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A Bit of History
Just a short walk from El Castillo, Edward James built one of
the biggest and least known artistic monuments of the 20th century known
as Las Pozas. Over a 20 year period, over 36 surrealistic
structures were built in concrete at this magnificent site.
Edward James with one of his many parrots
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Edward abandoned the intellectual, social and artistic circles of
London, Paris, New York and Hollywood for the jungles of Mexico. He lived
in Xilitla with his close companion Plutarco Gastelum, a Yaqui Indian, and
his family. Plutarco would later become Edward's construction foreman at
Las Pozas. El Castillo was built by Plutarco and became the home of his
family. Edward also lived there when he wasn't staying at Las Pozas.
Before coming to Mexico to build Las Pozas in the early 1950's, he had
already led an extraordinary life. His family owned a 300 room mansion and
6,000 acre estate in England, which Edward later converted into West Dean
College, now an internationally recognized center for restoration arts.
Born to immense wealth and privilege in 1907, Edward's life imitated the
surrealist art he loved and collected. He turned his back on the rigid
aristocratic circles of Edwardian England that he was born into, and
befriended and supported dozens of artists who would become household
names in later years. The people in his life included Dali, Picasso, and
Stravinsky. He wrote poetry all his life, however it was in his building
of Las Pozas that he realized himself as an artist.
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