Padilla was outside on the white stone sidewalk, close to a huge table covered with hats of many colors and patterns: white, beige, honey tones. She showed me how to make some of the designs, like the cactus with pink choya flowers on driving directions top. "Like these cactus blossoms," she referred to the natives of Baja California Sur, "we name ourselves 'choyeros.'"
I started threading a cactus plant with the aid of Blanca Mora, an artist from Mexico. The cactus is encircled by blue fan-shaped motifs that stand for the agave plants that are common across the country. It was a great surprise to work on my hat with Padilla and Mora and hear the history of Corazon Playero. In fact, it's just one of many examples of Mexican artistry on display at Las Ventanas, which also includes outdoor statues by Rodo Padilla, a renowned sculptor from Jalisco who specializes in ceramics, and woven bed runners depicting colorful "alebrijes" (mythical creatures popular in Mexican folklore).
The resort's general manager, Frederic Vidal, informed me, "Mexico is a large nation, and region-to-region, village-to-village, families keep art specializations and traditions that don't exist anywhere else." He helps Ty Warner, the millionaire behind the Beanie Baby phenomenon and owner of Las Ventanas, find unique things made by local artisans. All of the resort's public artwork, including the pieces shown outside, are for sale. To provide the families who create the items "direct access to our customers," as Vidal put it, "we work directly with them, purchase them at a reasonable price, and encourage them to come to the resort, when they can." A jaguar figurine made of clay stood calmly by while we spoke.
Candles scented with bergamot, verbena, and geranium were placed in hand-painted holders from the Cerámica Suro studio in Guadalajara and a "mona de maiz" (lady made of straw) was placed on the nightstand each night of my stay in the beachfront junior suite. (The creator of the pottery workshop, José Noé Suro, spoke on the hotel's outreach in an interview with Cultured magazine last year, saying, "When Las Ventanas opened in Los Cabos, they came to us, and that changed everything.")
The onsite store, Café del Art, offers items like these made by artists from all around the nation. While sipping a café con leche, I stared for what seemed like hours at a display of Indigenous Huichol figurines constructed of wood and embellished with small beads in beautiful colors and fascinating shapes. Huichol native Don Victor Florentino Huerta told me he visits the resort three times a week to sell and explain the cultural value of his wares. Shakira figurines, made of beads and embellished with symbols like scorpions, zigzag lines, and hallucinogenic peyote blossoms, are used to communicate with tribal deities.
Las Ventanas has become a well-liked Cabo resort because to its embrace of Mexican art, its wonderfully welcoming and helpful staff, and—if I'm being honest—their poolside taco and drink ordering with views of the sea. The hotel celebrated its silver anniversary the weekend I arrived, and under the leadership of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts president Radha Arora, the property has maintained a strong commitment to preserving and promoting Mexico's unique cultural character.
