Most Memorable Visit to the Desert

On Thursday, July 3, I again visited San Felipe to do some documentation of the village so that we can have accurate information for the work we are doing and also to show the design proposals of the prototype house for feedback. But this visit was the most memorable one thus far for one simple reason: it was raining. It rained all day and I was there, a very rare coincidence. The rain brought good things, obviously, in that the tanks that collect the rainwater from roofs were able to be filled up so that drinking and washing water will be available. Also, the fields were able to be watered. But the rain also brought some bad things. It began raining the night before and two walls in two different houses collapsed. The first house was the house that demonstrated the loss of knowledge of how to build with traditional methods. The walls did not meet the roof very well, and in one room there were several centimeters separating the roof and the top of the wall.

The wall was not tied to the rest of the house well. The water from the rain simple took out the mortar of the poorly built wall and it slowly collapsed during the night.





The second house was a very well built house completely made of traditional materials and methods many many years ago. The owner of the house had died several years ago and it has been empty and abandoned ever since. This rain and wall collapse was simply the first step of the house falling down.



I'm surprised that no one has occupied and maintained this home, but it is interesting to me to see this process (since architects have such an infatuation with ruins). After several hours of being in the village and trying to write, sketch, and photograph in the rain I secretly wished it would start raining--a wish I'm sure was not shared by the people who live there.

Besides the rain, there was another interesting event that took place. The graduation party for the elementary school students was to take place in the evening. At about 5 PM, people from other towns and ejidos began showing up for the party. I always like being in the rural areas where there are large groups of people because there are so many styles that people have, especially with hair, cars, and dress. Most member able were some blue cowboy boots that a boy was wearing.

Since I return to the U.S. in just over a week, and my future is very much up in the air, this may have been the last time I visit San Felipe for awhile. But I'm glad I got to see rain in the village and see a glimpse of how the community comes together for celebrations (we had to leave before the party really got started).