When Did Jesus Become God? 5 Startling Findings in the Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John offer differing views of Christ’s divinity. Some say he became divine at his baptism, others that he has always been one with God. Plus: Did the idea of the Virgin Mary come from a misunderstanding?

Christ on the cross surrounded by a crowd of soldiers, women, angels and the Devil, with a skull in the open earth

Jesus was crucified and came to be viewed as divine after his resurrection. But as time went on, the Gospel writers altered this view, offering different takes on when Jesus became one with God.

Icon of the Crucifixion by Andreas Pavias, second half of the 15th century

What did the earliest Christians believe? The first writings about Jesus reveal that his original followers thought that he became divine upon his resurrection

But that’s not a belief shared in all of the books of the New Testament. In fact, there was hardly a consensus among early followers. “Different Christians in different churches in different regions had different views of Jesus, almost from the get-go,” writes Bart D. Ehrman in the 2014 book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher From Galilee

If Jesus claimed to be equal with God,
wouldn’t the earlier Gospels have mentioned it?

Here are five surprising findings revealed in a study of the Gospels.

Icon of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan

Early Christians believed Jesus became divine upon his resurrection — but in the earliest Gospel, Mark, the timeline had been moved back to his baptism.

Theophany, an icon of the Baptism of the Lord, 20th century

1. The Gospel of Mark doesn’t mention that Mary was a virgin, and declares that Jesus became divine only after being baptized. 

According to Mark, Jesus was fully human up until the point that John the Baptist baptizes him. Once this happens, the Spirit of God descends as a dove and a voice from the heavens declares, “You are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:9-11). 

It is only after this has happened that Jesus begins his own ministry, now one with God, and is able to perform miracles (walk on water, raise the dead), cast out demons and forgive sins.  

Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist while two angels look on

The author of Luke literally changed the words of God because the earlier view that Jesus became divine after being baptized had become a heresy.

The Baptism of Christ by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1490

2. A passage in Luke was changed from its original to downplay the statement that Jesus became the Son of God at his baptism.

We don’t have any original documents of the New Testament. What we do have are copies made centuries later — many of which have been altered and differ from each other. One such passage about Jesus’ baptism in Luke tweaks what God says. “But in several of our old witnesses to the text, the voice says something else,” Ehrman writes. “It quotes Psalm 2:7: ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’” 

Why make this change? Ehrman says that “when scribes were copying the texts of Luke in later centuries, the view that Jesus was made the Son [of God] at the baptism was considered not just inadequate, but heretical.” Jesus was always divine, and any other teaching needed to be suppressed — even if that’s what early Christians believed.

The Virgin Mary gives birth to Baby Jesus while Joseph helps and barn animals look on

What if Mary wasn’t a virgin? The earliest mentions of her don’t say anything of the sort — and the concept only sprung up in Matthew with a bad translation.

The Creation of Man by Natalie Lennard, 2017

3. The Gospel of Matthew mentions the virgin birth — but this is a misinterpretation of an early prophecy.

The book of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah declares, “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Never mind that Jesus isn’t actually called Immanuel; the author must have made the connection because the name translates to “God Is With Us.” Turns out the quote isn’t actually about the coming messiah at all. 

To top it off, Matthew mentions the virgin birth because of a bad translation. The author read a Greek translation of Isaiah many centuries later. The original Hebrew word, alma, means “young woman” but it was translated with the Greek parthenos, which carries the connotation of a young woman who has never had sex. It’s this misinterpretation that leads Ehrman and other biblical scholars to believe that this is the origin of Mary becoming the Virgin. 

Outsider art of Jesus with stars, the cross, lightning and white flowers

As time when on, Jesus’ divinity got earlier and earlier, until the last Gospel, John, states that he had always been one with God.

Jesus Christ by Cathy Dobson, 1994

4. It’s not until John, the latest of the Gospels, that Jesus is declared to have always existed as an equal to God.

The author of John doesn’t hold that Jesus was exalted into a divine state; he is the same as God and was his human incarnation on Earth for a few decades. This is the view of Jesus held today by most Christians — but it’s certainly not what his earliest followers, including the 12 Disciples, believed. As previously mentioned, they thought that Jesus became divine only after his resurrection and later ascension into Heaven. 

Jesus and God in the clouds surrounded by angel heads with a dove and cross between them

The Gospel of John declares that Jesus is the Word of God and was essential to Creation. The text deliberately calls to mind the opening lines of Genesis.

The ceiling fresco of Chiesa di Sant’Orsola in Como, Italy, painted by Giovanni Domenico Caresana, 1616

5. An even higher view of Christ is found in the Gospel of John: that Jesus is the Word of God — and, as such, is responsible for creating the world. 

The Gospel of John is the latest of the four, written in Greek 60 or so years after Jesus died, in a different part of the world — Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey. 

“For John,” Ehrman writes, “Jesus was an equal with God and even shared his name and his glory in his preincarnate state.”

Take John 5:17-18, one of many examples: “This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.”

Much discussion has taken place around the so-called Prologue of John, the first 18 verses of the book. It presents the most elevated view of Jesus’ divinity imaginable: “even before he appeared, he was the Logos of God himself, a being who was God, the one through whom the entire universe was created,” Ehrman explains. 

But if that was the case, and Jesus made such claims about himself, wouldn’t the earlier Gospels have mentioned it? There’s nothing to be found in Matthew, Mark or Luke, however. 

Icon of Jesus surrounded by the symbols of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

The four Gospel writers all have their own take on when Jesus became God.

Christ in mandorla with the Evangelists, from the Reichenau Illumination, early 11th century

Christians today tend not to take such a close look at the Gospels, not noticing the discrepancies and not aware of the historical evidence. It’s shocking to think that the form of Christianity practiced today doesn’t align with some of the views of the Four Gospels. John’s view of Jesus as one with (but somehow distinct from) God the Father has won out. But it seems as if it could easily have gone another way. –Wally

What Did the Earliest Christians Believe?

The original views of Christ differ significantly from current beliefs. No virgin birth, no divine status during his lifetime — instead, Jesus was a mortal like the rest of us, until God decided to resurrect him and he became the Son of God.

The resurrected Jesus, naked except for a white sheet, emerges, floating from his tomb amid piles of bodies

The first Christians didn’t believe that Jesus had been born of a virgin or was already divine. He was a typical human until God resurrected him.

The Resurrection by James Tissot, circa 1890

How can we know what the earliest Christians believed when the first writings about him are from 20 years after his death? 

Scholars turn to what’s called preliterary sources — that is, snippets of text, whether they’re hymns or creeds of faith, that have been inserted into later books of the Bible. You can tell they’re most likely earlier oral traditions that have been added because they not only use terminology found nowhere else in the works, but they also often present different theological views. 

For instance, in Romans 1:3-4, Paul describes Jesus as he “who was descended from the seed of David according to the flesh, who was appointed Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.”

The first part expresses a long-held belief by Jesus’ followers: that he was the promised messiah from the line of King David. This is a surprising inclusion for Paul, the earliest Christian author; nowhere else does he emphasize Jesus’ messiahship. 

The second part of the Bible verse holds a key element of early Christian belief: Jesus became the Son of God at his resurrection. A similar snippet from Acts 13:32-33 posits the same view, even though that’s in stark contrast to what the author later writes (and is currently part of the Christian faith) — namely that Jesus was divine from the moment of his conception.

There is no talk about Jesus being born of a virgin and certainly no talk of him being divine during his lifetime.
— Bart D. Ehrman, “How Jesus Became God”
Jesus, in a white robe, ascends up to Heaven amid a glowing light, cherubs and astonished viewers

Jesus was said to have been resurrected and, some time after, ascended into Heaven to be with God.

The Ascension by Benjamin West, 1801

What’s most striking is that “there is no talk about Jesus being born of a virgin and certainly no talk of him being divine during his lifetime,” writes Bart D. Ehrman in How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher From Galilee, published in 2014. “He is a human figure, possibly a messiah. But then at a critical point of his existence, he is elevated from his previous lowly existence down here with us, the other mere mortals, to sit at God’s right hand in a position of honor, power and authority.”

Ehrman emphasizes the importance of this act: “the man Jesus is showered with divine favors beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, honored by God to an unbelievable extent, elevated to a divine status on a level with God himself, sitting at his right hand.”

This belief helped give a positive spin to a man whose followers must have been disheartened that their messiah didn’t destroy their oppressors but was instead tortured and executed by them. It certainly wasn’t what any of them was expecting of their hero. 

But Jesus’ “resurrection confirmed for them that even though he had not conquered his political enemies — the way the messiah was supposed to — God had showered his special favor on him by raising him from the dead,” Ehrman writes. 

The resurrected Jesus emerges from a tomb with angels and surprised guards

Early Christians thought that Jesus was indeed their messiah despite having been crucified. God resurrected him and made him his adopted son and heir — with all the power and glory that involved.

The Resurrection of Christ by Rafael, 1502

Adopted Sons

To the people of the time, there wasn’t any stigma attached to being an adopted son — in fact, quite the opposite. In Ancient Rome, the adopted son was the chosen heir. “He was made great because he had demonstrated the potential for greatness, not because of the accident of his birth,” Ehrman explains. 

Take Julius Caesar. He had a son, Caesarion, with Cleopatra — but not too many people have heard of him. Instead, it’s his nephew and adopted son, Octavian, who has a major place in history: He went on to become Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire.

So when the earliest Christians talked about Jesus being God’s adopted son, they were saying this: “He received all of God’s power and privileges. He could defy death. He could forgive sins. He could be the future judge of the earth. He could rule with divine authority,” Ehrman writes. “He was for all intents and purposes God.” –Wally

Fábrica la Aurora: Textile Factory Turned Art and Design Center

A popular stop in San Miguel de Allende, the Fábrica la Aurora spins a new yarn as a complex filled with antique shops, galleries, artist studios and restaurants. 

La Fábrica la Aurora, an old textile factory, is a winding complex filled with art of all sorts.

San Miguel de Allende is a town with art in its DNA. There are galleries galore and shops full of colorful folk art. But we knew that one of the places we had to add to our itinerary was the Fábrica la Aurora. It just sounded so interesting: It’s a former textile mill that has been converted into a vibrant arts center. A remnant of Mexico’s industrial era, the factory was built at the turn of the 20th century and featured the best technology of the time. The complex operated for nearly 90 years producing percale (a fabric often used for bedsheets), muslin and flannel, before closing for good in 1991 — that is, until it was reimagined as an arts center in 2004.

White wall covered with all sorts of wooden masks from Mexico, including bearded fishman, jaguars and devils

We took one look at the mask wall at the front of Casa Michoacana and knew we had to go in.

Walk This Way: Shopping Stops on the Way to Fábrica la Aurora 

Whenever we can, we walk on foot in the cities we stay, and I’m especially glad we did so in SMA — otherwise we might have missed Casa Michoacana, an incredible shop filled with folk art that we passed on the way to the Fábrica. Many of the items here are made by artists from the state of Michoacán but also include a few from other regions of the country, too. You will find a collection of ceramic piñas of all sizes, multi-tiered candelabras, innumerable masks, wood carvings and more. The staff was patient and informative, and it was here that we found a variety of changos, black clay vessels used for storing mezcal in the shape of a monkey, and purchased one.

The owners also run the sister shop with the same name, a bit farther down, on the opposite side of the street. Look for the sign with two hands and an archway decorated with handpainted flowers.

The renovation retains the building’s industrial character, with open spaces, concrete floors, high ceilings, steel casement windows, exposed pipes and more than a few industrial artifacts, including massive mechanical looms.
Alebrije of a lounging lemur-like creature with black body with yellow accents and white and blue stomach

We wanted to get this alebrije — but there’s only so much space in our home.

Row of changos mezcaleros, black clay vessels shaped like monkeys and painted in bright clothing

We did, though, find room to bring back a chango mezcalero!

As we walked along Calzada de la Aurora and crossed a puente (bridge), we paused to admire a carved Colonial-era Cantera stone cross. The crucifix features an INRI plaque at the top and so-called Arma Christi (Weapons of Christ), including glyphs of Christ’s face, a nail and a ladder — items linked with Christ’s crucifixion. 

Cantera stone cross on bridge in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

If you walk to La Aurora, you’ll cross a bridge with this cross. It depicts the Arma Christi, the collection of artifacts related to the Passion of Christ.

Angular metal statue of people in a cluster by the sign for Fabrica La Aurora

Here’s your sign (literally) that you’ve arrived at La Fábrica la Aurora.

Art Park in front of La Fábrica la Aurora

Just a few minutes later, we passed an oxidized Cubist sculpture of four converging figures and a sign marking the entrance to Fábrica la Aurora. The park-like grounds contain additional sculptures, including Oso Grizzly by Francisco Esnayra, a striking work of art composed of a series of metal bands in the shape of a bear. It majestically stands in place on a patch of mulch amongst the trees, while the sculpture Looking for Balance by Rodrigo de la Sierra features a trio of his childlike Timoteo characters precariously balancing on an unsupported ladder. 

Oso Grizzly by Francisco Esnayra, a large sculpture of a bear made of metal bands in front of la Fabrica la Aurora

Oso Grizzly by Francisco Esnayra

Sculpture of cartoonish children hanging off a ladder called  Looking for Balance by Rodrigo de la Sierra in front of La Fabrica la Aurora in San Miguel de Allende

Looking for Balance by Rodrigo de la Sierra

Men pass by the front of the Fabrica La Aurora arts center

La Aurora’s historic façade includes its central archway with metal lettering and wrought iron gate.

The Dawn of a New Fold as an Art Makers Outpost

Most of the original structure of La Fábrica remains intact. Its brick façade is punctuated by Cantera stone arches, made from quarried volcanic rock. Its central entrance has a wrought iron gate and metal lettering spelling out “La Aurora” above. The arts and design center was founded by a quintet of creative forces: Francisco Garay, Christopher Fallon, Mary Rapp, Merry Calderoni and DeWayne Youts. In addition to showcasing local and expat artists’ works, there are also places to eat. A burger joint named El Grandpa & Son occupies one side of the front and can be seen through the aforementioned arches. There’s also a café called Geek & Coffee tucked away somewhere. We didn’t happen to stumble upon it during our visit — the complex is quite large and meandering. 

Checkered courtyard and fountain at old textile factory Fabrica la Aurora, which is now an arts center

The front courtyard before you enter the sizable complex filled with galleries and studios.

The renovation retains the building’s industrial character, with open spaces, concrete floors, high ceilings, steel casement windows, exposed pipes and more than a few industrial artifacts, including massive mechanical looms that were used for the production of cloth from cotton. 

An industrial Zinser loom in a gallery at La Fábrica la Aurora

An industrial Zinser loom tucked among one of the galleries at La Fábrica la Aurora

Wandering the Maze of Fábrica la Aurora

The first shop we stopped into was Cantadora Antigüedades, which specializes in arte popular and ephemera from the 16th to 19th centuries. A figure depicting Jesus riding a donkey, possibly used during Easter week processions, stands outside the store entrance. 

Antique store with wooden niche holding figure of baby Jesus by iron door knockers and religious icons
Antique store with Jesus on the cross in orange loincloth leaning on stacks of framed art
Painted head of Jesus by wood wall at antique store in Mexico

By this time, Wally and I were both craving a snack, and the relaxed and casual open-air Café de la Aurora was the perfect spot. I tried a mango smoothie that incorporated a large dose of ruby red chamoy sauce, which was refreshing. If I had to describe the flavor, I would say that it was simultaneously sweet, spicy and tangy — the chile on the glass rim was a nice touch. What’s chamoy, you ask? The popular condiment is a combination of dried chiles, mangoes, apricots or plums and lime juice that’s added to flavor hard candy as well as drizzled on fruit. 

Pots of succulents and flowers by brick wall, iron window framework and wood door at La Fabrica la Aurora

Just beyond the café, were the cutest vistas of potted plants arranged along the old factory wall.

Green plants cover a wall with wooden boards showing loteria cards and a bench with pots painted with cacti and other plants

Lotería imagery decorates this wall at La Fábrica la Aurora.

Stone and brick walls of old factory with large collection of potted plants and faded blue bench

Can you see why Wally was obsessed with these vignettes?

One shop in the Fábrica, La Buhardilla, purchased a trove of items in 2004, including letters, sketches, paintings and clothing from an eccentric lawyer in Mexico City that were alleged to have once belonged to the surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo

These artifacts are well-documented in the fascinating book Finding Frida Kahlo. The personal effects were said to have been originally acquired from Abraham Jiménez Lopez, a woodcarver who received them in lieu of payment for frames he had made for Kahlo. While many experts question their authenticity and say that the objects are fake, I’d like to believe that at least some of them are real. 

Black and white cat on concrete floor in art gallery at La Fabrica la Aurora

This kitty seemed to share our taste in art.

Industrial old factory with modern white art galleries at La Fabrica la Aurora in San Miguel de Allende

A modern-feeling wing of art galleries toward the back of La Fábrica

After resting and refueling, we ventured into another annex, where we saw a small black and white cat slinking through one of the galleries. We wandered into Manuk Galeria, which was founded by Mexican artist Lourdes Rivera. I suspect we were drawn to this gallery in particular because of its well-curated assortment of contemporary and folk art-inspired pieces.

Painting of people around a table at Manuk Gallery in San Miguel de Allende

Artwork on display at Manuk Galeria at the back portion of La Fábrica

While there, the compelling work titled Neblina (Fog), by self-taught artist Erik García Gómez, caught my eye. The painting features a stylized animal (pig? dog?) and spotted albino snakes. According to the artist’s bio, his main source of inspiration comes from the town he grew up in, San Cristóbal de las Casas, and memories of his grandmother, who was a village healer. 

Neblina by Erik García Gómez, a painting with a red, white and orange pig-dog creature and white snakes with black dots

Neblina by Erik García Gómez

A row of unpainted clay heads on stands from a sculpture workshop led by Juan Luis Potosí

A menagerie of heads from a sculpture workshop led by Juan Luis Potosí

Small sculpture of toylike giraffe in a blue boat

The whimsical Travesías sin Rumba by Ernesto de la Peña Folch sits atop a pedestal outside CSEIS gallery. 

Italian for “the Spice,” Le Spezie lives up to its name — the spice of life, that is. This design shop features a mix of handicrafts from Mexico and other regions of the world. Colorful metal roosters, distressed painted furniture, sofas and accent cushions upholstered in colorful fabrics are all for sale here. Also of note is a range of industrial and hammered copper lighting fixtures. I especially liked the painted wood Kamadhenu, the wish-fulfilling Hindu cow goddess, sitting atop one of the cabinets. 

Wooden carving with faded paint of Hindu goddess Kamadhenu, with the torso and head of a woman, wings and body of a cow

What’s not to love? The Kamadhenu is part woman, part cow, with the wings of an eagle and the tail of a peacock.

The last space Wally and I walked through was Rise, a store featuring the works of Argentine graphic designer Lucas Rise and a clothing line created by his wife and business partner, Giuliana Vastarella. Rendered in jewel-tone hues, his works have been digitally printed onto textiles, with a few resembling kaleidoscopic Rorschach tests. Rise works in a nontraditional manner by using cabinets as his canvas, combining geometric forms, each meticulously painted by hand. 

Rise gallery in Fabrica la Aurora with large piece of machine from the old textile factory, paintings, a pink dress and a wooden sculpture with primary colors in geometric designs

A steampunk-looking apparatus with oversized gears, a remnant of the textile factory, shares a space with Rise. 

Over the years, La Fábrica has expanded its galleries and studios as places where both national and international artists can create and sell their work. It’s a short distance from the historic center of San Miguel de Allende, and if you’re like the two of us, you can easily spend a fun afternoon going from one gallery to the next. –Duke

Metal statue of rearing horse with its tongue out in parking lot of La Fabrica la Aurora in SMA, Mexico

A statue of a rearing horse stands in the parking lot of the arts center.

Fábrica la Aurora

Calzada de la Aurora s/n
San Miguel de Allende
Guanajuato
Mexico 

 

Magical Mystery Tour of the Chapel of Jimmy Ray

A glimpse into the glittering and colorful legacy of the self-taught expat artist Anado McLauchlin at his house outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. 

Pink house with cattle skulls and plants at Chapel of Jimmy Ray

There’s no denying that a visit to the Chapel of Jimmy Ray will be a unique experience.

When planning a trip, Wally and I seek out quirky sites that are in close proximity to where we’re visiting. That’s how I first came across the Chapel of Jimmy Ray on Atlas Obscura — followed by an intensive image search on Instagram. I shared the fantastical artwork with Wally but was getting worried our itinerary was filling up. He said we’d make the time. 

And, really, how could we pass up such a weird and wonderful attraction during our stay in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico?!

Don’t go expecting to see a chapel, FYI. It’s actually a 2.5-acre complex literally filled with the unusual art of the late Anado McLauchlin. 

Two men sitting by crazy mosaic-covered fireplace

The Casa de las Ranas might be too crazy for other people, but Wally and Duke would be more than happy to call it their home.

Since it isn’t exactly easy to find, we hired a driver to take us there. The mosaic wonderland is located at the end of an unpaved dead-end road in La Cieneguita, a small town about 30 minutes from San Miguel de Allende. Our hotel arranged the ride, but when the driver doubled the price on us, we sent him packing — a move we’d later come to regret. 

Upon our arrival, Wally and I were welcomed by trusted artistic assistant Carlos Ramírez Galvan. We met up with another couple and were greeted by a tall bespeckled man with an impressive long white beard, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat. This was Anado’s husband, Richard Schultz, and not unlike a mystical shaman, he was adorned with baubles and charms. Wally thought he looked like the poet Walt Whitman.

Colorful mural and man with white beard, hat and green pants

Richard leads the tour, which starts at the memorial for his late hubby.

Life’s Rich Tapestry: Anado’s Memorial

We were about 10 minutes late and the tour had already started, so be sure to get there a bit early. 

It started off at Anado’s memorial, which includes a 50-year-old olive tree that he and Richard purchased and planted when Anado was diagnosed with colon cancer. The design and theme was originally proposed for the chapel at the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Garden. However, the garden didn’t have enough money to fund it, Richard told us. 

So, Anado decided to use it as his memorial. The assemblage depicts two Trees of Life and portraits of Anado and Richard in profile. Between them is a blue glass heart and above them are a pair of colibríes (hummingbirds), which are considered sacred to many Mesoamerican cultures. 

Mural of two old men in love

A lovely mosaic of the lovebirds

Many of the small pieces of tile used in the construction of the mural come from Dolores Hidalgo. The nearby village is known for the production of brightly colored tin-enameled Talavera tiles — and for Father Miguel Hidalgo, who, on September 16, 1810, rang the church bells from his parish and set the Mexican Independence movement in motion. 

Additional tiles were sourced from Cuernavaca, Morelos. These arrive in ¾-inch squares and need to be cut by hand using a tile nipper, which allows the artists to break off small pieces of the material in a controlled fashion.

To the right of the memorial is a likeness of the Aztec god Xochipilli, (pronounced So-chee-pee-lee). Xochipilli was a benevolent god, a gender-fluid combination of both male and female traits. His name contains the Nahuatl words meaning Flower Prince. He was the god of art — as well as male sex workers. 

Richard pointed out how other indigenous societies like the Lakota Sioux have third-sex individuals who identify as two-spirit and hold sacred roles as teachers, healers and keepers of traditional knowledge among their tribes. Even the Zapotec muxes (mu-shay), who are born male at birth but assume matriarchal roles and female dress, are celebrated in parts of Mexico. 

“Usually, they get stomped out any time religion’s involved, whether it’s Evangelical, Catholic or Muslim,” Richard said. “Being two-spirit doesn’t mean they’re gay, or trans — they’re simply two spirits in one person.”

Mosaic arch with painted cattle skull and blue bottles at Chapel of Jimmy Ray

Anado referred to this as the Arch to Nowhere because at the time there was nothing built beyond it. Now it leads to the gallery (and outhouse).

Anado’s fascination with world religions, especially those honoring the pre-Columbian pantheon, can be found throughout the grounds. There’s a small colorful shrine embellished with pieces of mirror and tile that pays homage to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the venerated patroness of Mexico.

Artwork of Anado McLauchlin and his husband Richard against orange wall

Anado and Richard met the old-fashioned way: in an AOL chat room.

Picking Up the Pieces: Anado’s Fractured Life

Central to the complex is the namesake Jimmy Ray, a mosaic rendering Anado created in honor of his father, with whom he had a troubled relationship. Anado’s given name at birth was James Rayburn McLaughlin III, and his father was James Rayburn McLaughlin Jr. Anado’s father was a doctor and a scoundrel who always had a mistress. He had two sons outside his marriage and died in a plane crash returning from the Caribbean with one of his mistresses. 

“Anado’s mother learned of her husband’s death while watching the local news on TV,” Richard told us. “In life, there was always anger towards his father because the whole family knew what was going on.”

Mural of man at Gallery of Jimmy Ray

This mosaic is of Anado’s philandering father, the Jimmy Ray the chapel is named for.

One of the reasons Anado named his compound the Chapel of Jimmy Ray (his father’s nickname), was partly as a healing process, to recognize and forgive his dad for being a flawed human being, and to stop internalizing everything his father had done.

Anado was born in Oklahoma City on May 24, 1947. At the age of 20, he was drafted into the Navy during the Vietnam War. As fate would have it, he was stationed in San Francisco. A self-proclaimed product of the Summer of Love, he visited the bohemian Haight-Ashbury neighborhood every chance he could to participate in the crosscurrents of creative expression and social tolerance among the hippies. 

Once Anado got out of the Navy, he returned to Oklahoma City and opened the only head shop in town and was arrested for selling Zap Comix, which local authorities considered to be part of the counterculture movement.

Shortly thereafter, Anado enrolled at the School of Visual Arts in Norman, Oklahoma, where he intended to pursue a career in art. However, he was frustrated by his professors, who told him that his works were “too decorative.”

Catrina artwork with bottle hair at the Chapel of Jimmy Ray Gallery

Screw you, School of Visual Arts in Oklahoma! We think Anado’s work, like this take on a Catrina, is pretty rad.

He left Oklahoma and moved to New York City, where he lived for about 10 years and became a performance artist. Anado made most of his money driving a taxi and was part of the Chelsea Hotel crowd, performing with the likes of Patti Smith and Lou Reed. 

Pink wall with bottles and painting of two old men with white hair and beards and polka dot clothing

Before meeting Richard, Anado was part of the Rajneeshpuram, the sex-forward cult featured in the documentary Wild, Wild Country.

By the late ’70s, friends were committing suicide and overdosing on drugs. So Anado made the decision to travel to India and join the ashram led by the sex guru Osho Rajneesh. He was rechristened Anand Anado, which means “Blissful Silence” in Sanskrit. Rajneesh relocated to the U.S., founding a controversial community in Oregon, and Anado followed him there.

If you’ve heard about Rajneesh, it’s probably because of the 2018 Netflix documentary Wild, Wild Country. When we asked about this, Richard said Anado wouldn’t watch it because he didn’t share the views of the people who were interviewed from the commune (or, as many would call it, cult). “He felt that they didn’t represent what the everyday person was doing there and that they were part of the problem,” Richard explained.

Anado left the commune and relocated to California. In 1998, he met Richard in an AOL chat room. Richard was a former art history teacher residing in Noe Valley, a neighborhood in San Francisco, and Anado was living in Lagunitas. Suffice to say, sparks flew and Richard eventually became Anado’s husband and muse.

Funny artwork of two men swirling in red background with gray dots

Richard and Anado moved to Mexico and built their colorful home together. Sadly, Anado died of colon cancer in 2021.

A couple of years later, Anado and Richard visited San Miguel for a few days. They returned in 2001 to look for a place to retire and saw a listing in the local newspaper. The property was in poor condition and had been on the market for a while. The price was right: “You have to pay cash when you buy property in Mexico,” Richard explained, “and it was within our budget.”

Anado died of colon cancer in 2021.

Red gallery covered with mosaics and bottles at the Chapel of Jimmy Ray

The Gallery at the Chapel of Jimmy Ray is itself a work of art.

Memory Box: the Chapel of Jimmy Ray Gallery

Our group followed Richard down a curved staircase flanked with mosaic-covered snakes.

The metaphorical focal point of the property is the Chapel of Jimmy Ray Gallery, a space that showcases an eclectic mix of Anado’s work as well as rotating exhibitions by guest artists who are friends of Anado and Richard. Its exterior features a subversive fountain with an anatomically correct luchador who perpetually “pees” into its basin. 

Luchador fountain with mosaics at the Gallery of Jimmy Ray in Mexico

This fountain outside the gallery is fed by water coming out of the luchador’s bright red penis.

Standing outside of the gallery is quite possibly the most beautiful outhouse ever built. It’s a rounded and thoroughly embellished structure with glass bottles embedded into its terracotta-hued mortar walls, multicolored snake door handles, shiny glass spheres and an Indian chief finial. Anado cheekily referred to it as the Caca Mahal (a play of the Taj Mahal with the Spanish word for poop). It’s a waterless toilet that uses evaporation and decomposition to compost human waste. 

Crazy outhouse with mosaics at the Chapel of Jimmy Ray

What a throne room! This could very well be the coolest outhouse ever.

We caught the tail end of a show that featured the works of three female artists: Meryl Truett, Ann Chamberlin and Leigh Hyams. We ended up purchasing a piece by Chamberlin of a group of dazed-looking men hiding out in trees called Men in the Fresh Air. Her expressive works are inspired by traditional hand-painted devotional images known as retablos. 

We Are Angry 2022 by Ann Chamberlin, a painting of women in yellow dresses with knives

We especially loved the work of Ann Chamberlin, including We Are Angry 2022, featuring multiple women with blunt bob haircuts, wearing sleeveless canary yellow dresses — and all wielding machetes!

Red walls, small round mirrors, hanging skulls and a photo of Anado McLauchlin

A cool side room has a shrine of sorts to Anado

Giant mosaic skull with clocks for eyes and blue bottle hair at the Gallery of the Chapel of Jimmy Ray

One of Anado’s works is a monumental skull covered in mosaic tiles and cobalt blue bottles titled Time Is Not the Enemy — note the clocks placed in the eye sockets.

On either side of the gallery space are a pair of Día de los Muertos sculptures, a giant bejeweled calaca (skull) and a take on a Catrina. 

Tile-covered gallery with quirky artwork at the Chapel of Jimmy Ray

A secondary outbuilding, named Casa Kali, showcases some of Anado’s early works, as well as those of his assistant, Carlos.

Destiny Calling: Casa Kali and Coltrane

The first outbuilding Anado and Richard added to the grounds was dubbed Casa Kali and was built as an office. It now holds many of Anado’s early sculptural creations as well as those of his assistant Carlos. 

Creepy artwork of skeleton in kerchief and cowrie shells holding scythe

A gnarled creation by Carlos was one of our favorites and was adorned with a multicolored headscarf and cowrie shell necklaces and held a menacingly large scythe.

Giant head made of branches at Chapel of Jimmy Ray

This giant, grumpy-looking wood sculpture was made by Carlos’ kids. They named him Coltrane.

As we wandered toward the main house, we passed a monumental effigy head nicknamed Coltrane. It was made from twigs and branches by Carlos’ kids one summer. Wally asked if he was constantly being added to, and without missing a beat, Richard replied, “Or being put back together.”  

Wall featuring mosaics of a giant skull and skeletal cats

One section honors the couple’s kitties who have gone on the Great Litterbox in the Sky. Another mosaic honors their dead doggies.

Good Fortune: Tarot and Other Murals of Kismet Street

An outer wall is covered by an elaborate large-scale mosaic installation called Kismet Street. The name came from a vivid dream Anado had while living in the East Village in the ’70s and features a series of vignettes that took years to complete. 

The politically charged Big Hands features two outward-facing palms. The left hand with blue eye and brick wall represents the United States, while the right-facing green hand with brown eye represents Mexico. The inspiration for the piece was a quote attributed to the Mexican President Porfifro Díaz: “So far from God, so close to the U.S.”

Wall with mosaic mural of burgundy hand with an eye and skulls for fingernails

One half of Big Hands, with skulls and a nod to a brick wall to symbolize the United States.

We stopped to smile over yet another unusual aspect of the wall. “We were given a Tyrannosaurus Rex head,” Richard said. “Anado combined it with a platter and turned it into Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent.” 

Aqua T.rex head by colorful swirling mosaic wall

Only Anado could take a T. rex head and platter and turn it into the snake god Quetzalcoatl.

A recurring theme that can be seen throughout the estate in Anado’s art is snakes. Richard explained that snakes are sacred animals to many indigenous cultures around the world, from Asia and the Americas. They’re close to the earth and are often associated with wisdom, healing and knowledge. The Judeo-Christian tradition, of course, had to demonize them (think of the serpent in the Garden of Eden).

Mosaic of blue Xoloitzcuintli dog at the Casa de las Ranas, Mexico

Xoloitzcuintli dogs are said to shepherd the souls of the dead, which could explain why Anado chose one for the mural honoring his deceased friend David Wojnarowicz.

Another mural on Kismet Street is of a hairless Xoloitzcuintli dog, and was made by Anado in memory of his former roommate, David Wojnarowicz. David was an activist and mixed-media artist in New York, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1992. Early in his career, he was part of the street art culture and created Mayan dog graffiti around the East Village where he lived. In Mesoamerican religious lore, the Xoloitzcuintli leads the soul through the underworld to its final resting spot.

Other murals were inspired by tarot cards, which Anado read. The Emperor and the Empress have no clothes and were made, in part, from cut beer and wine bottles. The Emperor has a beer bottle penis, which has broken off more than a few times by the couple’s dogs’ excitedly wagging tails. 

Mosaic of green sideways naked woman on a wall

A section of the wall features mosaics inspired by the tarot. This one is the Empress, a card depicting maternal influence.

The Lovers features a trio of entangled snakes, which represent the invisible holy energy yogis believe resides at the base of our spines. In tarot, the card depicts the choices we make in life and love, and the consequences of such choices. 

Tile mosaic of snakes

Snakes are a recurring theme in Anado’s mosaics, including this one, inspired by the Lovers card in the tarot deck.

The Hanged Man depicts a young Anado hanging around in New York City in the ’70s. 

“Respectame,” says Anado’s mother in the last mosaic on Kismet Street — a healing work of art that was his favorite of the bunch.

The Fool honors Anado’s beloved mother. She’s looking down at her husband and saying, “Respectame” (Respect me). It was Anado’s favorite piece, Richard told us. He liked the idea of his mom standing up, as she never did during her life. In tarot, this card starts the deck and represents the beginning of a journey.

Two pet memorial walls (one for cats and the other for dogs) are dedicated to Anado and Richard’s beloved companions over the years. They were designed by Anado and completed over a period of two years by Mosaics in Mexico, a mosaic mural-making workshop led by artists Julie Richey and Ana Foncerrada. 

Colorful purple, yellow, blue, red and green home with tree in front

The second part of the tour offers a glimpse inside Anado and Richard’s home.

Casa de las Ranas: Anado and Richard’s Fairy Tale Home

Our tour ended at Casa de las Ranas (Frog House). While renovating their home, which was in a ruined state when he and Richard purchased it, Anado referred to it as a tadpole that they transformed into a handsome prince, earning the residence its name. I found it especially fitting, as the well-known Mexican muralist Diego Rivera aka el Sapo-Rana (Toad-Frog) was born in the nearby capital city of Guanajuato. 

Crazy, colorful dining room with green mosaic ceiling with part of a statue, red walls covered with artwork and a yellow table

The dining room at la Casa de las Ranas

Man in green pants and striped shirt stands in very colorful maximalist room with pillows, table and settees

The house itself isn’t that big — but there sure is a lot going on inside!

Asian woman sitting on sofa with lots of pillows by fireplace covered with mosaics and a statue of a dog

The Rosewood gang couldn’t resist getting a photo taken in the kooky casa.

Kitchen counter and walls covered with tiles and knickknacks.

The kitchen at Richard and Anado’s home

Like the rest of the compound, the mosaic images covering the walls were created from pieces of mirror, tile, ceramics, and salvaged and recycled materials. Everywhere we looked there was something fantastic to be discovered. 

Container holding many containers of paint in artist's workshop
Artist's workshop with necklaces, giant mask and plastic containers

The workshop offers a glimpse into the method of Anado’s madness.

Necklaces hang in window by table covered with dolls and knickknacks

Anado had plenty of materials to work with — everywhere you look there are quirky items.

Table with various items, including Mexican puppet, Jamaican cookie jar, papier-mache Virgin Mary and a naked Trump with micropenis

Various artistic inspirations, including Trump’s micropenis

Statues of Jesus, a woman with lilies and the devil with a dragon by historic military photo in Mexico

Religious iconography in Anado’s garage workshop

The tour ends in the garage workshop, filled with containers of paint, folk art, necklaces, and odds and ends. Wally bought a bracelet of mismatched beads to remember our time here. 

The Chapel of Jimmy Ray is a journey to an artsy, whimsical world. You’ll feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland.

Final Tips for Visiting the Chapel of Jimmy Ray

1. Make an appointment — through your hotel.

Because the Chapel of Jimmy Ray is Richard’s home and a museum of sorts showcasing Anado’s work, visits are by appointment only. We had emailed Richard weeks before to make a reservation but never heard back. Luckily, the concierge at our hotel in San Miguel was able to connect with him and secure us a spot.

Maybe the trick is to get Richard on the phone. Try giving him a call at +52-415-155-8044.

2. Arrange transportation so you don’t get stranded.

As mentioned, we were upset with being overcharged for our ride out there, and made the mistake of dismissing our driver after he dropped us off. As a result, we found ourselves stranded after the tour. When we tried to connect with a taxi service or Uber, the wifi and cell service was too spotty. Fortunately, the kind-hearted Richard took pity on us and asked Carlos to take us to our destination, the natural hot springs of La Gruta. 

The best option might be to have a driver stay there, so you’re ready to head back after the tour.

3. Be sure to get there on time, if not early.

Our driver showed up late, and by the time we got into the Chapel of Jimmy Ray complex, it was 10 minutes past the appointed time, and Richard had started the tour. As such, we missed some of the background about Anado and the property.

4. After the tour, visit La Gruta Spa and the Sanctuary of Atotonilco.

While you’re in the area, stop by La Gruta, where you can soak in hot springs grottos with locals. And then head down the street to the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its amazing murals from the 1700s. –Duke

Purple house with Virgin Mary made of cork and fiery painting and sunflowers in front

Chapel of Jimmy Ray and la Casa de las Ranas

Temazcal 3
37893 La Cieneguita
Guanajuato
Mexico

 

Monkey Business: What’s a Chango Mezcalero?

These cheeky monkeys are used to market and store mezcal. We investigate their origins and where to buy changos mezcaleros. 

Brightly painted changos mezcaleros, ceramic monkey-shaped containers for mezcal

What’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys?! A chango filled with mezcal!

Monkeys. They’re cute but erratic — just how I imagine myself when I’ve had too much to drink. So it’s no surprise that these primates have come to symbolize drunkenness in Mexico. You could say that monkeys are the spirit animal of mezcal.

Vintage red and white painted chango mezcalero with "Recuerdo de Oaxaca Hector" on the back

Some changos were given as souvenir gifts, as you can see from the hand-painted one above.

What is a chango mezcalero?

These monkey-shaped clay receptacles are really just a clever marketing scheme used to sell mezcal. They hold a liter or so of the potent potable Oaxaca is known for. Most changos are brightly painted and depict monkeys in goofy positions — covering an eye, clutching bananas, holding a snake, playing the guitar. Some were marked, “Recuerdo de Oaxaca (Souvenir of Oaxaca)” or had the name of a couple to be given as a wedding present. 


Very young boy and horse at mezcal distillery in Oaxaca, Mexico

Black and white photo of Valente Nieto, Rosa Real and Juventino Nieto by their pottery in 1950

Juventino Nieto (far right) with Rosa Real and their son Valente stand among their pottery creations. Don Juventino might have been the one to create the first chango mezcalero.

Who created the first chango mezcalero?

It’s surprisingly difficult to find out much about these whimsical folk art containers, and there’s a controversy about who invented them. One family from a village outside of Oaxaca insists it was their forebear, Marcelo Simón Galán, who came up with the idea, while another family says it was their ancestor, Juventino Nieto, who did so. Both men are dead, so they can’t even duke it out among themselves. 

(Incidentally, Nieto was married to the late Rosa Real, who’s credited with devising the black pottery technique that Oaxaca is now famous for.)

There are claims that other artisans from other parts of Mexico came up with changos as well. I’ll be a monkey’s uncle — we may never know who actually invented these primate pitchers. 

Mold used to make chango mezcaleros

These ceramic containers are created using a mold like this one.

When were changos first made?

Some say changos mezcaleros date back to the mid-1800s. But a mold used to create changos by Nieto in the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec has the date 1938 written on it. 

Changos mezcaleros, painted ceramic containers shaped like monkeys to hold mezcal

These fun monkey-shaped containers were used to market mezcal. With the liquor’s newfound popularity, perhaps changos will make a comeback!

Are changos mezcaleros still made?

Yes. There are at least three workshops in the pueblo of Santiago Matatlán that have produced changos mezcaleros for decades. Makes sense: Matatlán is home to the highest number of family-run mezcal distilleries, or palenques. 

Where can you buy changos?

There’s always the internet, of course, with sites like eBay offering vintage changos mezcaleros. But despite there being a good chance the mezcal containers originated in Oaxaca, we couldn’t find any there. It wasn’t until we visited San Miguel de Allende that we came across a couple stores that sold them: Origenes Antigüedades Populares across from the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez “El Nigromante” and Casa Michoacana, a folk art emporium on Calzada de la Aurora. 


Duke and I were so excited to see changos for sale, we of course had to bring one home with us. We got this cheeky monkey for just under 2,000 pesos, or about $100. Not sure if we’ll ever fill him with mezcal, though. –Wally

The Turbulent History of Daufuskie Island

Once home to many Gullah families, this South Carolina Sea Island has a rich history, including the Yamasee War in Bloody Point and the once-thriving Daufuski Oysters business.

Black parishioners standing in front of the Union Baptist Church on Daufuskie Island

A wedding at the Union Baptist Church. Daufuskie Island was once home to hundreds of Gullah — but only 12 or so remain today.

Part of Daufuskie’s charm lies in its unspoiled landscape. Gnarled limbs of old growth live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Outlying marshes of Spartina grass rustling in the wind. Many of its roads are still unpaved, which is one of the reasons we were unable to visit last year due to heavy rainfall. 

The South Carolina Sea Island, situated between Hilton Head Island and Savannah, Georgia, has many dilapidated historic properties — but there are also a couple of newer gated communities, including the upscale Haig Point and Bloody Point, which are strictly off limits to non-residents. The island was once mostly populated by Gullah, African American descendants of slaves living in South Carolina (and called Geechee in Georgia). Nowadays, less than a third of the homes on Daufuskie are owned by the original Gullah families — and only 12 or so Gullah actually still live there. 

The Yamasee War was a massacre, as native weaponry was no match for European firepower — which is how the neighborhood Bloody Point got its name. 
Chief Tamochichi, with his nephew, of the Yamacraw Native American tribe

Chief Tamochichi, with his nephew, of the Yamacraw, a native tribe composed of Creek and Yamasee. (Incidentally, when Pat Conroy wrote about Daufuskie in this memoir, The Water Is Wide, he changed the island’s name to Yamacraw (but he wasn’t fooling anybody.)

The First Inhabitants: A Deal With Spain

In the 1500s, the Muscogee (aka Creek) native tribe encountered the invading Spaniards, who claimed the Atlantic coast spanning from St. Augustine, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. However, when they stopped on Daufuskie, they decided that this wasn’t an ideal place to start a new colony. They left a few Iberian horses known as the Carolina Marsh Tacky and made a deal with the Muscogees. If the natives were to fend off any other Europeans looking to colonize the area, the Spaniards would back them up with military support and pay them in gold. 

Historic illustration of the Yamasee War against the British

Despite the Spanish promising they’d help the Native Americans fend off other European invaders, they abandoned them to the British.

The Yamasee War: How Bloody Point Got Its Name

Time passed, and the next two centuries had little effect on the natives, until the English established a colony on Daufuskie. Suffice to say, the Spanish didn’t keep their word in offering support and were nowhere to be found. 

Inevitably, conflict arose, in part because the British settlers believed it was their sovereign right to claim the land. And while the indigenous Muscogee and Yemassee traded food, animal hides and local knowledge for knives, copper kettles and beads, the exchange rate wasn’t deemed fair. 

Yamasee Native Americans use tomahawks and bows to fight the British with guns during the Yamasee War

Tomahawks and bows were no match for the British army’s guns. The Yamasee War resulted in the slaughter of the indigenous people.

This prompted the Yamasee, who inhabited the nearby coastal region of Georgia, to join the Creek in attacking the British settlers. The raids turned into massacres, as native weaponry was no match for European firepower — which is how the neighborhood Bloody Point got its name. 

Single pen house on Daufuskie Island

A small one-room wooden home known as a single pen house on Daufuskie

The Rise of Slave Labor 

After the war ended, English settlers cleared the island of vegetation to cultivate crops. They also divided the island into 11 plantations. According to our guide Ryland, with Tour Daufuskie, it was so thoroughly cleared, it was said that you could see from one end of Daufuskie to the other — a depressing fact given that the island is five miles long and two and a half miles wide. 

The British brought slaves from the Rice Coast of West Africa as well as Central Africa. European settlers relied on the skills of the enslaved to cultivate rice, cotton and indigo, resulting in some of the wealthiest antebellum plantations in the South. 

Over time, the enslaved Africans developed a dialect also called Gullah. The vocabulary and grammatical roots came from English and African languages. Isolated from the mainland, the Gullah maintained African traditions, culture and religion. Gullah is a living language that’s still spoken in the region. 

Illustration from Gullah book about Brer Rabbit

The Uncle Remus stories, including the tales of Brer Rabbit, were written in Gullah.

The British tried growing rice and sugarcane — crops that had flourished on nearby Hilton Head. But because Daufuskie is at a higher altitude, its ground-water levels were too low to sustain these lucrative crops for export. 

Indigo was the first profitable commercial crop and a significant part of the economy for about 50 years, followed by Sea Island cotton. The indigo plant was grown to produce a royal blue dye that was exported to England. “If it had ‘royal’ in the name, they were gonna buy it,” Ryland said.

Painting of the War of Sullivan's Island, showing British ships firing upon the fort by Charleston harbor

The spongey palmetto logs used to build Fort Moultrie helped absorb cannon fire from the British armada.

Why South Carolina Is the Palmetto State

Throughout the Revolutionary War, South Carolina remained loyal to England. Part of this was an economic motivation: The colonists believed their defeat would end the demand for indigo. However, as the British fleet got closer, the settlers realized it didn’t matter whether or not they were loyalists; they would still be attacked. 

To defend Charleston harbor, the colonists built Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island from the palmetto, or cabbage palm. The name cabbage palm comes from the fact that the heart of the palm can be eaten raw or can be cooked into what was known by early settlers as swamp cabbage. 

Palmetto isn’t a traditional type of wood. It’s soft, doesn’t splinter and is almost sponge-like due to its high water content. Fort Moultrie had two walls of palmetto logs and sand, a combination that worked well at absorbing cannonballs fired at it by British ships. This unique wood helped save South Carolina, which became the Palmetto State, and the tree now has a place of honor on the state flag. 

After the war ended, England did indeed stop importing indigo from South Carolina. They basically said, if you’re not part of our kingdom, we don’t want your indigo. The crown had a new colony in India, and to this day, India is the world’s top producer of indigo. 

However, England did continue to purchase Sea Island cotton because it was just rare enough that they couldn’t be very picky about where they got it from. Freed slaves who lived on the island grew cotton through the Civil War, until fields were ruined by the boll weevil. 

Watercolor of small tin-roofed home on Daufuskie Island

Out Back Daufuskie Way by Alexandra Sharma

From Reparations to Sharecropping

Union forces captured Daufuskie in 1861. Their main job was to keep track of the ships going in and out of the Savannah River and ensure that no weapons, food or ammunition reached the Southern states. Plantation owners fled, leaving behind their property as well as their elderly slaves, who weren’t deemed worth the expense to relocate.

After the Emancipation Proclamation, Daufuskie was home to a large population of freed slaves who had worked on the island’s plantations. As a form of reparation, slaves received 40 acres and a mule, land abandoned by White colonists throughout the South. 

However, President Andrew Johnson intervened, ordering most of the land to be returned to its former owners. Despite having settled the land, the Gullah on Daufuskie had to switch to sharecropping, a system where the landowner allowed use of the land in exchange for crops. The situation wasn’t unlike serfdom, tying the Gullah to the land and trapping them into high debts.  

Historic photo of Maggioni & Co. cannery in South Carolina

The oyster industry employed Daufuskie residents in its heyday. When the oyster beds were polluted from a nearby paper mill, most islanders left — never to return.

Aw Shucks: When the World Was Their Oyster

Indigo and cotton weren’t the only lucrative industries on the island. L.P. Maggioni & Company established an oyster cannery on Daufuskie in 1894 and employed many Gullah men, women and even children. Containers with the distinctive profile of an Indian chief on its label can be seen in the Daufuskie Island History Museum.  

Gullah men went out on the water in bateaux, flat-bottomed wooden boats, during low tide to pluck up all the oysters they could haul back. It was the women who shucked the oysters, though — up to 7 to 9 gallons a day. 

Historic photo of women shucking oysters on Daufuskie Island

While the men went out in the boats to gather oysters, it was women (and children) who had to shuck them all.

Can of Daufuski Oysters

Even though the local cannery closed in the 1950s, you can still get Daufuski Brand Oysters — they just come from Korea now.

There was a cannery on the island from 1898 to 1956. Around that time, wood pulp waste from a paper mill on the Savannah River polluted the water and contaminated the oyster beds. With the closing of the factory, most families left for better opportunities in nearby Savannah. 

Daufuski Oysters are still available — they’re just harvested in Korea.

Blue home on Daufuskie Island across from the school

Some of the Gullah homes on Daufuskie are available as vacation rentals as part of a program to preserve them.

Heirs’ Properties on Daufuskie 

As we drove around the island in a golf cart, we noticed wood-framed homes sitting among the vegetation in varying states of disrepair. We asked Ryland about them, and he informed us that they’re historic Gullah homes known as oyster cottages. Referred to as “heirs’ properties,” these homes are passed down from generation to generation without legal documentation. Most Gullah never returned to Daufuskie, but all heirs have the same claim to the property, whether or not they live on it, pay taxes on it or have ever set foot on it. Because so many people can be involved, it’s tough to sell or restore one of the homes since everyone must agree on the course of action. As a result, many of the oyster cottages have become dilapidated. 

Enter the nonprofit Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation (now Preservation South Carolina), which developed the Daufuskie Endangered Places Program in 2011. The initiative was funded in part through a grant provided by the 1772 Foundation, an organization whose mission is to preserve historic properties. The trust’s first project was to restore the Frances Jones House. 

It’s a cool program: Descendants retain ownership under a long-term lease with the preservation group. Restored cottages are available as vacation rentals. Once the lease is paid off, the homes revert back to the heirs. By staying on Daufuskie Island, you’re helping preserve its history. 

Abandoned red front room of Melrose Resort on Daufuskie Island with chairs and insulation

The haunted-looking Melrose Resort on Daufuskie, long abandoned after its owners swindled investors out of millions and declared bankruptcy.

Financial Fraud at Melrose Landing 

In the modern era, Daufuskie has developed some high-end gated communities. But even the best-laid plans can go awry. Case in point: Melrose Landing. The namesake resort was developed in the 1980s and included an inn, beach cottages, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and a ferry landing.

The resort was purchased in 2011 by Utah-based developer Pelorus Group, which, over eight years, proceeded to defraud its investors. The real estate firm ran a dubious Ponzi-like scheme, including wire and tax fraud, using $1.8 million of investor money for personal use without disclosing any of it to the IRS. The vacation property first filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and again in 2017, when the firm’s managing partner, James Thomas Bramlette, was indicted. In the end, the Pelorus Group owed creditors about $35 million. The derelict resort is currently seeking an investor willing to put up $19 million in cash. Any takers?


The following photos were taken by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe from 1977 to 1982. At the time, less than 85 permanent residents lived in the 50-some homes on Daufuskie. The island’s amenities consisted of a co-op store, a two-room school, a nursery, a church and two active cemeteries.

Elderly Gullah woman in hat with hand on chin

An Old Woman Sitting at a Table in Her Home by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

Gullah woman in head kerchief by painting of Jesus

Susie Sanding Next to a Holy Picture in Her Living Room by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

Two Gullah men, one smoking, on shrimp boat off of Daufuskie

A Shrimper and His Son by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

Gullah men and boy boiling crab on Daufuskie

Boiling Crab by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe

Daufuskie’s Rich but Tragic History: Hope for the Future

Daufuskie has a turbulent history: bloody battles, mistreatment of slaves, the lost oyster industry. It once bustled with activity and commerce, but now few Gullah people remain. In fact, much of the island is home to wealthy White residents living in private gated communities such as Haig Point and Bloody Point. 

But by learning about and visiting the island, we can help preserve a vibrant heritage. And thanks to Preservation South Carolina and others like them, future generations of Gullah families might someday be able to return to the island. –Duke

 

Pat Conroy with huge sideburns teaching Gullah children on Daufuskie Island

Check out those sideburns on Conroy!

READ ON: Daufuskie Island Tour: Learn about bestselling author Pat Conroy’s connection to the island, see the historic sites and meet some local artisans.

Daufuskie Island History and Artisan Tour

Hop in a golf cart and see the real-life Yamacraw Island, South Carolina, including the school where author Pat Conroy taught and the history museum, with stops at Daufuskie Soap Company and the Iron Fish. And stop by the Old Daufuskie Crab Company before catching the Daufuskie Island Ferry back to the mainland.

Blue boat by a palm tree on the grass at the marina on Daufuskie Island

Daufuskie doesn’t have a bridge to the mainland, so your only option to visit is by boat.

For years, Wally and I have wanted to visit Daufuskie. The remote southernmost Sea Island is tucked away between Hilton Head, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. 

What was the appeal? The small island retains the rich history of the Gullah-Geechee people, descendants of West and Central African slaves brought to the region and forced to work on Lowcountry plantations. It also boasts a small but thriving makers community — but I’ll get to that later.  

There’s no bridge connecting Daufuskie to the mainland, and the only way to reach it is by ferry or water taxi. Last year, rain prevented us from going, and before that it was closed to tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Wooden walkway and boats at Daufuskie Island Ferry dock

A day trip to Daufuskie is a good excuse to get out on the water. The Daufuskie Island Ferry leaves from this dock by a distinctive failed restaurant just over the bridge from Hilton Head.

This December we booked a guided History and Artisans Tour with local operator Tour Daufuskie and took the 45-minute ferry ride from Buckingham Landing just off of Hilton Head. Roundtrip rides cost $50 per person. 

Gullah cemetery by the water on Daufuskie Island

Gullahs, descendants of slaves, once made up most of the population of Daufuskie. Now few remain. Their cemeteries were by the water so their spirits could travel back to Africa.

What Daufuskie?! 

According to local lore, Daufuskie got its name from the Gullah “Da Fus Cay,” meaning “the first key (or island).” However, we were disappointed to learn that the name actually comes from the island’s first inhabitants, the Muscogee, or Creek, Indians. In their language, daufa means “feather” and fuskie “pointed.” Combine the two, and you have something that translates to “Pointed Feather,” a reference to the island’s distinctive shape. 

Once Wally and I disembarked at Freeport Marina, we met our guide Ryland, who was waiting for us at the end of the boardwalk. We were provided with golf carts and given a quick tutorial on how to use them. There are very few cars on the island. Golf carts and bikes are the preferred modes of transportation.

At the first stop, Ryland told us a bit about the island’s history. Ancient piles of oyster shells, and artifacts such as pottery fragments and arrowheads left by the indigenous Muscogee and Yemasse tribes were discovered by archaeologists on Daufuskie — with some dating as far back as 7000 BCE. 



White-painted wood Jane Hamilton School on Daufuskie Island

This old schoolhouse now serves as the first stop on a tour of the history of Daufuskie — and acts as the community’s library.

An Education at the Jane Hamilton School

Our tour began at the Jane Hamilton School, part of the Billie Burn Museum complex. The one-room schoolhouse was built in the late 1930s using blueprints provided by Julius Rosenwald, head of the Sears, Roebuck and Company mail order empire. Rosenwald was a philanthropist who met renowned educator and prominent African American thought leader Booker T. Washington and recognized the need for educational facilities for disadvantaged Southern Black children. This sparked a transformative collaboration between the pair, and a program emerged to construct modest educational buildings, which later became known as Rosenwald Schools.

Old wooden desks at Jane Hamilton School on Daufuskie Island

Kids used to go to school here until 5th grade, when they’d have to work their family’s farm full time.

The Jane Hamilton School provided education from kindergarten to 5th grade. As this was built at the tail end of the Great Depression, Rosenwald was unable to provide the raw materials required to build the facility. It was financed using money raised by the island community and erected by local craftsmen and workers employed by the government-funded Works Progress Administration (WPA) — with some help from the children themselves. 

The school year started in September and ended in March, Ryland informed us. Most Gullah families could not afford to send their children to the mainland to continue their education. Once they completed 5th grade, they were expected to work on the family farm full time. (This prompted some kids to purposely fail to prolong their education, according to our guide.) Today the former school is home to the Gullah Learning Center and the community library. 

White exterior and red roofed Daufuskie Island History Museum

The Daufuskie Island History Museum was once a Baptist church.

An Alligator and Gullah Bible at the Daufuskie Island History Museum

The next stop was Mount Carmel Baptist Church Number 2, so named because the first was destroyed by a hurricane in 1940. It’s now home to the Daufuskie Island History Museum. Among the artifacts on display are a taxidermied 11.5-foot alligator, a 19th century Gullah Bible, Indian arrowheads and a restored 1890s pump organ. The museum also has a nook that sells books about the island’s history. 

Man in scarf by taxidermied alligator at the Daufuskie Island History Museum

Wally poses by Al, the taxidermied alligator on display.

Old pipe organ at Daufuskie Island History Museum

The history museum has a jumble of artifacts, including a charming pump organ and a Bible written in Gullah. Here’s John 3:16: “Cause God lob all de people een de wol sommuch dat e gii we e onliest Son.”

Sarah Hudson Grant’s Buggy: A Labor of Love

Our final stop in the museum complex was a small structure sheltering the one-horse buggy of Sarah Hudson Grant. When women went into labor on Daufuskie, they would ask for Mrs. Grant aka Granny to come. She became a midwife in 1932 and was married to the island’s undertaker. When he died in 1962, she stepped in and took his place. Grant charged $5 to deliver a baby or $10 to deliver a baby and do a week’s worth of laundry after. 

Black and burgundy carriage used by Sarah Hudson Grant on Daufuskie Island

The horse-drawn carriage used by legendary midwife Sarah Hudson Grant was restored by Amish craftsmen (who painted it black, which they felt was much more proper than red).

Over a 37-year period, Grant “grannied” 130 babies on Daufuskie without losing one — and as the undertaker, she was the last to bid farewell to many. The Gullah said, “Granny bring ’em ’n she tek ’em away.”

With no medical instruments or doctors on the island, locals would holler from one property to another to alert her as to who was going into labor and where — at which point, she would hook her horse Tillman up to the carriage and hurry off to deliver the baby.

Ryland told us that electricity didn’t reach the island until the 1950s, with the first telephone following two decades later, in 1973.

Grant retired in 1969. 

Billie Burn Museum Complex
44 Old Haig Point Road 

White wood First Union African Baptist Church on Daufuskie Island

The local Baptist Church is the oldest original building on Daufuskie and has been restored twice.

You Gotta Have Faith: The First Union African Baptist Church

The First Union African Baptist Church was built in 1884 and is the oldest original building on the island. It has served as a place of worship and faith for over a century and was built on the grounds of the former Mary Fields cotton plantation.

The structure has had two major facelifts. The first was in 1952, when the island received electricity. Fixtures were converted from gas to electric, and the second was in 1982, when the foundation was reinforced, as over time the structure had begun to slowly sink into the ground. Even today you can still notice a tilt to the walls and doors.

Pews and Christmas tree inside First Union African Baptist Church on Daufuskie

To become a member of the parish, you had to go on a spirit quest into the woods to commune with God.

When the parish was first established, it wasn’t a traditional church, where you could simply show up and attend. You would have to go to the church leaders and tell them you were interested in joining the congregation. They would instruct you to find a quiet place in the woods to pray, and while there, you would hopefully receive a message from God. You’d report back, and a spirit guide would be summoned to interpret your vision. If they weren’t convinced, you’d have to try again, because God (and the church) wasn’t quite ready for you. 

Members of the congregation had assigned seating. Men sat on one side and women on the other. The church was the head of the community, in charge of law enforcement, finances and school openings. If you did something that made the community angry, you would be seated in the back, so that everybody knew you were being scorned.

Small wooden cabin called a Praise House on Daufuskie Island

The Praise House on the grounds of the church was a gathering place for slaves, where religious services were held.

Praise You at the Praise House

Tucked to the side of the First Union African Baptist Church stands a simple, weathered wood structure. It’s a reproduction of the original “praise house” that stood there for more than a century. These structures were intentionally built small to prevent large gatherings of slaves, as plantation owners feared that they could easily be overthrown or killed. 

When the house was open, the deacon or worship leader would stand on the top step or in the doorway, and most slaves would gather to sit outside on the grass. Those members of the congregation inside the praise house would rhythmically stomp upon the wooden floors, creating a communal drum of sorts. 

Singing was an important element of the services and hymns were often sung in round, a short musical piece in which multiple voices sing the same melody but start the song at different times. Services also included songs known as call and response, where the leader would sing out a phrase that was answered by the congregation. These buildings might have been called praise houses, but because of the cacaphony heard during services, plantation owners referred to them as shout houses.

First Union African Baptist Church
School Road 

Colorful bars of soap at Daufuskie Island Soap Co.

Daufuskie Soap Company started out on a porch like other artisan workshops on the island.

Peachy Clean at Daufuskie Soap Company

Part of the tour was to visit local artisans (those makers I mentioned earlier). One of them is Jan Crosby, who makes soap, lotions and other body care products inspired by the scents of the island. Before we entered the shop, Ryland told us it was originally named Daufuskie Peach — a nod to Crosby’s native roots in Georgia. Like most artisans on the island, she started out by creating a workshop on her porch. Tired of people expecting a fruit stand, Crosby has since changed the name. We purchased a bar of sandalwood soap. 

Daufuskie Soap Company
228 School Road

Indigo dyed fabrics with iron

Stop by Daufuskie Blues to see some amazing patterns — and ask for a demonstration.

Indigo Immersion at the Mary Fields School 

A short golf cart ride from the church is the Mary Fields School, where local celebrity Pat Conroy taught schoolchildren in 1969. The historic schoolhouse was built in 1933 and now contains Daufuskie Blues, a shop selling indigo-dyed clothing. 



For 20 years, the school had no cafeteria or lunchroom. Eventually one was built in the back, and it’s now School Grounds Coffee. We greatly appreciated the chance to get a caffeine fix on an island that doesn’t offer much in terms of places to eat.

White two-room schoolhouse on Daufuskie Island

The two-room schoolhouse where Pat Conroy once taught is now an indigo shop, art studio and coffeeshop.

Kindergarten through 3rd grade were taught by Mrs. Brown in one room, and 4th through 8th grade by Frances Jones in the other. When Jones retired in 1969, she was replaced for one year by the late novelist Conroy. Fresh out of grad school, he wanted to come to Daufuskie to teach, inspire and motivate students. But his methods were unconventional — and controversial. He would regularly take students over to the mainland to places like Bluffton, Savannah and even Washington, D.C. At the end of his first year teaching, Conroy was fired. He went on to write an autobiographical book about his time at the Mary Fields School called The Water Is Wide, adapted into a movie starring Jon Voight named Conrack, which is how the Gullah children pronounced Conroy’s name. 

Conroy never returned to teaching, but he did keep in contact with his students and continued to write. Ryland added that even though Conroy was forced out of the school, he made out all right, going on to have a successful literary career, penning bestselling books like The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides.

Daufuskie Indigo
School Grounds Coffee
203 School Road

Blue and yellow painted iron fish sculpture

Chase Allen’s artwork has gotten quite popular and won an American Made award from Martha Stewart Living.

Reeling in Art at the Iron Fish

Our final stop was the Iron Fish, where a whimsical menagerie of fish, mermaids, stingrays and other coastal creatures fashioned from distressed sheet metal are displayed in the open-air gallery owned by artist Chase Allen. 

Outdoor work table at the Iron Fish on Daufuskie

Allen has an outdoor workshop on the island.

Blue and yellow fish sculptures on weathered wood fence at the Iron Fish on Daufuskie

Payment is on the honor system.

Allen asks patrons to pay by the “honor system”: Leave a check in the box on his front porch or make a mobile payment through Zelle. 

The Iron Fish 
168 Benjies Point Road 

Patrons at the bar at Old Daufuskie Crab Company

The Old Daufuskie Crab Company has a great outdoor space — but it was too cold to enjoy when we visited in December. It’s one of only a couple of restaurants that stay open all year.

Lunch Stop at Old Daufuskie Crab Company

Our two-hour tour wrapped at 1 p.m., so Wally and I wanted to grab some lunch before catching the 2:30 ferry back to the mainland. We decided it’d be best to get back by the harbor, so we stopped into the Old Daufuskie Crab Company. We ordered beers and a basket of spicy shrimp — but passed on the “scrap iron,” an Arnold Palmer-esque cocktail made with moonshine. 

Old Daufuskie Crab Company
256 Cooper River Landing Road

Tour guide in knit cap and red and black plaid coat on porch of Daufuskie Blues in the old white schoolhouse

Ryland, with Tour Daufuskie, was a storehouse of interesting local knowledge. The poor guy is only one of a few people his age on the island.

A visit to Daufuskie is a great day trip if you’re in the Hilton Head or Bluffton area. You get to be on the water, tool around in golf carts and learn some fascinating Gullah history. And you couldn’t hope for a better guide than Ryland. We enjoyed spending time with him and were impressed with his knowledge of the island. While the weather was a bit cold on our visit in December, we were happy to finally have made it to Daufuskie. We’ll be back. –Duke

 

The Marvelous Murals of the Sanctuary of Atotonilco

No surprise that this UNESCO site has been dubbed the “Sistine Chapel of Mexico.” Pair it with La Gruta hot springs for an easy day trip from San Miguel de Allende. 

Murals from the life of Christ, including his resurrection, at Atotonilco

Most of the murals at Atotonilco depict scenes from Jesus’ life, including his resurrection (top) and the Last Supper (just below).

We knew we wanted to pair our trip to La Gruta Spa with a visit to the Sanctuary of Atotonilco (a tough one to pronounce, but try, “Ah-toe-toe-neel-ko”). 

The trouble was, we didn’t know how we would get there. To get to La Gruta, we had to bum a ride from someone who works at our first stop of the day, the quirky Chapel of Jimmy Ray, because we couldn’t get any cell service to call a cab or Uber.

Christ appears to the women in a fresco at Atotonilco

Most of the murals at Atotonilco show scenes from the life of Christ, including the resurrection. The style is known as Mexican Folk Baroque.

I looked on Google Maps and determined that the church was only a 15-minute walk away. And once we got past the somewhat busy road that runs in front of the hot springs complex along a highway, we were able to walk on a peaceful cobblestone sidewalk. In fact, we started to see signs indicating that this is a pilgrimage route. So we followed them along a quiet road, Calle Principal, through a canopy of trees, and into a small village, where the church of Atotonilco can be found amid a few businesses and market stalls. 

Flower detail covered with paintings from the Bible at Atotonilco

Almost every inch of the walls and ceilings are covered in murals that date back to the mid-1700s.

Pilgrims complete their journeys on their knees, wear hair shirts, tie cacti to their chests and wear crowns of thorns.

Atotonilco has also become a hotspot for flagellants — religious devotees who whip themselves to mimic the pain Jesus experienced en route to his crucifixion.
White exterior of the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, with red, white and green banners

The façade isn’t much — the wonders lie within.

Statue of Hildago in the plaza in front of the Sanctuary of Atotonilco

A statue of Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest who, while waving a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe taken from the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, delivered an impassioned speech for the people to break the yoke of Spanish oppression — and launched the Mexican War of Independence

From the — dare I say — bland exterior, you’d never guess at the gorgeous artwork inside. The façade consists of white walls devoid of decorations, aside from a window here and there. The wall around the church makes it feel like it’s more of a fortress than a sanctuary.

Purple and pink plastic chairs at lavishly painted church of Atotonilco

The main church was closed off when we visited — and we were surprised to see that it had plastic chairs instead of pews.

When we went, there was a crowd of tourists, mostly from Mexico, all pressing into the small space. For some reason, the church itself was roped off, with pink and purple plastic chairs in lieu of pews, and the altar visible in the distance. 

Murals of the life of Christ at Atotonilco church in Mexico

The frescoes were painted over three decades by a local artist, Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre.

There are supposedly quite a few chapels and niches inside the structure, but we were only able to go into the Capilla del Santo Sepulcro, or the Chapel of the Holy Burial — for a small fee. A couple of dioramas depict Jesus’ death on the cross. But it’s the intricate, gorgeous paintings, created by a local artist, Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, that prompted UNESCO to declare this a World Heritage Site in 2008.

Mural of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus at Santuario de Atotonilco

John the Baptist baptizes his cousin Jesus in the Jordan River in this mural at Atotonilco.

Mural of Judas, with a demon on his back, betraying Christ while a dog barks at Santuario de Atotonilco

Judas, shown with a demon straddling his back, betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, while a dog barks at him.

Painted ceiling at Santuario de Atotonilco showing angels and the Burning Bush talking to Moses

Most of the murals at Atotonilco show the life of Christ — though at least one is from the Old Testament of the Burning Bush talking to Moses.

The frescoes cover the main events of Christ’s life — his baptism by John the Baptist, the Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal, the walk to his crucifixion, his resurrection outside his tomb — though I did spot at least one Old Testament story as well: Moses and the Burning Bush. And there are words everywhere — even long passages of text. The walls are a Bible come to life. 

Holy water basin at Atotonilco by mural representing Europe

A holy water font surrounded by de Pocasangre’s murals

Painting of indigenous man holding crown to symbolize America at Atotonilco Sanctuary

An indigenous ruler represents the Americas near the entrance of the church.

Paintings on the wall of Atotonilco Church, with an angel and elephant and words in Spanish

The walls of the sanctuary are like a book come to life — there are entire paragraphs in Spanish throughout.

The color palette is minimal — mostly salmon and tan, with some blue, brown, gold and bits of green acting as leaves on the curlicue motif, all set against the white walls of the church. 

White exterior of el Santuario de Atotonilco

A local priest, Father Neri, had a dream where Jesus told him to build a church. Neri did so, founding el Santuario de Atotonilco.

A Dream Come True

Atotonilco means Place of the Hot Waters in the local indigenous tongue. Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alaro had been preaching in the nearby town of Dolores but had fallen ill and decided to check out the curative powers of the thermal springs. 

While dozing under a mesquite tree one day, Father Neri had a dream in which Jesus wore the crown of thorns and carried the cross. Christ said that he wanted the spot where the priest was napping to become a center of penitence and prayer. Neri awoke, filled with divine inspiration, and did just that, founding el Santuario de Atotonilco in 1740. Another possible factor in determining to build the church here: The site was used in fornication rites among the indigenous peoples of the area, and Neri wanted to stop this practice.

Construction continued over the next 36 years. Neri commissioned de Pocasangre to paint the now-famous murals. The artist’s style is known as Mexican Folk Baroque — a blending of local traditions and the ornate flourishes of Flemish masters. 

Statue of el Señor de la Columna, Jesus with a bloody back, behind glass at Atotonilco

The statue of el Señor de la Columna shows Jesus with a bloody back from being whipped. It’s paraded through town in a procession held the week before Easter.

Hair Shirts, Crowns of Thorns and Flagellation 

Meanwhile, Neri wanted to honor Christ’s wish in the dream he had — namely, that the sanctuary not just be a place of prayer but one of penitence as well. And Neri’s view of this was of a gruesome, physical variety. 

Murals covering arches at Atotonilco, showing Christ being whipped and carrying the cross

A symbol of flagellants is Christ tied to a column being whipped, as seen at the top of the image.

From the church’s origin, it has been a place of pilgrimage, with several weeks each year devoted to rites of penitence, drawing up to 5,000 pilgrims in a single week and 100,000 a year. The attached building consists of dormitories and dining halls to house the influx of pilgrims. 

Behind the church are dormitories and dining halls for the 100,000 pilgrims who visit each year.

And many of these pilgrims are hardcore. They complete their journeys on their knees, wear hair shirts (garments made of rough, uncomfortable cloth), tie spiked nopal cacti to their chests and wear their own crowns of thorns. Atotonilco has also become a hotspot for flagellants — religious devotees who whip themselves to mimic the pain Jesus experienced en route to his crucifixion. 

It would’ve been interesting, to say the least, to have been in the village during one of the times when the flagellants descended upon it. But, alas, the town was quite sleepy when we visited.

Mural-covered archway at entrance of the Sanctuary of Atotonilco

Looking back at the main entrance to the Sanctuary of Atotonilco

Religious frescoes at Atotonilco

In 1994, the frescoes got a refresh — by the same team that worked on restoring the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.

Columns in a chapel at Atotonilco painted blue and red, with Spanish text and a cross-shaped window above

The sanctuary, with its numerous murals and frescoes, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Not surprisingly, after 200 years or so, the frescoes had faded. In fact, in 1994, the World Monuments Fund named Atotonilco one of the world’s 100 Most Endangered Monuments, which inspired a major restoration project that same year. The church was in good hands: Some of the team that had worked to restore the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City helped breathe new life into these frescoes. In addition, the walls were cleaned, the foundations reinforced and a new drainage system installed.

Mural of Jesus feeling a man at Atotonilco church

In the Capilla del Santo Sepulcro, or the Chapel of the Holy Burial, there are scenes of Jesus appearing after his resurrection.

Mural of Jesus appearing the the Disciples after his resurrection at Atotonilco

Jesus shows off his stigmata to prove that he was crucified and yet rose from the dead.

Duke and I did our best to snap some photos and move through the crowd, though the front of the chapel was a popular spot for family photos among the locals. 

Diorama of Christ on the cross with walls entirely covered with murals at Atotonilco

The only area open for tourists when we visited was a side chapel that showed Christ on the cross — a popular spot for family photos.

Diorama of Christ being taken down from the cross with elaborate murals at Atotonilco

Another diorama, this one to the right of the main altar, shows Jesus being taken down from the cross.

Statue of Joseph with baby Jesus on his shoulder by painting of the Shroud of Turin at Atotonilco

A statue of Joseph with baby Jesus on his shoulder, while behind him Veronica shows the veil she used to wipe Christ’s face while he was en route to Calvary to be crucified.

After about half an hour, we decided to head back. We lucked out and saw a taxi passing by as we emerged from the sanctuary. We waved it down and caught a ride back to San Miguel de Allende for a reasonable rate. –Wally

Sign of the Sanctuary of Atotonilco under a tree

Follow the pilgrimage signs to reach the impressive Sanctuary of Atotonilco.

Santuario de Jesús de Nazareno de Atotonilco

Calle Principal s/n
37700 Guanajuato
México

 

An Insider’s Guide to Nantucket

Are you looking for things to do in Nantucket, Massachusetts? We cover the popular tourist attractions like the Whaling Museum and Brant Point Lighthouse as well as some of this charming island’s best-kept secrets — an icon of Mister Rogers, anyone? Also: the best Nantucket restaurants. 

Gray houses on the water with boats in Nantucket

For some strange reason, the Wampanoag Native Americans who lived on Nantucket gave it a name that alludes to it being a distant, desolate place. According to Britannica, it could even mean “sandy, sterile soil tempting no one”!

From stunning natural landscapes and beaches to must-see historical landmarks and quirky interior spaces, Nantucket, Massachusetts has it all. 

Here are my insider tips on the gems of Nantucket, an island in the Atlantic about 30 miles south of Cape Cod.

Historic map of Nantucket, Massachusetts

The island of Nantucket is 30 miles off the south coast of Cape Cod. It’s 14 miles long and three and a half miles wide.

Quick Tips for a Hassle-Free Nantucket Vacation

Keep in mind that this could be an expensive getaway: Things can be a bit pricey on the island.

Nantucket vacation home with pool in backyard

One of the best ways to experience the Nantucket lifestyle is to rent a home during your stay.

Be sure to book your accommodation in advance, especially during the peak summer season. Vacation rental homes are a great option to get a feel for how locals live.

Woman walking her beach between fences to Nantucket beach

Why bring your car over when you can reach everything on a bike?

Choose your mode of transport. You can get to the island either by plane or ferry. Once there, I’ve found that the most satisfactory way to tour this exquisite island is by bike. Of course, you can bring your car, but it’ll cost you about $400-$450 to do so. I suggest renting a bike at Nantucket Bike Shop. Cycling is a great way to see the sights and exercise at the same time. Besides, there are numerous bike trails on the island.

8 Top Attractions on Nantucket

Nantucket is home to many gems, including secluded beaches, secret gardens and hidden coves. Here are my favorite spots:

Greater Light house exterior in Nantucket

Greater Light, a historic home in Nantucket, has become a cultural center and wedding venue.

1. Greater Light

Gertrude and Hanna Monaghan, two artistic sisters, had come to Nantucket because of its growing creative community. In the summer of 1929, the Monaghan sisters were taking in the city's vibrant art scene when they stumbled upon a herd of cattle. They followed the herd until it took a U-turn at Howard Street and entered a 140-year-old barn. The siblings were fascinated with the dilapidated structure. They discovered it was owned by the town grocer, William Holland, and they convinced him to sell it to them. 

The siblings named the barn Greater Light after the Bible verse Genesis 1:16: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.” They began turning the barn into a light-filled summer home and filled it with architectural artifacts and an eclectic mix of furnishings. If you want to experience the emotional vibe of the town, this is the place to be.

Insider’s Tip: Greater Light is accessible to the general public from May to October. It’s a 10-minute walk from the town center. In addition to being a popular wedding venue, numerous events, including book signings, concerts and lectures, are held on the renovated property. For the most current schedule, visit the Nantucket Historical Association website.

Greater Light
8 Howard Street

Icon of Mister Rogers at St. Paul's Church in Nantucket

Could someone just make this man a saint already? The icon of Mister Rogers at St. Paul’s.

2. Mister Rogers Portrait at St. Paul’s Church

Some people would indeed consider Mister Rogers a saint; they’d find it fitting that he’s an idol at St. Paul’s Church. Before he became a beloved children’s television icon, Rogers studied to be a Presbyterian preacher. 

He spent the summers on Nantucket with his family, residing in the Madaket neighborhood on the island's west side. He and his family attended St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Fair Street. 

A local artist, Julie Dunbar, painted a tribute to Mister Rogers’ legacy as an honored parishioner and a well-known friend to many. Pop into the church, identifiable by its beautiful Tiffany stained glass windows, to see this quirky icon bearing the words “Gentle, Kind + True.”

Insider’s Tip: While the church is open to visitors, check to see if it happens to be closed for exclusive services and activities.

St. Paul’s Epsicopal Church
20 Fair Street

Sperm whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling at the Whaling Museum in Nantucket

The 46-foot-long skeleton of a sperm whale that died in 1998 hangs from the ceiling. Check out those chompers — a testament to the dangers of the whaling profession.

3. The Whaling Museum

Once known as the whaling capital of the world, Nantucket has a historic whaling district, and the museum is housed in a former whaling captain’s house. The Whaling Museum was established in 1929 and is among the oldest naval museums in the United States. 

Exterior of the Whaling Museum with passersby in Nantucket

The Whaling Museum in Nantucket

Its gallery has a collection of over 1,000 artifacts, including a sperm whale skeleton and a whaleboat. The museum also has a library and archives with over 500 books, maps and manuscripts. 

Insider’s Tip: The museum is open year-round and offers various educational schedules for adults and children. Hopefully you’ll get a guide as colorful as Emily Gilmore on The Gilmore Girls. And be sure to climb the spiral staircase (or take the elevator) up to Tucker’s Roofwalk for a panoramic view of the harbor — where the captain’s wife might once have kept an anxious lookout for the return of her husband’s ship.

The Whaling Museum
13 Broad Street

White sailboat and walkway to the Brant Point Lighthouse in Nantucket

Brant Point Lighthouse is one of three to see in Nantucket. Look for the American flag on its side.

4. The Lighthouses 

Nantucket has three lovely lighthouses, all of which are well worth a visit:

Brant Point Lighthouse is near the city at the end of Easton Street and is the ideal location to view the sunset or sunrise. Its white stairway and American flag painted on its side make it easy to spot.

Sea birds on the beach by Great Point Lighthouse in Nantucket

Great Point Lighthouse is in a wildlife reserve at the northern tip of the island.

Arriving at Great Point Lighthouse is slightly more complicated since the light is on sandy land. Hire a four-wheel drive if you don’t have one. The trip can be backbreaking, so bring a picnic lunch to eat and get reenergized. 

Red and white striped Sankaty Head Lighthouse in Nantucket

Sankaty Head Lighthouse stands 70 feet tall at the easternmost point on Nantucket, flashing its light every 7.5 seconds

With its distinctive white and sandy red stripe design, Sankaty Head Lighthouse could be the most outstanding lighthouse on Nantucket. The light is on Baxter Road, but on a clear day, you will see it miles away in every direction. 

Insider’s Tip: The lighthouses are open from  9 a.m. to 6 p.m. all year round. For Great Point, you’ll need an oversand vehicle permit. 

Loines Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts

Pay homage to Maria Mitchell by stargazing at the Loines Observatory.

5. Maria Mitchell Association

Maria Mitchell was raised on the island and was a Quaker with a passion for astronomy. She channeled her passions into a spectacular career as America’s first female astronomer. She established the Maria Mitchell Association, Nantucket’s only scientific organization.

The association has plenty to see: an aquarium, the historic 1800s Quaker house Mitchell lived in and a natural science museum, in addition to a series of scientific speakers.

The Historic Mitchell House in Nantucket

The Historic Mitchell House, where the first female U.S. astronomer lived.

Insider’s Tip: Nantucket has long been famous for its meticulous craft of scrimshaw and historic whaler voyages. But in the 19th century, Mitchell added a curious new chapter to the history of this small island. Honor her legacy by stargazing at the Loines Observatory. The Vestal Street Observatory is currently closed for conservation.

Maria Mitchell Association
33 Washington Street

6. Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum

The Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum

6. Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum

The charitable Egan Maritime Institute runs this museum, which shares the stories of local shipwrecks and the brave rescuers who put their lives in danger to save drowning seamen. 

The building, constructed in 1968, features the design of the traditional stations run by the U.S. Life-Saving Service. It’s the earliest museum devoted to maritime lifesaving and safety history. Its hours of operation are Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The entrance fee includes a tour guide.

Insider’s Tip: Keep in mind that Nantucket is a seasonal destination, and many places, like this museum, are only open part of the year, closing in the fall and winter. A 15-minute journey down Polpis Road will take you to the museum, which is three miles east of town. But you can also catch the Shipwreck Shuttle from the visitors bureau at 25 Federal Street every half hour starting at 9:30 a.m., returning from the museum on the hour, with the last ride at 5 p.m.), Monday through Saturday from May 30 through October 10.

Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum
158 Polpis Road

You have to get on the water during every stay in Nantucket.

7. The Harbor

When in Nantucket…

Sailing around the harbor is the perfect afternoon pastime and can take you into the evening to enjoy the most splendid sunset in Nantucket. You’ve got plenty of choices: tugboats, larger whale-viewing cruises and swanky schooners. Many offer two-hour rides that head around Brant Point Lighthouse. 

Insider’s Tip: Shearwater Excursions offers the Ice Cream Cruise, where you can enjoy not only a scenic tour but also its namesake treat. But my favorite thing to do is rent a tugboat for the late afternoon, where you can bring cocktails to sip and have some snacks (perhaps a charcuterie board). 

A group of people holding up the game fish they caught in the Atlantic off of Nantucket island

Catch your dinner on a fishing charter into the Atlantic Ocean.

8. Fishing Zones

Nantucket has a large population of game fish, and the best time to go fishing is from May to November. A suitable spot is the south bay between Nantucket Harbor and Great Point. But you can also try your luck near the Sankaty Head Lighthouse. Additionally, the harbor offers dedicated charters for catching large game fish like mahi mahi, marlin and tuna.  

Insider’s Tip: Waves can be intense — even deadly — so make sure you find a pro and ask for the safest times to get on the water. 

Exterior of Straight Wharf Restaurant in Nantucket

Straight Wharf Restaurant

Where to Eat in Nantucket

From fresh seafood to classic New England fare, there’s something for everyone to enjoy on this beautiful island.

For seafood lovers, the Straight Wharf Restaurant is a must-visit. The spot is well known for its fresh, local seafood and harbor views.

Aerial view of white Wauwinet Hotel in Nantucket with lawn chairs

Head to the Wauwinet hotel to dine at Topper’s.

Head to Topper’s at the Wauwinet hotel to taste classic New England cuisine. This elegant restaurant is known for its delicious lobster dishes, as well as its stunning views of the ocean. 

People eating al fresco at the Nantucket Tap Room at the Jared Coffin House in Nantucket

Get your New England staples and some good beer at the Nantucket Tap Room at the historic Jared Coffin House.

The Nantucket Tap Room at the Jared Coffin House is an excellent alternative for a more casual dining experience. This historic inn’s tavern offers a cozy atmosphere and classic dishes like clam chowder and fish and chips.

Other good restaurants to try include:

Heads up: The popular spot Black-Eyed Susan’s seems to be closed for good. But no matter your mood, you’ll uncover plenty of places to feast in Nantucket.

Nantucket harbor at twilight

Smaller than Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket offers a quaint New England getaway.

The Ideal New England Getaway

Nantucket is a small island with a big reputation. It’s a popular summer tourist destination, thanks to its picturesque hangout spots and plenty of outdoor activities. Moreover, the locals are warm and welcoming, guaranteeing you have a great time. As far as I’m concerned, the island is the perfect New England getaway. –Christine Cooper

The Art-Filled Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante

Like many of the most beautiful buildings in Mexico, the Ignacio Ramirez the Necromancer Cultural Center was once a convent. Now this San Miguel de Allende landmark is filled with dramatic murals by David Alfaro Siqueiros, Pedro Martínez and Eleanor Cohen.

Octagonal fountain in center of courtyard at Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante

The centerpiece of the gorgeous courtyard at the cultural center is a fountain topped with the Christian Lamb of God. Keep in mind that this was once the cloisters of a convent.

Days before her death, Sister María Josefa began to cough up larvae. “The pain was so acute that she fainted,” wrote Miguel J. Malo and F. León de Vivero in the now-out-of-print guidebook San Miguel Allende. Despite her discomfort, she’s said to have kept the larvae — which later transformed into butterflies. 

Spire of the Iglesia de la Concepción in San Miguel de Allende

The nearby Iglesia de la Concepción was once connected to a convent, which gave the church its nickname, Las Monjas (the Nuns).

The beguiling former 18th century Convento de la Concepción was founded in 1736 by María Josefa Lina de la Canal y Hervás, the daughter of the influential de la Canal family. At the age of 15, María Josefa’s parents died, and she inherited a large sum of money, which she used to construct la Iglesia de la Concepción, known locally as Las Monjas (the Nuns), and the adjoining convent. 

Bust of Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante against yellow wall

A bust of Ramírez sits atop a pedestal in the courtyard. 

El Nigromante (The Necromancer) was the pseudonym used by Ramírez, a lifelong champion of atheism and freethinking, to conceal his identity in the radical articles he wrote.
Statue of bull by yellow facade of the Cultural Center in San Miguel de Allende

An iron sculpture of a bull by David Kestenbaum stands sentinel in front of the bright yellow façade of the former Convento de la Concepción.

From Convent to Cultural Center 

In 1938, after a series of other uses, the complex was converted into the secular Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes by Peruvian painter and political-activist-in-exile Felipe Cossío del Pomar. It is now known as the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez “El Nigromante,” in honor of the progressive thinker by that name. El Nigromante (the Necromancer) was the pseudonym Ramírez used to conceal his identity in the radical articles he wrote, which would have surely upset the conservative governing authority of the time. A lifelong champion of atheism and freethinking, Ramírez caused a scandal, for instance, when, in a speech to the literary Academy of San Juan de Letrán, he declared that God didn’t exist. 

Quilt hanging in courtyard at Centro Cultural Ramirez with Las Monjas church in background

A quilt artwork was hanging in the courtyard, with Las Monjas church in the background.

Walkway with colorful paper flags and stone columns at the cultural center in SMA

Enjoy the tranquil atmosphere of the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez.

Art-filled grassy courtyard at the Cultural Center in San Miguel de Allende

Various artworks fill the grassy courtyard of the cultural center.

Las Lavanderas mural by  Eleanor Cohen at the Cultural Center in SMA

Las Lavanderas (The Washerwomen) by Eleanor Cohen

The Washerwomen Mural

The inner courtyard of the former cloister is surrounded by a succession of contiguous arches. As Wally and I walked beneath them, we discovered a fresco by the American artist and printmaker Eleanor Cohen. The piece is known as Las Lavanderas, (The Washerwomen) and was influenced by the figural style of the famous muralist José Clemente Orozco.  

Cohen and her husband, Max Kahn, were both Works Progress Administration artists paid by the federal government to promote pride and patriotism through public art during the late 1930s. She was the first female recipient of the James Nelson Raymond Traveling Fellowship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and she used it to study at the Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes in San Miguel de Allende. Kahn taught printmaking there, and Cohen began working on the mural in 1941. Her painting depicts indigenous peasant women washing clothing at a river with a group of children bathing in the foreground. I love that a mural that has a similarly emotive power as the works of Diego Rivera and Orozco was painted by a non-native woman — quite unusual for the time. 

Guard in corner of the room housing the unfinished mural by Siqueiros at the Centro Cultural Ramirez in San Miguel

As we entered the room housing Siqueiros’ unfinished work, Wally was startled by the guard sitting against the wall. In his defense, the room is dimly lit. 

Siguiero’s Unfinished Work 

Stirling Dickinson, an American credited with helping establish San Miguel de Allende as an arts center, became the director of the school shortly after his arrival. During his tenure, he invited the celebrated Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros, an outspoken Mexican Communist Party member, to teach at Bellas Artes in 1948.

His students, who were predominantly U.S. and Canadian war veterans, were enthusiastic about painting a mural under Siquiero’s direction. However, he quickly exceeded his modest art class budget, and abruptly departed after a quarrel with the school’s administrative director, Alfredo Campanella, over funding. 

Man in T-shirt stands by Siquiero's mural at Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante

Duke in the nuns’ former dining hall, now home to an unfinished work by the legendary muralist Siquieros

The impressive unfinished work, Vida y Obra de General Ignacio Allende (Life and Work of General Ignacio Allende), can be found in a room along the north wing, fittingly called the Sala Siquieros. The cavernous space once served as the convent’s dining hall. The intent of the mural was to depict the life of Allende, a leader of Mexico’s War of Independence so well respected that the town, once called San Miguel el Grande became San Miguel de Allende after his death.

Detail from Vida y Obra de General Ignacio Allende  by Siquieros

A cartoonish detail from Vida y Obra de General Ignacio Allende reveals Siqueiros’ process.

Entering the room and looking up, I noticed a playful almost cartoonish face with elaborate curlicue scrollwork around it. Elsewhere, lines, colors and geometric shapes crisscrossed the walls and vaulted ceiling where painted flames shoot across the ceiling and explode above what looks like an aerial view of farmland. In my opinion the unfinished state of the mural makes it more interesting, as it provides the viewer with a glimpse into the creative process of Siquieros.

Giant vampire bat attacks villagers in El Fanatismo del Pueblo  by Pedro Martinez

Not surprisingly, El Fanatismo del Pueblo by Pedro Martínez, with its giant vampire bat attack, was Duke and Wally’s favorite mural at the cultural center.

Superstition and Drinking Culture in Martínez’s Paintings

Elsewhere within the complex are four works by Pedro Martínez. In 1941 Martínez was invited by Cossío del Pomar to teach the fresco technique to students at Bellas Artes.

His mural El Fanatismo del Pueblo (The Fanaticism of the People) vividly depicts a winged creature attacking a group of women who cower in fear as two caballeros attempt to lasso the flying beast. The fresco is referred to as La Caza del Vampiro (The Vampire Hunt) by locals and is perhaps a criticism of those who naively believe in superstitions. 

Mural of La Cantina by Pedro Martinez in the bookstore of the cultural center in San Miguel de Allende

Head into the bookstore to see another Martínez mural, La Cantina.

Another of Martínez’s murals can be found in the bookstore. Simply titled La Cantina, the vignette shows a group of men gathered in a tavern drinking pulque. A man in a sombrero leans against the bar, a bemused expression on his face. To his right, a man looks over his shoulder in annoyance. The four men seated in the foreground lean in to listen to a man wearing a pink shirt tied with a bow, who, judging by his body language and snarling mouth, appears to be angry. 

Painting of boy with sword fighting green sea monster on display at the Ramirez Cultural Center in San Miguel de Allende

Explore the galleries at the Centro Cultural Ramírez to see the current exhibitions.

The Clamor Progresista Exhibit

When Wally and I visited, there was an exhibit titled Clamor Progresista (Progressive Cry), inspired by the ideas of “the Necromancer,” such as creative freedom and how these ideas are open to interpretation. The project is led by Mexico City-based conceptual artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, who invited more than 60 artists from the state of Guanajuato to create works using multiple formats, from sculpture to paper. 

Sculpture made of black and red zigzagging metal at the Centro Cultural Ramirez in SMA, Mexico

Part of the Clamor Progresista exhibit

Metal mobile-like statue at an exhibition at the Centro Cultural Ramirez

A cool mobile-like sculpture on display when we visited

Today the cultural center belongs to the Mexican National Art Institute (INBA) and offers classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, dance and music. It’s worth stopping by just to admire the beautiful courtyard. And be sure to check out the charming shops across the street, including Origenes Antigüedades Populares. –Duke 

Religious statue of mostly unclothed man in window of red shop

While you’re in the hood, stop into Origenes Antigüedades Populares.

Religious artifacts for sale on fireplace at Origenes Antigüedades Populares in San Miguel

The shop is filled with antiques, many of which are of a religious nature.


Man on outdoor staircase covered with colorful murals at the Instituto Allende

See more amazing murals and read about the Instituto Allende, another art school in San Miguel de Allende.

CLICK HERE


Statue of bull with brightly colored shops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

When you see the bull, you know you’ve come to the right place.

The bright yellow facade of the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante

Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez “El Nigromante”

Calle del Dr Hernandez Macías 75
Zona Centro
37700 San Miguel de Allende
Guanajuato 
México