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La Posada Cañon Devata has been my family's home since 1979. The birth of La Posada came about as everything else does in Mexico, with no plans. My parents, Suzanne and Mateo, wanted to find a way to live in my father's natal village of Puerto Angel and to offer a welcoming place for tired travelers who had at the time truly reached the end of the dusty Mexican trail! The three rooms with which my parents began were almost always full with people who would extend their stays by trading their talents for room and board. The colorful numbers painted lovingly on the doors of the original guest house keep the young couple that made them in our thoughts each time we take someone to their room. Through a collaborative effort of so many friends that became dear to us, La Posada continued to grow into the five acres of our small canyon and became a compound with twenty-two rooms and bungalows. | |
| Many of the plots of land that were offered to my parents over the years were depleted corn patches of exhausted soil with hardly any trees. Much of their effort went into reforesting along with constructing in the early years. Our grounds are now lush with coconut palms, tropical hardwoods, mango trees and many other plants that have grown along with the place. | ||
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| We have dry toilets scattered throughout the property that contribute to the richness of our soil, and help us conserve water as well. My parents' commitment and belief in respecting the land they were taking into their care has made our small canyon thrive with iguanas, Magpie Jays (that eat all of our papayas!) and so many other animals. |
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Our canyon was named "Devata" by my mother; it is a Sanskrit word that means man's process of turning into an Angel.... So - she set the family's goal high. My mother found her place when she arrived so many years back in Puerto Angel and met my father. La Posada is truly an embodiment of both their cultures mixin g, complementing every mutual decision made over a notebook and pencil while drawing the next building, staircase or palapa. Every stone in the network of paths, every hand painted tile on the stairs and in the bathrooms, was planned and placed by them with care. As our family moved from each new room built to the next, my brother Darshan and I moved along, leaving behind a trail of hidden stickers, books on shelves, and crayon marks that have to this day escaped the fresh coats of paint and maintenance projects! |
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My parents have now retired from La Posada, and I am managing it for the family. As it was with them, this is not a job--it is a way of life. La Posada has always been our home with a large living room for as many people as would like to visit. With every painting of my father's throughout the place and my mother's sense of beauty and harmony, I am reminded daily that we do become angels if we simply lay one rock, one tile at a time....Kali López | |
