El Triunfo, An Old Haunt Re-Discovered

I just returned from a town that has haunted me since the early 80’s. When I first discovered El Triunfo it was a true Mexican ghost town. Nestled in the Serria Laguna Mountains in southern Baja you’d be hard pressed to run into a living soul back then… just you and the whispering mountain winds bringing voices from the past. The town was old, ancient abandoned 18th century facades of buildings and haciendas prove it. She was an old silver mining town that had seen her day but at one time was wealthy in population and spirit. You could feel the presents of those days when you walked about and in my case, painted about. I cannot recall how many paintings of streets and facades in El Triunfo I’d painted over the years….probably too many.

Things are changing these days. The town is coming back to life. I have mixed feelings as I will miss the quiet sounds of yester-year and the many ghosts that will become more difficult to hear. Living people have renovated my old casas to their former glory, restored the hotel and opened a beautiful boutique cafe etc. I met an American that just opened a unique and charming boutique hotel that shared a wonderful baseball story with me. Apparently an American mining magnet introduced baseball to all of Hispanic America here in El Triunfo back in 1885. There is a vision of building a field of dreams here and bring back baseball clubs (professional and amateur) for camps and clinics. The way things are going it will probably happen. As I mentioned I’ll miss the old girl but glad she has new lovers. (below are some of the painting studies and pics of El Triunfo)