purisima Concepcion in Alamos. In general, the lime used on the exterior was slaked for a few months or so. Interior lime was used, in some cases, after only a few weeks of slaking...good enough for makeshift work that will not last very long. Yikes!

From a Letter to Mom

2009-12-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

You asked about curanderos. They are not just faith healers. It is more about cleansing...removing negative energies both internal and external. Sometimes it's about removing curses. And it's combined with herbal remedies and rituals.

Luis Alberto Urrea was interviewed about the research he did for his book "The Hummingbird's Daughter," about his ancester Teresa Urrea, the Santa de Cabora. He went to Mexico to learn about curanderos. A curandera told him: "You people say we do magic, but it is science."

Reading that made it so clear to me, so easy to understand.

Modern science begins with assumptions. It is:
1) An examination of matter as if spirit does not exist.
2) Observation of matter as if there is no connection between the observer and the observed. The observer is to be as detached and as impartial as possible, almost as if he does not exist. No room for human emotion. Science cannot describe a smile.
3) An observation of a part, while losing sight of the whole.

Indigneous science begins with a different set of asssumptions. It allows for spirit and matter to exist simulaneously and recognizes a link, however subtle, between observer and observed, allowing for the essential humanity and integrity of the person, as well as recognizing the relationship between the parts and the whole. So it is a whole scientific tradition based on another set of assumptions.

Goethe reacted against Newton's color theory because it was replacing a magical, poetic, spiritual worldview. See my article here.

Modern science creates modern technology, based on science's assumptions, so the technologies carry us further and further away from direct perception of reality, and the thing snowballs.

Here in Mexico, at least, the indigenous worldview still exists and still pervades some aspects of the culture, so unusual things can still happen and be noticed here. John Paul II called it the most Catholic country in the world, the last bastion of the faith. It isn't yet overrun by the belief that science is the only truth.

It isn't that modern science is wrong. It is partial due to its partial premises.

A good friend of mine calls her country "surrealistic Mexico!"

Collateral Damage and the Baby with the Bathwater...

2009-12-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

Dang. My camera isn't good for macro work. It comes out blurry.

Anyway...I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw was this butterfly. Alamos is extrordinary. Just when you think you've seen it all, you see another of nature's little miracles. A few days ago I saw a hummingbird moth, just an inch long. I was convinced it was a baby hummingbird, or a bee hummingbird blown off course...a species only seen in Cuba.

I was sad a few days ago because I woke up, walked outside and saw a hundred butterfies on the ground, flapping thier wings for the last time. Now they look like this:

I remembered that they sprayed for mosquitos the night before. It's a way of preventing dengue fever...a painful and dangerous disease that becomes a local epidemic if the mosquito population gets out of control.

My one year old baby played on the same ground where the butterflies now lay. If the spray was so efficient at killing the butterflies, I wonder how good it is for him. I feel like somebody is taking too many liberties with his life and mine. I mean, Rachael Carson wrote Silent Spring more than 45 years ago, and we still have to deal with this?

Sadder, my son and I were enjoying sitting out in the yard these days, warming up in the sun. He liked to point at the butterflies in flight. What baby wouldn't? It is a great introduction to the many unexpected wonders he can look forward to in life. Now he points to the butterflies on the ground, and he'll eat them if I don't keep an eye on him every second.

There must be a better way to control the mosquito population. That matter is way outside of my field. I bet Stephanie Meyer has some ideas. She has a good imagination.

I've long believed that human imagination is proportional to the number of species in nature. As an artist interested in creativity, I believe nature is by far the most available and the most sophisticated model one could look to. It doesn't matter much if you call it God's creativity or Nature's creativity. It IS. Simply marvel. Any artist who can remotely approach the incredible imagination of nature's wondrous diversity is doing pretty well.

I submit the above paragraph as THE link between biological and cultural diversity....the first principle of a biocultural outlook.

Honeybees are insects. Without them we can not feed even half of the world's six billion people.

So...if it seems silly to mourn insects, ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.

Spalling: Great Opportunity Lost

2009-12-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

When four restorers from Straulino Restoration came to work on the interior of the Parroquia de la Purisima Concepcion, they stayed at the Elizabeth Nuzom house. Every day, they woke up in the morning and walked 50 feet to the church...just across the street. As soon as the walked out the door of the Nuzom house, they saw the column in the photo above. The old stone base is repaired with cement, which expands and contracts at a greater rate than the softer stone, eventually damaging the stone. You see it all over town, like this, just a few steps further: Then they crossed the street and came to the beautiful old retaining wall that surrounds the church that was ruined a few years ago by repairs with portland cement. A staircase leads up to the church. In the photo above you can see really clumsy repairs done with cement, which will accellerate the disintegration of the retaining wall.

Walking towards the wall of the church, they saw this each morning:

Note the cement repairs at the bottom of the photo above. That will cause spalling. The exterior restorers are sure to remove the cement. Restorers treat cement like the bubonic plague.Then they came to this, above. These are cement repairs done a few years ago that have already caused spalling.

Sometimes they walked the other way around, and they saw this, a cement repair on the old brick sidewalk, below:

Then they came up this staircase. You can see the aesthetic damage done to the old retaining wall. It will disintegrate sooner too.

Either way they walked, they eventually entered this door, to begin their day of work on the altar:

Note the very ugly and destructive cement repairs to the sides of the door, down low. The exterior restorers will dig them out, I hope.

Not only did the restorers walk in this door each weekday morning for 6 months, they walked into it several times a day after walking back to the Nuzom house to use the restroom, have lunch or a snack, or to use the telephone. Often, when they went back to work, they did the right thing. They annihilated every trace of cement they could find on the altar.

I talked to Noel, the supervisor. I don't think he really had any idea of the potential positive impact an outside expert like he could have on the conservation of heritage in town other than the church. The builders here are quite stubborn, but an expert from Queretaro might convince them. I pointed out the damage to him, and indicated that this sort of thing can be seen all over town. A few days later, he said, you know, Daan, you have a point.

The next time I had a chance, I spoke with Marina Straulino, the owner of the restoration company working on the interior. I told her I had been working for years, with way too little support, on a project that would increase public awareness about lime use and the disadvantages of portland cement. Would she like to collaborate? No, she said. She had other work, other goals, and other projects to work on. Certainly her reputation, her connections and her endorsement would have gone a long way to help me, but she was otherwise occupied. Restoration is a business, and she was just doing her job as it was clearly defined.

In general, I'd say that a comprehensive program to save Alamos' cultural heritage requires the cooperation of outside experts, yet it is disheartening to see their lack of committment to the community.

Excuses, excuses...

2009-12-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's a tree growing out of the side of the church. Most people who have questioned the exterior restoration quickly acquiesce when told that there are trees growing out of holes in the church wall.

Not me. I suggest this simple plan. Pull the tree out by the roots, clean the hole, and fill the hole with lime and sand to match the original.

The hole filled in with bricks, just below the tree in the photo above, is often offered as evidence that the original plan was to plaster the entire exterior. The hole was used to support scaffolding timbers. Restorers could simply take out the bricks and put in a matching stone.

No Way!

2009-12-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

Look at the photo above. You can see the delicacy and fine handiwork of the original cornice. At the bottom left you can see extremely fine detail done by very skilled craftsmen. At the top you see the very clumsy new cornice. What will happen when the same clumsy hands get to the fine detail? What will happen when they get to this?Click on the photo above to get a good look at the architectural detail on the tower. Even if highly skilled artisans are hired to work on the tower (why weren't they hired to work on the whole church?) and the other fine detail, what about continuity and proportion? How will the fine detail work in conjunction with the heavyhanded new cornice? From an artist's point of view, there is no way it will work.

Spalling 4

2009-12-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

This is a neat old building. You can see a lot of spalling down low, probably caused by groundwater and salts seeping upwards.

Restorers in England determined that a lot of knee-high masonry damage in that country is also caused by urine. Human urine contains a lot of salts, as well as uric acid, and water--all damaging to masonry. The British pub culture is not unlike Alamos cantina culture, so the cause of long-term damage here might be similar.

Let's take a closer look.

Here you can see spalling, lower center. The grey cement used to repoint the brick to the right will accelerate the brick damage in a matter of years, requiring more repair, and so on. Only the authority of outside experts could possibly convince the builders to change their ways.

Spalling 3

2009-12-09T12:34:00.001-08:00

This is a doozy! The old stone wall was repointed with cement. The expansion and contraction of the cement will probably fracture the stone, and will certainly damage the softer brick to the right.

Oh, and it's ugly too.

Spalling 2

2009-12-09T12:25:00.001-08:00

This is typical spalling caused naturally from age, and possibly from groundwater wicking upwards in the wall. Using cement for repairs will only accelerate the damage. Cement expands and contracts more than the softer brick, and it is not breatheable, so water would be trapped inside the wall. This wall should be repaired with lime putty and brick.

Don't Mess

2009-12-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

Most of the best-preserved old buildings in Alamos are in good condition because the owners have done practically nothing at all. Congratulations to Chela Alcorn, who owns this building. I like the way she has kept it. The lines, proportions and details display a level of art not seen in new construction.

The Alcorn family in general deserves a prize for not altering old buildings. Some are in dire need of expert attention, but in the meantime, they have been kept intact.

What's Right About the Exterior Restoration

2009-12-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

One positive aspect of the exterior restoration is that the material being used is the proper material for repair work on Alamos' architectural heritage. It is slaked quicklime, bought from Calidra de Sonora in Hermosillo...about 85% pure. For fresco painting we usually look for 90% CaO or better, but the Hermosillo lime is probably sufficient for this work.

I question whether the lime used on the exterior has been slaked long enough. Generally one year of slaking is required before use.

Some suggestions were ignored by the restorers and the patron's group. A great opportunity was lost. The church project could have been used to raise public awareness about the uses of lime. Workshops could have been held to train local builders in how to use lime and how to prevent spalling.

Alamos would have enjoyed the long-term aesthetic and environmental benefits of decreased cement use, as well as increased protection of its cultural heritage.

Alamos used to produce what was reputed to be the best lime in the state of Sonora, but local production ceased years ago. Reinitiating local production might have an economic and environmental benefit for the town.

Spalling, an Introduction

2009-12-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

This is Janet's restaurant Bacchino, where we used to get the best pizza in Mexico. I was sad to hear it closed.

The old wall is interesting. I'm not sure how old it is. Let's zoom in to a section just to the right of the picture above.

This is a classic case of what is called spalling. The old grout is whitish. Newer repointing is greyer, done with grout too rich in portland cement. The harder cement expands and contracts more than the softer brick, so the brick gets fractures and drops away. This happens when cement is used to repair old masonry which originally had lime grout. The cement will even blow out adjacent stone. You can see it all over town.

So...what happens is that attempts to repair invariably accelerate damage in the long run. NOTHING, but nothing, can convince the local builders to cut use of portland cement in the repair of old buildings and revert to the 100% lime grouts and plasters used by thier ancestors. Current cement use has been practiced for generations, so builders are unwilling to change. Only a prolonged program of awareness-raising, like that which was offered by the project Muralismo al Fresco, could turn things around.

What's the Connection Anyway?

2009-12-04T07:50:00.001-08:00

I couldn't resist taking the above photo. The subject leaves me perplexed. It is funky, it is a mess, but somehow it is beautiful and somehow it all works. Kind of like Alamos.

How do the the conservation of biological diversity and the conservation of cultural heritage connect? What unites conservation of nature with conservation of culture? What is the glue that holds together the diverse contents of this blog?

The answer is relatively simple. Methods and materials that damage Alamos' architectural heritage tend to be ecologically unsustainable as well. Alternative methods and materials that could rescue architectural heritage would have a positive impact on the environment.

The best example of uniting conservation strategies in this way has to do with portland cement, which is destroying Alamos' architectural heritage and is damaging to the environment as well.

The best alternative to cement would be pit lime...aged lime putty made from slaked quicklime. It is the proper material to use for the restoration of old buildings, and has a positive environmental impact.

Connections between the conservation of biological and cultural diversity can also be found in the various plant species (plants) mentioned in this blog. Certain species are important both to the preservation of cultural traditions and the conservation of our unique ecosystems. The best examples are indigo , brasil , and mesquite.

In researching links between the conservation of biological and cultural diversity related to plant species, I focused only on those plants that are important to local arts and crafts traditions. If the definition of culture were expanded to include plants important in construction, daily life, and medicine, hundreds of species could be included. That work has already been done by ethnobotanists and authors like David Yetman.

General currents and trends need to be taken into account as well. Economic globalization lays waste to cultural diversity around the world, and Alamos is an ideal place to witness the sad process, which is so absolutely powerful practically nothing can be done to slow it, or halt it. Economic globalization means homogeneity...the loss of everything that makes Alamos unique.

An economy based on unlimited growth damages both nature and culture. While this is very true, aesthetic concerns have to be balanced with a need to provide for a growing local population.

Haematoxylum brasiletto

2009-12-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

The Guarijio used ‘brasil’ wood (Haematoxylum brasiletto) to make a dye for coloring palm for baskets. Rosary crosses were made from red heartwood, and the tree has a long history of medicinal uses.

Recent studies show extracts of Haematoxylum brasiletto inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli, lending modern scientific credibility to traditional use.

‘Brasil’ is a legume, which makes it an important contributor to soil health. As an alternative to overharvesting of firewood it may be ecologically desirable to explore commercial value of extract for dye and medicinal properties. Brasil wood extract sells for $100 per kilogram, making commercialization a possibility.

Just today somebody offered me about 10 kilos of brasil for firewood for 8 pesos, or about 60 cents in US currency. 10 kilos of brasil can make one kilo of extract, so the woodcutter could make at least 10 times more money harvesting one tenth the amount of wood, if he sold extract instead of firewood. That would reduce harvesting as well as increase income enough to discourage lucrative yet ecologically destructive practices like cattle ranching or marijuana cultivation.

Premio de Alamos

2009-12-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

The first annual Premio de Alamos Award for Architectural Atrocity goes to...the big orange house on the hill. Here you can see the soon to be brand new church tower on the left. The mirador is top center, where you can see the little gazebo and the flagpole. Let's zoom in!

It dominates the landscape and the entry to Alamos. That's her place, center right. It's peach colored.

Getting closer now:
Real close!

There it is! See how it fits with the traditional style, lower left?

It doesn't look bad from here, in isolation...kind of Frank Lloyd Wrightish, so she'd have us believe.

In any event, it does take the cake for disregard of aesthetics, the law and the fact that Alamos is on the tentative list for World Heritage status, in the process of obtaining full Pueblos Magicos status, and the entire local economy depends on tourism. Brave and undaunted, Elaine freed herself from the fetters of tradition and place, and forged a bold new look for Alamos, visible from a distance of 5 miles. There was really no competition.

Not only is it an architectural atrocity, it is an ecological atrocity as well, due to the tons of portland cement used in its construction. Production of portland cement requires much more energy than the production of lime, and requires centralized facilities, thus a greater transportation cost. Lime used to be produced locally in Alamos.

Ancient Rome (the origin of Spanish and thus many Mexican building techniques) was built with lime, and much of its architecture is still standing thousands of years later. The Roman innovation was to mix lime with crushed brick, or any pozzolanic material...to make it harden quickly like cement. It even hardens under water! It is more flexible than portland cement, so the buildings last longer.

The bricks used in the house above were fired with wood, rather than the sun-dried adobes that went into the construction of most of the historic monuments downtown.

Modern problems often arise from modern technologies. It is no exaggeration to say that Alamos went from sustainability to unsustainability in a mere 100 years. Many old sustainable practices are still in use here today, but one can see them dropping by the wayside daily. The loss of sustainable lifestyles and practices I've seen just during my 9 years in Alamos is heartbreaking.

Nature Not Always Kind

2009-12-02T20:18:00.001-08:00

A little over a year ago, Hurricane Norbert took out this bridge in Alamos. The governor and federal government responded with a massive aid package, but reconstruction of this bridge hasn't even begun.

Nice mural, by the way. I wonder who did that?

A Friendly Opposing Opinion

2009-12-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

On the church: I will say that I dived deep to research and find out what in reality was going on.

I did the following:

1)Contacted friends at a Seville Spain Museum that has information of Álamos and found some really surprising data that I decided to keep to my self (later more on this).

2) Got a copy of the documents of the project. The research that the foundation did is outstanding.

3) Got notes and had an exchange of views directly with Carlos Salomon.

4) I also contacted some friends in Spain, experts on conservation of old buildings.

5) To make sure that (2 and 3) were correct I checked their sources and found that all of them were verifiable.

I have not seen the church, only pictures of some areas. I have seen the documents of how the restoration and conservation is progressing. Some day we will be able to talk about details but on the overall I agree with the restoration. I was told by Carlos Salomon (and a friend of Álamos verified for me) that the materials used on the exterior are the same type used at the time the church was built. Now, the devil is in the detail and I been told that is mostly on the refined cornices and on the stone joints. To this I say two things: 1) I am sure that there must be a reason why the cornices are not exactly the same (and not to the lack of craftsmanship). I don't know the reason and the only person that can answer that is Carlos Salomón. 2) The stone joints as they were before the restoration were worn out and need that protection. Note that in accordance wi thwhat I was able to find out on my historical research, the original plan of the church called for it to be completely plastered. It was not plastered because the construction got interrupted by the War of Independence and later the original architect died. Mostly for financial reasons the Mexican church decided not to finish the construction and inaugurated it without the second tower (yes it was supposed to be a symmetrical construction) and without the exterior plastered with stucco.

There are some things I don't agree with, but if I the balance all that has been done to the exterior and interior on an overall view I HAVE TO AGREE with the way the church has been saved from further damage. Can things where errors have been committed be fixed? I am sure some yes and some no. Again I am not an expert, but I have consulted a bunch of experts to verify what Salomon and company are doing and for the most part have indicated that the work done is "OK."

Quick Note to a Friend...

2009-12-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Hi friend,

I'll answer your letter soon, but wanted to send these thoughts now.

It just came out on alamosnews that the Parroquia will have a celebration of its founding. I can hear Fr. Carpenter saying, in response to all the controversy, that the church is not a building, but the eternal mystical body of Christ---the union of all believers. According to Catholic doctine, he's right.

So why do I care so much about the building? A people will never know its own greatness if all the evidence is destroyed.

Regards,
Daan

Songbirds

2009-11-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

Songbirds

Every morning the sun sets,
every season is autumn.

When the songbirds are gone
crows and sparrows fill the sky.

Nothing changes, busy-ness as usual.
I can't stand the beauty.

Don't close your eyes.
Don't open your mouth.
Don't go on the same.

Daan Hoekstra, 1997

In the Name of God

2009-11-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

This blog is going to refer to the Mayo so often that I decided I want to show you a photo.

The picture was taken by Alejandra Platt.

Info for ordering a set of 10 photographic prints, entitled "In the Name of God," can be found on her website:

http://www.alejandraplatt.blogspot.com/

I met Alejandra during the annual music festival here in Alamos when she visited my studio with my friend Fernando. Later I ran into her at a late night concert downtown, where she was taking pictures. I tried to draw her out to talk about her experience of travelling around Mexico for 6 years taking photos of indigenous people, to no avail.

No matter. I love her work.

Here's her artist's statement for her exhibition: "My search within this complex of life is to know what I do not know... What I pine and long to demonstrate with this photographic exposition is the admiration I possess for my race... and offer to you these photographs as a homage to the suffering that we still continue to cause without even knowing that we do not know."

Love, Hate, the Pursuit of Happiness, and the Joys and Sorrows of Mortgage Free Living

2009-11-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

I love this and I hate it. I'm not using extremes as a rhetorical device. I really love it with all my heart and I hate it too. It's just one of many examples of how Mexico has forced me to stretch my gut and my psyche to the breaking point.

These are pictures of the way most people here in Alamos start out their adult lives. They work, save money and buy a bag of cement and a few bricks every time they get a chance. Then they build their own house, little by little, without borrowing money. Without rent or a mortgage to pay, without the associated stress, they can then attend to what most Mexicans still think are the important things in life: friendship, family, and enjoyment of the here and now. In 5-10 years, the chances are good that this one room deal will turn into a 5 room palace, and will be plastered and painted outside. All without borrowing a dime. People who make about $150 a week do this routinely. Many even care enough about Alamos that they will eventually add colonial-style cornices and window and door details on this budget.

Some even start out in tar-paper shacks, camping out on their land until they get the first brick room built. They build on from there.

I've watched these new neighborhoods crop up around Alamos for nearly 10 years now. What appears to be a shantytown now will have cute little houses, fruit trees, a soccer field, children dressed in their school uniforms walking to school, and well dressed professionals in just a few years.

It is a testament to the Mexican work ethic, and to the millenia-old human struggle for happiness. While the American refrain was life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the Mexican motto was "justice, land, and liberty," because it was understood that there is no life and no pursuit of happiness without land. The Mexican experiment is new. The Constitution was written in 1917 and had much to say about land reform and redistribution. It is still a revolutionary government with a revolutionary constitution. The above lots were bought for about $100 each.

It also just common sense. The people who live in the homes shown above probably have a greater net worth than most US citizens with a $250,000 mortgage.

Mexicans should give lessons on economics around the world. Nobody can stretch a penny better.

I hate what the above pictures portray too. Brick homes are built with concrete corners and bond beams for a variety of reasons. It is a simple method of construction that requires little skill or knowledge, so just about anybody can do it--it is accessible to the masses. You can build slowly over time this way. No worries about adobe melting in the rain. And, in all fairness I should mention, we live close to the San Andreas fault, so concrete reinforcement is strongly recommended.

But as a result of this building method being in use over generations, the builders have lost the skill of their forefathers. Downtown colonial Alamos is an architectural wonder. There are stately old mansions with 3 foot thick adobe walls built higher than any new building in town, but with no cement and no concrete corners. The proportions and the architectural details are exquisite.

Ancient Rome and Chichen Itza were built without cement too. The stuff just isn't necessary. Aside from being ugly and brittle, Portland cement is an environmental nightmare and a conservator's curse.

I'm not to judge which is the the prettier picture. Is it better to have a more egailitarian society in which most everybody lives in concrete boxes, or was life better in colonial times when craftsmanship reigned but wealth was more grossly unequal than it is now? I'm not sure.

I will say, however, that if you compare the above photos with the best of Alamos' colonial architecture, you can't help but notice that craftsmanship in Sonora is but a shadow of its former self.

And in Mexico as a whole, a country that has churches and public buildings as impressive as any nation on Earth, and that boasted perhaps the greatest synthesis of architecture and ornament (in Maya architecture) in human history when Europe was still in the Dark Ages, these concrete boxes are going up everywhere. That is how far the modern world has fallen in terms of aesthetics.

The Decline of Craftsmanship

2009-11-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

Above is a photo I took of the same poor church. You can click for a larger view.

Note the exquisite delicacy of the original cornices versus the heavyhanded clumsiness of the the "restored" cornices. A real decline in craftsmanship and aesthetics has taken place. The next post will explore the reasons why.

How is this reversible?

How Could It Happen?

2009-11-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

The picture on the left was taken by Michael Swigart a few years ago. I took the picture on the right yesterday. It shows the "restoration" in progress. You can click for a larger view.

Gosh, I hate to say it. The restoration architect responsible is Carlos Salomón Madrigal. I know him and I feel sorry for him, since much was beyond his control. He told me personally that this situation is weighing very heavily upon him.

First, I would like to explain that conservation of cultural property is an old and very proud tradition here in Mexico. The institutes that train restorers are superb. Professionals working in the field are extremely expert. The Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH) is an old institution with a venerable history. These are the people who take care of Mexico's cultural treasures, and arguably Mexico has more archaeological and architectural treasures than any other country in the world. I have the utmost respect for the institutions and the profession. I also have great respect for Carlos Salomón Madrigal. He has done superb restoration work throughout Mexico.

Here's how things played out. The church was completed in 1804. We don't know exactly if it was ever plastered on the exterior. Arq. Salomón claims to have found remains of plaster that suggest it was. He also states that most churches done during the early 19th century in this region were plastered, and that the crudeness of the exterior stonework, changes from one type of stone to another, one stone pattern to another, and holes left where wood scaffolding members were supported show that the original intention was to plaster the exterior.

Arq. Salomón's investigative work was extremely thorough. The proposal for the restoration comes in the form of three volumes, which document every single detail of the church, and offer a plan for restoration of each detail. This three volume proposal called for the plastering of the exterior, because of the reasons given above.

This raises interesting questions about various approaches to restoration, conservation, intervention, etc. Each word has its own meaning in the jargon of the trade. Should the church be conserved so that it looks the way it looks now, or the way it looked or was meant to look 200 years ago? A case could be made for each option.

And this really gets me. Should the church be plastered because the original builder intended for it to be plastered, even though many hold that it never came to pass? If the builders of the Pyramids of Giza drew up plans to put large stone spheres on top, but never got around to doing it, should we do it now? I don't know. But I do know restoration is an inexact science that depends on making many judgement calls.

Salomón's plan was reiterated in the magazine Estilos, prior to commencement of the project. The Estilos article also revealed an intention to paint exterior plaster with vinyl paint (similar to latex paint in the US). Sorry Carlos, I can't agree. I've seen so much colonial architecture here desecrated with a coat of vinyl, that the idea literally makes me sick. Vinyl and latex paint have nothing in common with the paints and pigments originally used. The original paints were more durable and much more beautiful.

I spoke to Carlos personally about it all. Again, he seemed sad, and burdened. He said, you know, Daan, there are trees growing out of holes in the wall of the church. Yes, there are. But there is no reason they can't pull the trees out by the roots, and patch the hole so it matches the way the church looks now. There are cracks, Daan, and water problems. Yes, there are, but the cracks could be patched to match. There are structural problems, too, but repairs could be made to match. I think. I am not an engineer.

But here is the real clincher, and the reason the situation is out of Carlos' control, and out of Alamos' control. Philosophy of restoration is born in the academic world. The academic world revolves around trends and fashions. The current fashion is to plaster over old stone in a case like this.

I'm not clear about the details, but there is talk in the news about a shakeup in INAH, a changing of the guards. Out with the old ideas, in with the new. Out with the old people too. And the old knowledge, and the old tradition of excellence, I guess. Just an impression. I am not sure.

When I was working on the interior restoration I saw that every single decision needed to be documented and justified in order to appease state and federal regulators from INAH and a Federal Commission. The restorers know what current fashion spell the regulators are under. If the restorers disapprove of the fashion, they try to compromise, or get a project approved and do barely enough to appease the regulators.

So when I told Carlos I didn't like the exterior restoration, he urged me to be careful. If people in Mexico City get wind of this, he told me, they will make sure we plaster over every stone.

And that's how things work here. Many of the problems are systemic, structural and practically impossible to change.

Reversability?

2009-11-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture I took yesterday of the facade of the church. The original facade is on the left, and you can see the recent intervention on the right.

As an amateur restorer of fine art for decades, I've known for a long time that reversability is the number one rule in the restorer's craft. It is a matter of ethics. If I am to make changes to an old work of art, I must use processes and materials that are reversable, so at some later date, my intervention can be undone. That way, no matter what the level of knowledge and skill the restorer has, people in the future will always be able to get back to the original. If conservation technology and materials advance, restorers in the future will be able to start from scratch.

From March to the end of July this year I worked as a restorer on the interior of this church, as an employee of Straulino Restoration, a very professional outfit which has done important work throughout Mexico. The conservators in charge of the project did a very good job of investigating the history of every aspect of the altar, finding the original finishes when possible, documenting absolutely everything, and explaining the justification for each and every decision. "Reversability" was like a mantra--they mentioned it over and over again. Throughout the world, reversability is the first imperative of their profession.

The reasons for the decisons made on the exterior intervention are extremely complicated, and it will take several more posts to explain the whole situation. For now I would like to humbly ask those responsible: How in the world is THIS reversable?????????

Would you?

2009-11-11T18:03:00.001-08:00

Would you plaster over this?

Or this? That is exactly what is happening now as a result of the supposed "restoration" of the Parroquia de la Purisima Concepcion, Alamos' main church and most treasured landmark. Photos of the destruction and the reasons why to follow.

Jacquinia macrocarpa pungens

2009-11-11T11:18:00.001-08:00

In Alamos, people used to make soap from sanjuanico fruit.

Throughout the region, people made necklaces from sanjuanico flowers, a practice followed by the Mayo, the Seri and the Yaqui. The flowers were collected and dried. When rehydrated even flowers 100 years old looked as if they were fresh picked.

The last of the Mayo weavers still use sanjuanico to make a yellow dye.

Mike's Ideas

2009-11-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

Photo of Pals, Catalunya by Michael Brody, all rights reserved. Almost looks as if it could be Alamos.

My pal Mike responded to my last post and we had the following "conversation" on Facebook. I think it is interesting.

Mike: Daan. Went to the blog and, ok, I may be one of those gringo sentimentalists. You can't hold onto everything, as you imply, and you probably shouldn't try. I have seen compromises that are good. For example, in Spain there are several restored Medieval towns, among them "Pals". Pals is too perfectly restored, really and its charms in some ways are fabricated thanks in part to it's wealthy summer home inhabitants. But the town is proud and tourism thrives. I will take that over what is happening in your town. Question, does Alamos want to preserve itself but simply can't afford it? Great blog writing on your part - keep it up!

Daan: Thanks, Mike. There is a very small faction of people who are interested in preservation, but it is too small. Most are true believers in the idea of progress and modernization. They don't realize what treasures we have here, or their economic importance. And there is a real lack of expertise as far as how to go about preserving. Here also there is a kind of inauthentic disneylandish alteration is some cases. There is a great book by Antonin Artaud, a French surrealist who fell in love with Mexico, which states that Mexico doesn't realize what it has, and it takes a foriegner to see it and explain it. Look for the book...it is really good.

Mike: Perhaps tourism dollars drive preservation in these small towns in Spain. There is no doubt that Catalunya (where Pals is) is both entrepreneurial AND preserving of its culture. These 2 things can go very well together. If there were just a few (locals) with these attitudes headway could be made. I will check the book out. Would locals like tourism?

Daan: As it stands now, Alamos is very economically dependent on tourism. But hurricane Norbert has hurt us, as has the recession, and US news media's exaggeration of current events. Sustainable development, tourism and preservation can work very well together. It is the only way forward! But long term vision is lacking, and if somebody has it, they get crucified. Immediate personal gain and self-interest rule.

Another factor is the municipal government, which changes every three years. Each administration tries to see how much it can do in just three years, and mostly focuses on basic needs. That rules out long-term planning. Only a nonprofit could do the trick, but that requires at least some consensus, and reaching consensus is very tricky.

Mike...your approach is 100% correct. My mistake here a few years ago was to try to rally people around the idea of preservation instead of just quietly forming a nonprofit which could link preservation and sustainabilty with tourism and business. It takes the right approach, right personality, right charisma.

Negativity, Pessimism, Sadness...

2009-11-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

Or just the unvarnished truth?

I just changed the header of this blog to read: "Investigating the links between biological and cultural diversity in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico." Before I changed it, it was identical to my first post in this blog, and read like this: "This is a blog about the destruction of a small colonial Mexican town. It investigates the motives and mechanisms behind the destruction, the ideas and people involved, and the strategies and hopes of those who would save it from further tragedy."

I figured the old header might discourage readers. It sounds awfully depressing. But I'm afraid it is true. In the 10 years I have lived in Alamos, I have seen a continual erosion of cultural heritage. Aside from an erosion of tradition, I've seen the erosion of the colonial architecture and of ruins---the only remaining clues that could guide proper restoration of historic buildings in the future. As I became involved and saw the dynamics of the process, it took several hard knocks before I learned that circumstances are always complex. There is a kind of inertia at work, which makes it easy to believe that things will never change, or that they will change too late.

As just one example of a very multi-faceted and complex scenario, I'd like to mention the removal of the cobblestones throughout most of the the historic district, during David Corral's tenure as mayor. They were replaced with cement pavers. Make no mistake. I like David Corral. He is the only politician I have known in my life who has asked for my opinion. Before, during and after his administration, he has always greeted me when he sees me in the street. Just a few months ago, he saw me and crossed the street to shake my hand. He seems a polite, soft-spoken man. I wish democracy would always work this way.

Anyhow, when he did ask my opinion about his administration, I mentioned I was not pleased with the removal of the cobblestone. I saw a momentary flash of anger or disappointment on his face, and then he quickly composed himself and explained that cobblestone was not original, the streets used to be earthen, and the people called for the change. Cobblestones are murder for women who walk in high heels (true) and they tend to destroy automobile suspensions. I was constantly replacing tie-rods and ball joints. So David had some valid points.

Anytime I object to destruction of the authenticity of the historic district, another issue comes up...that of the sentimental gringo holding on to the past, and thus obstructing progress, or worse--interfering with a people's right to modernize as much as they wish. With the idea of "progress" comes the expectation of economic progress and the sentimental gringo stands in the way of this as well. I've heard it over and over. It is the viewpoint of people who have not lived to know, or noticed, that many people in the "developed" world long for simplicity and regret the emptiness of their ways of life.

I'd counter also with the idea that a town so economically dependent on tourism had better be very clear about what exactly makes the place appealing to tourists, and work to preserve it.

So...it came to pass that a small group of locals opposed the plan to remove the cobblestones, but they were removed anyway. I was not involved, because I didn't see a chance of winning, and felt it was not my place to protest, or object to legal decisions made by a valid government.

As a result of installing the cement pavers, there were lots of runoff problems during the summer rainy season. Some houses flooded. Rain used to seep between the cobblestones, which slowed the speed of runoff. Now, in an area desperate for water, the faster runoff means that the aquifers do not replenish as well as they did before.

I will say it over and over again in this blog, from a hundred different angles. Cement (Portland cement)=destruction of cultural heritage + environmental damage.

When I express my realistic, not pessimistic, appraisal of the prospects for the conservation of historic elements in town, it is tempting to make a simplistic generalization like, there are good guys and bad guys involved, and the good guys always lose. That is too easy, and thus untrue. What I do see is constant erosion, and nothing to stop it. It is not for a lack of sound proposals for viable alternatives. It is just the way things play out.

Now that there is practically nothing to save, I hope, at least, that this blog will be useful to those entrusted with the conservation of cultural heritage in other locales, to help them understand the dynamics at work.

Ruins

2009-11-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

I have a few favorite ruins in town. Few still exist. I've noticed that nobody butters them in cement or paints them with plastic. The humblest person in the street doesn't touch them with graffiti. Why? Because we revere them...all of us. In this crazy modern world, they remind us of our origins.

Erythrina flabelliformis

2009-11-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

In Alamos, the children used to color Easter eggs yellow with a dye made from boiled pionilla bark. Mayo artisans used the dye as well.

When the San Juan statue from Pueblo Viejo in Navojoa needed to be restored, a search for chilicote wood was made. The wood is said to be rot resistant.

Prosopis glandulosa

2009-11-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

Mayo weavers use mesquite gun to make a brown color for dying wool. The call it jiubuania.

Honey that comes primarily from mesquite flowers (Prosopis glandulosa) is prized for its flavor. The seed pods are an important source of animal fodder, and are used to make a variety of foods. Mesquite performs an important ecological role throughout Mexico. It is nitrogen-fixing, which helps build the soil in arid regions. It attracts plant species which enjoy the richer soil, and supports various species of birds and animals.

Widespread in the Alamos region, mesquite is an important source of firewood. Locally-produced mesquite charcoal is sold to taco venders because of the fine flavor it imparts to the meat. Rumor suggests that local charcoal is exported to the US for use in restaurants. Lumber use of mesquite is a key economic activity in many Mexican towns. Unfortunately, wood use for lumber, furniture, firewood and charcoal is causing deforestation. In academia there is a trend towards sustainable uses: honey, food, fodder, and medicinal uses.

Another possibility for sustainable use involves mesquite gum, which is very similar to gum arabic. Gum arabic is a completely edible plant product. It is the binder in watercolor paint, and an important ingredient in syrups, chewing gum, marshmallows, and candys. Read the ingredients of any processed food, and you'll find gum arabic. It is also used in pharmaceuticals, fireworks, and cosmetics. The lickable adhesive on postage stamps and envelopes is gum arabic.

It has been found that the chemical characteristics, emulsifying properties and molecular structure of gum made from Prosopis glandulosa would make it a suitable alternative to gum arabic. World demand for gum arabic is about 45,000 tons per year. In 2003, Mexico imported 7,000 tons for a total expenditure of nearly 4 million dollars. Availability and price of gum arabic on the world market varies greatly because frequent scarcity due to political instability in Africa, especially in the Sudan. It makes good economic sense for Mexico to pursue a domestic alternative.

Heliocarpus attenuatus

2009-11-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

Samo is a common small tree in the Alamos area. Underneath the bark, the branches are slimy. This mucilage was used in the preparation of lime plaster, and as a binder for paint. The combination of the organic ‘samo’ with inorganic lime and pigments, resembles the paint and plaster technology of the ancient Maya, known for durability. The Maya used a tree they called holol. Holol refers to a variety of species, one of which is Heliocarpus donnell.

To prepare the mucilage, the Guarijio soak strips of bark in water. The water is then mixed with sand and lime to make plaster, or with lime/and or pigments to make paint. Many people in Alamos still remember the use of samo.

Samo will be essential to any future effort to restore Alamos’ colonial architecture. Very few authentic paint and plaster surfaces remain. Almost all have been ruined with vinyl paint and plaster containing Portland cement.

Guaiacum coulteri

2009-11-08T11:25:00.001-08:00

The Aztecs made a blue/green pigment from the flowers of Guayacum coulteri. They called the color matlali.

In Alamos, the brilliant blue flowers blossom in May. The Seri Indians of Sonora used the resin of guayacan to make a pigment called Seri Blue. The Seri process involved the combination of organic and inorganic chemistry, thus it is analogous to ancient Maya pigment technology.

What is at Stake?

2009-11-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

“What sets the world in motion is the interplay
of differences,
their attractions and repulsions.
Life is plurality, death is uniformity.
By suppressing differences and peculiarities,
by eliminating different civilizations and cultures,
progress weakens life and favors death.
The ideal of a single civilization impoverishes and mutilates us.
Every view of the world that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears,
diminishes the possibility of life.”
--Octavio Paz

Not Man Apart

2009-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Alamos at its best, Photo courtesy of Michael Swigart

A severed hand

Is an ugly thing and man dissevered from the earth and stars and his history...

for contemplation or in fact...

Often appears atrociously ugly.

Integrity is wholeness, the greatest beauty is

Organic wholeness, the wholeness of life and things, the divine beauty of the universe.

Love that, not man apart from that, or else you will share man’s pitiful confusions,

or drown in despair when his days darken."

- Robinson Jeffers

Introduction

2009-11-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

Alamos, Sonora, Mexico is unique in that, for such a small town, it contains world-class cultural, natural and intangible heritage. The colonial architecture in the town center has been declared a National Historic Monument, and Alamos is on the tentative list for World Heritage status. The surrounding area contains incomparable biodiversity within an unusual ecosystem that emerged where the Sonoran desert meets the Sierra Madre and the more humid rainforests to the south. A 93,000-hectare Federal Natural Reserve of Tropical Deciduous Forest is protected under UNESCO’s network of biosphere reserves. The outlying region is inhabited by the Mayo and Guarijio Indians, who are the traditional stewards of the land and keepers of an extraordinary wealth of information about practical and medicinal uses of local plant species. The knowledge spilled over into a meztizo population, with its own matchless local culture, which has been entrenched for hundreds of years, since the town was founded as a mining and administrative outpost in 1685. The silver mines at one point became the richest and most productive in the world.

Problems abound. The natural, cultural and intangible culture of the region is increasingly eroded by globalization and modernization. A global demand for beef has spurred government policies which urge the Guarijio to clear-cut forest and plant buffel grass in order to raise cattle. The practice destroys the forest which was once sustenance and medicine for the Guarijio, coerces them into a form of livelihood that is foreign to their culture and values, and pulls them into a cash consumerist culture. Development, population growth, deforestation and a new wave of mining activity threaten biodiversity. A desert could replace what is now a seasonal tropical rainforest.

Hundreds of colonial buildings in the historic center have been registered as monuments, but they are endangered due to lack of public awareness about proper methods and materials for conservation. Perhaps the most damaging practice is an overuse of Portland cement in old adobe and masonry buildings. Authorities in the field of conservation the world over condemn the use of cement in old buildings. Members of the expat population from the US and Canada typically buy historic buildings and remodel them as they wish, showing little sensitivity to historic authenticity. The vinyl paint currently used is entirely inappropriate for a colonial town, and has effectively eliminated wall breathability.

Alamos was able to retain its unique character for centuries largely due to its isolation. Electricity, television and paved roads to the nearest city did not arrive until well into the second half of the 20th century. When I first came to Alamos eight years ago, I noticed that many older traditions survived. Storytelling was still very much alive. Television did not dominate the family in the evening. On hot summer nights, people sat outside and told stories about Alamos ghosts, Alamos fauna, snakes that fall on people from trees, hunting and fishing, deer and jaguars, unheard-of fruits, treasures that were hidden during the Indian raids that lasted well into the 20th century, family feuds, curanderos of yesterday and today, supernatural occurrences of all sorts, how Alamos once became a ghost town and how people survived, the brothers that sawed a pencil in two so they could both go to school, the same brothers that cut a tortilla in half for lunch, children carrying water from the well down the hill, disease, and corresponding herbal cures for anything—the stuff of resilience. Stories were told about how Los Angeles and San Francisco were founded by expeditions setting off from Alamos, to remind people of their proud heritage. Stories were told about unwed mothers buried alive in thick adobe walls by their embarrassed families, to remind people of their own cruelty.

Music played a central role in the family, with guitars and song breaking out at any moment. Hundreds of old songs remain in the memory of those older than 50 years of age. Many retain memories of local history. I am sad to say the songs will not see another generation. TV, internet, cell phones, rap music, alcoholism, drug abuse and cocooning have replaced the Alamos I knew 8 years ago. The values disappear with the traditions.

Change, modernization and new technologies erode cultural, biological and intangible diversity around the world. The same drivers lead to disintegration, wherever it might be. If reintegration is to occur, logically it could be driven by common catalysts as well.

While witnessing the very sudden erosion of biocultural diversity in Alamos, I noticed it occurred in steps. Destruction is rarely immediate and complete. It happens via a sort of domino effect. One element falls, leading to the fall of others. Reversing the trend could only happen by standing a domino up again, necessarily in a way that makes it probable others will follow.

Indigo

2009-11-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

Indigo grows wild in Alamos. The Mayo and Guarijio Indians used indigo for dying fabrics and the ancient Maya developed a unique and incredibly durable fresco pigment called Maya Blue by combining organic and inorganic chemistry. The Maya technology has been replicated by researchers at the University of Texas, El Paso to create today's most technologically advanced pigments, which are more environmentally sound than pigments commonly used today. See the Mayan Pigments website.

Homogeneity and Diversity

2009-11-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

I'm tempted to say that this is a seldom-overlooked side of Alamos, but is it? Actually the photograph was taken by an Italian named Paolo Margari. It could be anybody, anywhere on the globe. At first glance, it seems as if the photo has nothing to do with the preservation of biological and cultural diversity in Alamos. Instead, it speaks of homogeneity, a uniform that has become standard in almost every country in the world.

Nonetheless, I cannot think of a topic more relevant to biocultural diversity right here, right now. Because blue jeans are worn daily by millions of people all over the world, the global demand for indigo dye is enormous. When Levi Strauss first came up with the product, indigo was produced on plantations in third world countries. Long ago, natural indigo was phased out in favor of synthetic chemically-produced dye. Because the production of synthetic indigo results in pollution, there is a call to return to natural dye.

Indigo grows wild in Alamos. The local native indigo could be collected to produce dye to be sold on the world market. Small-scale cultivation could be pursued as well. This would be less damaging to local biodiversity than current practices of slash and burn, cattle ranching, and the introduction of ecologically incompatible species.

What's more, indigo is a legume, so it fixes nitrogen and helps build the soil.

Because many people here depend upon the land for their livelihood, those involved in conservation must replace damaging economic activities with beneficial ones. Conservation is impossible unless lost income is replaced.

Not Man and Nature

2009-11-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

The uniqueness of our area cannot be expressed better than it was by Charles Bowden, who wrote about it in his book The Secret Forest:

“Here man and nature becomes a silly phrase, a distinction without meaning in the forest. Here it is people in nature, or better yet, simply nature, a word that means all living things. Tourism will become a kind of survival drill. We will no longer dutifully check off the art galleries, the cathedrals, the four-star restaurants. Instead we will make probes in order to learn how to live. We will visit people who know how to live in ways we have forgotten or ways we never knew in the first place. We will do this in order to find the way home, the way to make a home, keep a home, and cherish a home.”

A Tale of Love, Loss, Despair and Hope

2009-11-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is a blog about the destruction of a small colonial Mexican town. It investigates the motives and mechanisms behind the destruction, the ideas and people involved, and the strategies and hopes of those who would save it from further tragedy. It is a communal story, not a personal story, so I invite all readers to submit their thoughts and opinions, as well as articles and links.