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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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HACIENDA LORE
HACIENDA LORE...
I have been trying to recall all the various characters who have ran the cantina and hotel since I came upon the scene..people who have leased or
rented the 100+year-old hotel from it's owner, Alfonso Cuesta.
I remember Alfonso himself was there running it when I first walked through those great front portals. Great times were had there in the early times
when we came off the old rough road. We once took 2 weeks from San Quentin to Mulege, hard going, but truly grrreat times. That old hotel was a
welcome sight even coming from nearby Sta. Rosalia..a mere 4-hour trip then...which is today a boring and too-fast 45 minutes.
Even back then Mulege was a gathering spot for backroad lovers...travelers, writers, photographers---all typical early Baja characters. Visitors came
by sailboat, luxury yachts, overland like us, but mostly them came by planes. We, on the other hand, were 'airborne' a few times ourselves....
When we first checked into the Hacienda, we took 2 showers, got the clean clothes out, then hit the cantina for that needed cold one...and saw a piece
of history unfold before our eyes.
The cantina's walls, ceiling beams, mesquite-fired grill, watering well, and any handy surface to write on..were cluttered with notes and signatures
of travelers from everywhere on the globe...we marveled at some Hollywood names.. John Wayne, Jayne Mansfield, Bing Crosby, Lee Marvin, Ricardo
Montalban, Tracy, Burt Reynolds, Miquel Mijia, Donald Sutherland, Fabian, Anthony Quinn, and many more...some like Lou Federico, Erle Gardner, JW
Black, and Ray Cannon we would come to know about during our soon-to-come Baja initiation.
We felt like we had found King Tut's tomb. There were hundreds more signings from around the world and it was great to read those early reports of
enjoyment and surprises. We humbly added our own ..but as close as possible to our favorites.
(Oddly and sadly, those old autographs and notes were painted over during a renovation in the late 80's by a fellow named Funk, who leased the place
from Alfonso for a year or two...he painted the rock mural stick figures in thier place. We were shocked and peed -off. So much for nostalgia.)
Here's a recount of one of the earlier denizens of the Hacienda.
In those older signed-wall times, a nice chap by the name of David Dominguez occupied the cantina and made part of it into a studio for his
oil-portrait profession. For extra business, he sometimes painted whatever you wanted, faces, scenes, post cards, etc. Once I noticed a
full-portrait of a Mexican army officer holding a Thompson machine gun. To each his own. I would have chosen a Schmeisser machine pistol...less
grandiose. The cantina/bar stayed, of course, for David loved his toddy now and then..plus a lot of us needed the cantina to stay operating, too.
One day David was hired to do a head portrait of the wife of mi amigo, Richard Long, her name was Sylvia. They lived in Coyote Bay and David would go
there to have her pose. He also had a sideline teaching Spanish at the Posada community and had struck up a friendship with a nice couple there...a
certain Dale and Yvonne.
Well, Dah-veed was a lady-killer (in HIS mind anyway) and soon became enamored of the beautiful Yvonne, thinking she would return his advances..which
she did not..but he tried..oh, how he tried. It became an obsession.
He got quite maudlin about it and would approach me at the bar with a love-note to hand off to Yvonne on my way home past Posada. I told him I was no
John Alden, but he insisted to the point of threatening to withhold my Xmas hand-painted post cards, so I agreed to take it. I never did deliver it,
as I knew Dale would break David's painting arm...and I needed more cards.
As the days passed, and David continued the completion of Sra. Long's portrait, he would give me more notes, and I stuffed them in my pockets. David
was becoming a little depressed over this whole thing about Yvonne not returning his love calls. He seemed to be drinking a few more highballs than
usual...but hey, it was a cantina and he was an ar-teest. Doomed in any way you looked at it.
Then I was on a mission one noon hour as I walked into the studio/cantina and sat down on my stool. David was not at his easel as most times before,
but was slumped at the bar with his head in his hands...half a bloody mary sitting there.
I grin, "Hola, David...que pasa? Got a good hangover? Poco crudo?"
His bloodshot eyes looked at me and said..."Rogelio, I'm in big trouble. Sr. Long is coming today to get his wife's portrait. He wants it in time
for the holidays. I told him it would be done and ready for him."
I had seen the covered portrait frame on the studio's easel for a long time now and wondered what could be wrong. He had been working on it last
night when a bunch of us were in there yakking fishing. I said, "Well, it's only noon, why don't you finish it up now? It can't be much. Hell, if
you're that hung-over, I'll do it for you. I know Sylvia very well."
"I did finish it, ...last night. That's the trouble." He walks over the easel and takes off the cover and shows me the finished portrait.
It was an extremely well-done portrait, I thought..David's style stood out...and then it struck me. Whoa! What the..?
About the same time Dav-eed says, "Look! I painted Yvonne's face into Slyvia's head."
I really tried to hold my belly-laugh back, but you know how that goes...the damn beer goes right up your nose and and you snort-spray all over the
room.
David is not impressed and shields the portrait. "It's Yvonne's fault..I love her so much."
After I got back in control, I told David I was actually there to pick up the painting for mi amigo, Richard, and would explain everything to him.
Not too worry.
Richard (Dick) was a good-natured man and would see the humor in all of this.
David was only too glad to hand over the painting.
And Dick Long did see the humor..especially when I showed him all those love-notes to Yvonne. We had some great times for many years showing folks
that absurd painting of Sylvia's neck and hair..with Yvonne's face planted in the middle.
Sylvia was a great sport, laughing about it too, and gave it to me for Xmas a couple years later. Today it hangs in my poolroom in Coyote Bay.
Ah...Mulege! Good for the soul. I could have ended up in Fargo.
[Edited on 3-25-2009 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Udo
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NOW, THIS IS WHAT I CALL A BAJA NOMAD SITE!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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ELINVESTIG8R
Select Nomad
Posts: 15882
Registered: 11-20-2007
Location: Southern California
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| Quote: | Originally posted by capt. mike
...But wait!! there's more! - act now and i'll double the offer - you get TWO minister kits plus a sacramental blender.
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[Edited on 7-21-2008 by ELINVESTI8]
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KurtG
Super Nomad
Posts: 1201
Registered: 1-27-2004
Location: California Central Coast
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Mood: Press On Regardless!!
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Pompano,
I spent many great hours in that bar. First parked my motorcycle in the courtyard in Oct. '74 and Mulege has kept calling me back all these years.
Like you, and Alfonso, I was very upset when Arron Funk painted over all those names, years of history destroyed. I think he was also the guy who
moved the ancient bouganvilla from the center of the courtyard which changed the character of the place.
When I pulled in the first time Alfonso told me to pick out a room and showed me where the cerveza was and said to keep track of what I consumed. I
choose one of the old rooms up front and after about 5 days asked Al if he wanted me to register or anything. His reply, "well, if you want to!" No
locks on the doors back then. Things have changed a bit but I still am drawn back to Mulege and the bay.
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Paula
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Posts: 2219
Registered: 1-5-2006
Location: Loreto
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Whatever became of those love notes from David to Yvonne, Roger? Maybe if they are stuffed in some seldom opened drawer they could be collaged onto a
frame for the painting, and the painting moved back to the Hacienda bar.
But that might depend on how David might feel about it----- ?  ?  ?  ?  ?
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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Paula, David D. has been gone these many years since his heart was broken by the fair Yvonne. I faintly remember hearing he was in TJ getting it
repaired, but who knows.....he was nomadic, too.
I have tons of memorabilia in several holes and will scour them up for that collage. Sounds like fun to me, but could create some confusion on the
home front. 
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by KurtG
Pompano,
I spent many great hours in that bar. First parked my motorcycle in the courtyard in Oct. '74 and Mulege has kept calling me back all these years.
Like you, and Alfonso, I was very upset when Arron Funk painted over all those names, years of history destroyed. I think he was also the guy who
moved the ancient bouganvilla from the center of the courtyard which changed the character of the place.
When I pulled in the first time Alfonso told me to pick out a room and showed me where the cerveza was and said to keep track of what I consumed. I
choose one of the old rooms up front and after about 5 days asked Al if he wanted me to register or anything. His reply, "well, if you want to!" No
locks on the doors back then. Things have changed a bit but I still am drawn back to Mulege and the bay. |
For sure, KurtG. It was a genuine sense of loss we all felt when those records were so grossly painted over..still can't imagine why Funk did that to
this day. Any cafe owner in the world would have been elated to have them on his walls. I recall they were even on the sides of the courtyard grill
and a few carved into the central bougainvilla.
Many conversations about ways to restoring those old friends have taken place since...a project oft discussed, but as yet not implemented. Hey, it's
not like uncovering DeVinci's works of art underneath a painting as happens periodically throughout the world, but nevertheless they are treasures to
all of us everywhere who love Baja. One can only hope. We need a museum curator, a restoration expert or such to explain if it is possible and how
to do it...any out there?
You can practice on my game room wall. Somehow the last scores of the pinto derby were whitewashed over and I want to collect my money.
I love that old Hacienda like one loves a wise old uncle from a better place and time..kind of like the feeling you get from a Norman Rockwell
painting. Okay, I admit to being a sucker for nostalgia. Although someone here next to me keeps telling me wearing the same fishing shirt for 4 days
now is not being 'nostalgic.'
I remember very well our first room at the Hotel Hacienda. It was numero 4, first corner left as you entered those massive portal doors. (Our
departed friend, Mateo, carved the present sign hanging outside those doors today. See my pic.) We called that room home for a couple different
stays. You could almost hear the old vacqueros talking and smell cattle.
On honor systems.
Alphonso's honor system for the rooms and cantina was typical old-Baja, and reminded me at the time of where I was born and raised. My family lived
with that code in country general stores, and we still use the honor system today at a duckshack I have in a little hamlet on the ND/Canada border.
(Pop. 50 until we seasonally congest it to 52 ..thereby starting & completing the tourist season.)
.
.
So much of this village reminds me of similar small places in Baja, where everyone knows everyone and the dogs. Our village business district is one
building w/hitching post...bar/cafe/grocer/post office/volunteer fire dept and think-tank. You walk the 100 yards from the duckshack, make yourself
at home..if Lorraine or Harry are out hunting or fishing, you write down what you drank, what you ate, and don't play with the firetruck siren in
back. Sooner or later the tab shows in your mailbox.
Like our part of Baja, it's not so much about any rules, per se, but how much you respect yourself and others around you. And also like Baja used to
be a while back...things are pretty lax up there about certain regulations, but most manage to use common sense. We always try not to scare any
elders when landing on the county road outside town.
.
Sepember-November there is just what the doctor ordered after driving thru mega-cities. The loudest thing there are the tingling calls of sandhill
crane flying overhead...which kind of sounds like doves on steroids. An easy place for any nature lover. An amigo and hunter from Sonora took these
2 photos.....he calls this place BajaNorte, USA.
.
.
Whew...sorry, got a little off-track there, but like any of you with a favorite place in Baja and comparisons in the States...that duckshack sits in a
pretty darn good place, too. For us 'hunters'.
.
.
It all just goes to show...The Baja Feeling is where you find it.
Thanks for the tour of the Hacienda Hotel in Mulege, Alphonso.
[Edited on 12-7-2013 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Have seen a glass-topped wall or two down in the French Quarters of New Orleans. They probably stuck that broken glass on the wall tops about 100 yrs.
ago.
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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
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Mood: Sling time!
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wow!! who has a place where you can park your B 55 short Baron??
nice digs Roger.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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capt. mike...it's an old duckshack I have had since forever. We made it quite cozy. You will be surprised to hear that I paid a whooping $2900.00
for it..No, I didn't forget any zeros...and an elderly violin-playing amigo named Gideon was apologetic about asking so much, but that was his figure.
I gave him exactly that much. To have offered $3000 'even' would have been an insult. It's the way things are up there.
Have you ever landed on country roads? We have a gridwork of them...long and straight, they make perfect runways, but watch out for badger holes.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
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way cool for sure.
ok - when is the season and is it ducks, geese, or?? and where is this place again?
yes i can land on roads but in some locales it is verboten , ops only allowed on official pistas. the occasional farm truck coming at you can mean a
bad day...
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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capt. mike...we all learned to fly Up North by landing where we could, not always where we should..if you get my meaning. My old friend and Baja-vet
bush pilot, Dusty, prides himself on landing as 'close' to anywhere I am Up North.
Once the county sheriff called me to ask whether or not I had a twin tied to my fence. I said yes.. he said ..'Heard that, just make sure it doesn't
block the sidewalk...you know Vera next door needs it to walk to the post office every morning.' No problema, I replied...I bring Vera dorado from
Baja..she brings us fresh cinammon rolls. Works great for all.
The area provides superb goose-duck hunting. Also pheasant a little further south..right, Jorge?
.
Now back to Mulege Mirroring......we are off-course.
.
For anyone that doesn't know by now, Mulege has a new and convenient place to get ice and beer. Across from the Pemex on the highway north of town.
.
.
Just before the new beer deposito is our own 7-11...or in this case, 11-7. Sophia runs the place and you couldn't find a more congenial hostess. At
one time she and husband operated the Villa Motel high atop a hill overlooking Mulege below. A very special view and place.
At her Eleven-Seven, try her mini-burgers on Sat...yummy...or just have coffee or a beer to chat awhile with charming Sophia. English spoken,
Spanglish taught.
.
.
Few visitors know about or take advantage of a handy dike-top walkway to a nice river and palm forest scene. It is located just before Pancho Anaya
store as you enter Mulege from the north. Take a moment and bring your camera for scenes like this one.
[Edited on 12-7-2013 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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SATURDAY CARNITAS
One of the 'special treats' of Mulege is eating carnitas every Saturday at Taqueria Dannys. This fabulous date-fed
pork is hand-chopped by Antonio and served with lots of delicious compliments...you should order a bunch right away, as they go fast.
It has become a social event every Saturday since Antonio's father, Ramon, first opend the cafe about 20 years ago. Ramon was first a chef at the
next door El Nino steakhouse, and after that closed he opend his own business. Sadly, Ramon passed away too soon in life, but his son and friend,
Lorena, carry on a great tradition of good food and genuine hospitality.
RIP Ramon. Here he is surrounded by satisfied patrons.
The place can be jammed by 11, so I get there a bit earlier. Just stay off MY stool.
I could no more go to Mulege on a Saturday morning and pass up these carnitas than I could boat past a fish boil without casting a lure.
The cafe is located at the little square across from Manuel's grocery tienda and next door to the El Nino steakhouse bldg. Easy to find, just follow
the one-way main street as you come into Mulege. Or...follow your nose...
.
Antonio carries on the tradition.
.
[Edited on 12-7-2013 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Great stuff Roger... thank you!
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Lindalou
Senior Nomad
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Roger, where are the regulars that usually are setting on Sophia's porch? Bruce a large man that lived in a trailer at Custa Real and another guy I
forgot his name. He use to house sit a house behind Jungle Jims and was a regular there till the flood and then moved into a small trailer somewhere.
There were a couple of others also whos names I have forgotten. Rich and I would stop and have a beer or two with them on our way back to Santispac.
Thank you for these wonder pictures. Even thought its only been a couple of years they still bring back wonderful memories of Mulege.
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Cypress
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Pompano, Thanks for the Mulege pictures.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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| Quote: | Originally posted by RichnLinda
Roger, where are the regulars that usually are setting on Sophia's porch? Bruce a large man that lived in a trailer at Custa Real and another guy I
forgot his name. He use to house sit a house behind Jungle Jims and was a regular there till the flood and then moved into a small trailer somewhere.
There were a couple of others also whos names I have forgotten. Rich and I would stop and have a beer or two with them on our way back to Santispac.
Thank you for these wonder pictures. Even thought its only been a couple of years they still bring back wonderful memories of Mulege.
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RichnLinda, glad you liked the photos. I do too, along with the everyday life in the village.
As for the porch crew at Sophia's, I am pretty sure that the fellow you call 'Bruce' is actually Butch. The other mentioned just might be Mike, who
has been trusted to house-sit several places. Sophia's is a great place to stop on our way back from the boat ramp. She is good company, as is her
husband.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Lindalou
Senior Nomad
Posts: 623
Registered: 1-12-2004
Location: Punta Banda Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pompano
| Quote: | Originally posted by RichnLinda
Roger, where are the regulars that usually are setting on Sophia's porch? Bruce a large man that lived in a trailer at Custa Real and another guy I
forgot his name. He use to house sit a house behind Jungle Jims and was a regular there till the flood and then moved into a small trailer somewhere.
There were a couple of others also whos names I have forgotten. Rich and I would stop and have a beer or two with them on our way back to Santispac.
Thank you for these wonder pictures. Even thought its only been a couple of years they still bring back wonderful memories of Mulege.
|
RichnLinda, glad you liked the photos. I do too, along with the everyday life in the village.
As for the porch crew at Sophia's, I am pretty sure that the fellow you call 'Bruce' is actually Butch. The other mentioned just might be Mike, who
has been trusted to house-sit several places. Sophia's is a great place to stop on our way back from the boat ramp. She is good company, as is her
husband. |
Yes, Butch is right, also Mike and the other one I am thinking is John. Sophia and her husband
were fun to visit with. Thanks again
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lindsay
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Registered: 9-9-2003
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Great Job Pompano :-)
Thanks for putting a smile on my face with your Mulege memories of many places and people that are part of this unique area. It's hard for me to
believe that it's now 10 years ago that Donna Moe's was the "Cheers" spot on the plaza corner as you so aptly described.
One of my favorite "Sam stories" was when he offered to give me a ride to Loreto so I could pick up my friend from San Diego who was making her first
visit to Mulege. I think that Sam liked the idea of "chaperoning" two 30-somethings with a ride in his sweet "blanco El Camino" back to Mulege.
Of course, I was very familiar with Sam's hydration regime and the ride back to Mulege was a tour that Sam insisted on for my friend's first visit.
Stop number one, of course, tacos and Pacificos in town before gassing up at the Pemex. Stop number 2, a scenic highway deposito to turn in now
consumed Pacificos and to ice the cooler with additional beverages for the "grueling" part of the trip through the desert before reaching the Bahia.
Stop number 3, Playa Buenaventura so we can meet some of Sam's friends, stretch our legs and rehydrate after the grueling desert passage . Stop number
4, a quick visit to El Burro for a bathroom break and to see some more friends. Finally, 4 hours later...last but of course, not least, a leisurely
visit on the roof at Donna Moe's to meet the usual suspects and enjoy the panoramic view of the town.
As we slid back into our Corona sponsored plastic chairs on the roof, my friend whispers to me, "If we make any more stops today, I think I'll
burst!!". I assure her that we have docked for the day and there are no more ports of call...until after sunset."
For those who don't know the days of Sam and Donna Moes, you might shake your head at his "tour style" but looking back, somehow, I didn't think twice
about hopping in the ole El Camino and hitting the road for Loreto with him. It was a trip he'd made countless times and I'd gone on with him a few
times before. The skies were always clear, the laughs were many as we breezed by the signs "mas vale tarde que nunca"...for Sam, it was more of a
reminder to take the slow road to Mulege and say hi to a few friends on the way!!
So, thanks Pompano...a nice trip back to days gone by....it's been many moons since my last Sam sighting...don't know if you know any news...heard he
was in San Diego at one point but that was long ago too...looking at your photos I can almost hear him calling out to a passing car from the steps of
Donna Moe's :-)
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Baja Bernie
`Normal` Nomad Correspondent
Posts: 2962
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: Sunset Beach
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Pompano
Roger, You don't even know you are in a contest--to bring this site back--but you surely are winning it..............Thank you my friend (my first
post in a long time).
Please continue to listen to your tackle box.
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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