Todos Santos

It was 1968 and Robert Hall was living The American Dream. He had a thriving psychiatric practice, a huge house in Mill Valley, and a wonderful family with his childhood sweetheart of a wife and their children. The only drawback was that it was killing him. He was working 24/7 – a Rolfing practice during the day and a Gestalt therapy practice at night – and he was exhausted, drained and he needed some answers. As has happened at every critical juncture in his life, he got them – immediately. He went to a friend’s house and, while waiting for him, saw a piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up and found it was a transcript of a talk by an Indian spiritual master. As he began to read he found it was like a voice speaking in his mind, a light literally shining in the darkness. It was a light so bright that his wife actually saw it too. He dialed the telephone number at the bottom of the page, and it was his next-door neighbor in the geodesic dome. The signs were clear and Robert didn’t hesitate.

Charan Singh, Robert’s Spiritual Master

Robert and his wife Alyssa left their 3 children with a friend and went to India for 4 months to study with Charan Singh, the man whose talk Robert had read on that fateful day, and the man who was to remain Robert’s spiritual master for the rest of Singh’s natural life…and beyond. As Singh’s guests their 4 months in India were completely free, but not without some costs. Alyssa contracted typhus and Robert was frantic as there were no doctors in the area they were living except one who didn’t like to work on Westerners, despite– or perhaps because of – the fact that he was an Austrian-born American himself: Dr. Randolph Stone. He also happened to be Charan Singh’s personal physician, who was finally able to persuade him to see Alyssa. When Robert and Alyssa arrived at his garden office, they saw lots of Indians sitting around in various stages of distress, many with metal clamps on their fingers. There was screaming coming from Dr. Stone’s office. Robert, an army veteran, pressed on. When Dr. Stone worked on Alyssa with his hands he swayed and sang like the religious ecstatic he was. Robert tried not to freak out. When Dr. Stone finished working on Alyssa he had completely healed her. On the spot. Robert became his apprentice.

Robert’s career to that point had been shaped by his apprenticeships with two leading lights in the psychiatric world, both of whom were focused on mind-body integration in treating patients: Dr. Fritz Perls who developed Gestalt Therapy, and Dr. Ida Rolf, originator of the body-work known as Structural Integration or “Rolfing”. In fact, he ended up with that house in Mill Valley when Dr. Perls asked him to move to the Bay Area to start the Gestalt Institute of San Francisco. Robert’s apprenticeship with Dr. Stone took his approach to mind-body work to a whole new level. Dr. Stone, the founder of Polarity Therapy, taught Robert how to work and heal with the energy of the body.

Randolph Stone, Robert’s Teacher, Partner and Friend

Inspired by his experiences in India, the teachings of Charan Singh, and his 3 main apprenticeships, Robert co-founded the Lomi School in Santa Rosa, California in 1970 “to bring together a group of far-out modalities into one practice. Lomi was founded on the principle of the integration of mind, body, and spirit, with particular emphasis on the life of the body.” Robert, his wife Alyssa, and two other couples formed the core of the school, and Dr. Stone became their partner and teacher. Robert earned an international reputation for his innovative and pioneering therapies and the Lomi School thrived. Robert no longer had to do Rolfing during the day and Gestalt at night – he had integrated it all into one unique, inclusive and embracing practice. Turns out The American Dream just needed some Indian spice.

But this wasn’t the path that Robert had set out on in life. When he was 15 and living in upstate New York, his passion was to go into surgery, and he managed to get himself apprenticed to the town surgeon. He paid for medical school at the University of Buffalo by working nights as a surgical nurse, then took a year of internship and beginning surgery residency in Salt Lake City. Surgery was his calling. But in Salt Lake City Robert was hit with the realization that surgery residencies didn’t pay enough to support his growing family, so he joined the army as a captain and enjoyed a pay grade that covered his family’s needs. The tricky part was that at that point the army didn’t want more surgeons, it wanted more psychiatrists. So Robert agreed to a psychiatric residency under the army’s auspices, with the result that his first job out of residency was as Chief of Neuropsychiatry at Fort Knox (where his job description covered something called Mental Hygiene). When contemplating his numerous accomplishments in a field chosen for him by the army, a field that he so obviously loves and thrives in Robert says, “I didn’t do any of it. I didn’t make any of it happen. There is no such thing as free will. You just have to say yes to life.”

Robert in Mexico. Photo by Alvaro Colindres

In 1999 Robert decided that he was ready to retire, so he and his partner Alvaro began searching the world for the best place for them. (Robert and Alyssa had divorced, although they remain very close to this day and share 6 grandchildren.) They traveled to Italy and Spain and points beyond, but never found exactly what they were looking for. Then one of Robert’s apprentices called to tell him about a great artists’ colony he had heard about from a woman named Catherine Wall, a Todos Santos resident and artist. Robert and Alvaro came to Todos Santos to visit soon after, and within 10 minutes Robert fell in love with it. In fact, he remembered driving through Todos Santos on a vacation in 1987 and sensing “something very special in the air.” Alvaro, however, was less enthusiastic. Robert returned by himself a few months later and asked Janet Howey, the owner of El Tecolote Bookstore, if she knew of any places to rent. In short order Robert had signed a lease on La Ruina, a house in as good a state of repair as the name implies. He didn’t mention it to Alvaro until he returned home. Within 6 months Robert (eagerly) and Alvaro (reluctantly) had moved all their belongings to Todos Santos and made the town, and La Ruina, their home.

Robert at home in Todos Santos with his paintings and an Erick Ochoa original

Like many Americans, Robert had the bulk of his retirement encased in his home, a beautiful old Victorian in Tomales Bay, Marin County. With the final move to Todos Santos Robert put his house on the market and – as was common and expected at the time – it was quickly snapped up and placed in escrow. But at the last minute the buyers found some termite damage and abruptly withdrew from the deal. Robert and Alvaro found themselves shockingly, jarringly and absolutely flat broke. Literally no funds to survive on. They decided that prayer was in order, so they got down on their knees and prayed for guidance. While they were kneeling on the floor a knock came at the door. Alvaro got up to answer it and there stood an American woman whom neither of them had ever seen before. “She said ‘I heard that Robert was a follower of Charan Singh and thought he might like to have this.” She handed a book to Alvaro, who went inside to give it to Robert. When they both returned to thank her, she had left. The book was the memoirs of Robert’s spiritual master in India, Charan Singh, now long dead but clearly not gone. Two weeks later the Tomales Bay house sold, Robert and Alvaro bought their current home in Todos Santos, and Robert settled in to enjoy retirement. As added grace, Alyssa bought a house nearby, and Alvaro grew to love Todos Santos as much as Robert, becoming a real estate agent and a great photographic chronicler of the town and its surrounding natural beauty.

One of the many results of his first trip to India was that Robert became a serious practitioner of meditation, and a firm believer in its benefits for the mind and body. In 1974 he befriended several dharma teachers who practiced Vipassana, or Insight Meditation. He started going on 10, 11, 12-day silent retreats with them and saw that these types of retreats strongly dovetailed with Gestalt therapy, helping people to really focus on the here and now, on being in the immediate present. He also came to embrace Buddhism because he saw how practical it was and how it actually answered the question of the meaning of life. He became an ordained Buddhist priest and started leading his own silent retreats in 1980. He also became affiliated with Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and currently serves on the Center’s Teachers Council.

When he retired to Todos Santos Robert had no intention to teach again. He had taught thousands of people all over the world and served as a mentor to hundreds more. He loved teaching, but now just wanted to sit back, relax and enjoy the serenity of Todos Santos. “Then one day Alvaro told me he thought I should teach again. I was against it, but he finally persuaded me to at least give it a try. So we advertised a dharma talk at La A.R.C.A., and to my surprise over 30 people showed up. And Alvaro was right, the teaching really stimulated me and I realized then that I would like to continue.” Now residents and visitors alike find that one of the best things about being in Todos Santos is the opportunity to participate in Robert’s weekly Sunday morning dharma talks at L La A.R.C.A. They also have the opportunity to participate in the week-long silent meditation retreats that Robert offers several times a year in Todos Santos. Robert does not confine his activities in Mexico to Todos Santos alone. A fellow student of Fritz Perls contacted him a few years ago and persuaded him to hold workshops in various cities around Mexico, and he now conducts several of these every year. “I absolutely love teaching my Mexican students. Mexico is my home now and it’s wonderful being able to connect with young Mexicans in this way. This has been a great part of my so-called retirement.”

Robert Teaching in Puebla. Photo by Alvaro Colindres

On the Easter Sunday when Robert was 12, he took his young boy’s worries up the hill to seek some solace in nature. As he sat there, he was struck with the forceful inspiration, with what seemed like Word from on High, to be open to all of life’s experiences. Robert embraced that inspiration, and built an inspired and inspiring life around it. Luckily, Robert is willing to share some of the knowledge, some of the learning, some of the magic that flowed from that moment, and thereby inspire the rest of us in this pueblo magico. Thank you for prodding him on Alvaro!

The Saints of Todos Santos: Artist Erick Ochoa

by Bryan Jáuregui | Culture, Travel Industry

Erick in front of Yandi Monardo’s “Angeles Protectores”

by Todos Santos Eco Adventures

This is the story about the son of a carpenter who goes on to become a teacher and inspire those around him. The one born in Mexico City.

At age 21 Erick Ochoa found himself working in his father’s carpentry shop in Todos Santos, wondering what the heck he was doing there. By his own standards he wasn’t a very good carpenter. Trouble was, he didn’t know if he was good at anything else either. He’d studied engineering and architecture in college, but had dropped out when the courses failed to excite him. Erick was a young man seeking inspiration and, as Mick Jagger would say, sometimes you find you get what you need.

Which, with respect to Mick, is sometimes exactly what you want. One day a man named Jack Hall walked into the carpentry shop, and couldn’t help but notice that Erick seemed underwhelmed by his current circumstances. He asked Erick if he had any interest in art. As it happened, college had not inspired Erick but the local art museums certainly had. Jack therefore made the introductions and soon enough Erick found himself working for renowned artist and sculptor, Michael Cope, helping Michael and his wife Pat run Galería de Todos Santos. At that point Erick understood a fair bit of English, but spoke relatively little. This was the first of Erick’s skill sets that was to undergo a drastic transformation with the Copes.

The second skill set emerged shortly thereafter, when Michael (sometime in 2000) asked Erick to help him prepare some clay for sculpting. In lieu of payment, Erick asked Michael to teach him how to draw. He had no idea what he was in for. Michael demanded dedication and hard work, and Erick found himself spending hour upon hour sketching and drawing, drawing and sketching. It was a year before he was allowed to move on to colors and oils. Michael wanted Erick to prove – to both himself and Michael – that he truly wanted to learn, and that he had the talent to succeed. Neither of them was disappointed. In the process of finding his path in life, Erick also discovered the incredible power of a mentor and a teacher to change your life. He learned what it meant to have someone invest significant time, energy and talent in you. More than just another skill set, the Copes had helped him discover passion and purpose. This was something he wanted to pass on to others.

Erick and his painting, “Icono del tiempo”

Like many families, the Ochoas like to get together around the dinner table and solve the problems of the world. Just as Erick was contemplating how he might turn some of that talk into action, Donna Viglione came knocking on his door. Donna was the president of the Palapa Society, a non-profit whose mandate is to improve the lives of local Todos Santos children. She had built up the Bridge-to-English program (an after-school English-language class for local kids) and wanted to offer art classes in English to kids who excelled in the program. Erick – now fluent in English and an established artist in this artist’s colony town – was a natural choice for the job. His third skill set inspired by the Copes soon emerged: teaching, mentoring, passing it on. It’s been a great success for everyone involved. “We now have up to 20 kids between the ages of 4 and 12 in any given art class, and 8 of those are quite serious. Some of them have real potential, and one has already told me that he wants to be an artist. This is so exciting to me and I’m so happy to have this wonderful opportunity to pass on what Michael taught me.” Erick is perpetuating a great cycle. The Palapa Society now has 8 scholarship students who will graduate from university next year, and – inspired by Erick, Donna and other Palapa Society volunteers – they all want to return to Todos Santos as teachers themselves.

Erick is now the president of the Palapa Society – a job which pays him very well in satisfaction – and spends a great deal of time on the program during the school year, not only teaching but going to the local schools to work with the Palapa Society scholarship kids and their teachers. He only has time to paint two to three hours a day when school is in session. “But in the summertime I paint all day. Everything in Todos Santos inspires me. The days are beautiful, with light so unbelievably crisp and clear. Todos Santos is always a study in contrasts with the desert and ocean. But in the summertime it gets even wilder – we’ll often have a huge thundercloud formation over the mountains, at the same time that we have an incredible sunset over the ocean.” Same carpenter’s son, same home town, a different world entirely. The magic of our pueblo magico revealed.

Todos Santos Taco Crawl: What Makes a Great Taco, a Great Taco?

by Bryan Jáuregui | Culture, Food

by Todos Santos Eco Adventures

Todos Santos has a well-deserved reputation as a food lover’s paradise, with our many fabulous restaurants, cafés and wine bars. But what you may not know is that Todos Santos also has some pretty darn good taco stands. In fact, our official, self-appointed, Mexico City taco snob has reviewed the taco scene in Todos Santos and has pronounced our town’s taquerias to be right up there with the big-city greats. We interviewed 4 taco stands in town to find out about the people behind the tacos and to answer that burning question: what makes a great taco, a great taco?

El Pastorcito

Best for: tacos al pastor and carne asada
Hours: 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM daily. Except maybe some days in summer.

The 2 Lucias who run El Pastorcito have been offered significant sums of money to reveal the secrets of their tacos al pastor, but they’re not selling or telling. “We get the pork in from Cabo San Lucas then do all the preparation here. It’s a secret recipe of the owner. But we do use the traditional pineapple on the top and bottom of the meat, or sometimes an onion on the bottom. That’s all we can tell you!” When asked what makes a great taco a great taco, they said it’s all in the preparation of the meat and the salsas. “Salsas must be prepared fresh everyday with fresh ingredients. We buy all local Todos Santos produce for the salsas and it makes a nice difference.” For vegetarians El Pastorcito also serves papas rellenos and quesadillas. Beer, soft drinks and water for sale. El Pastorcito was started 3 years ago by Alejandro Fuerte, a 20-year resident of Todos Santos who moved here from Michoacan.

Taco George’s

Best for: fish tacos
Hours: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM every day but Thursday

Taco George’s

This taco cart on the side of the road is a celebration of Baja California Sur’s great contribution to Mexican cuisine – the fish taco! Started 10 years ago by the original “George” Jorge Ramirez Rodriguez of La Paz, it is now run by George Jr. who moved to Todos Santos 2 years ago to take over management of the stand from his father. He’s done pretty well by the old man – in high season he moves 300 to 400 tacos a day from his cart. George buys his fish from the local fishermen at Punta Lobos and is proud to be serving a Todos Santos-sourced meal. When asked what makes a great taco a great taco he plays his cards close to the chest. ‘Oh, nothing special. That I can tell you about.” Soft drinks available for sale.

Barajas Tacos

Best for: carnitas con cuero and chicharron
Hours: 8:00 AM to Midnight, every day but Tuesday
Ruben at Barajas Tacos

Started by La Paz resident Jorge Barajas in 1995, Barajas is a long-time favorite with residents and visitors alike. When asked what makes a great taco, Esmeralda and Ruben – both of whom have worked at Barajas for 11 years – said it all comes down to the people who prepare the pork for the carnitas. As it happened, the new carnita supplier for Barajas was there during our meal (the old supplier went on vacation and never came back) and he explained “It’s all about the correct combination of time and heat, and knowing how to get this right takes years of practice. We cook the meat with onion, garlic and orange – and maybe a few other things too.” Vegetarians in the crowd? Barajas also serves papas rellenos (stuffed potatoes) an assortment of quesadillas, and fish/shrimp tacos. Only soft drinks and water available for drinks, but you can bring your own beer or wine.

El Tacos y Mariscos Sinaloense

Best for: smoked marlin and shrimp tacos
Hours: 7:00 AM to 2:00 AM every day except Monday. Tacos during the day and mariscos (seafood) at night.

Jose Luis at El Sinaloense

Looking for a more peaceful environment, Jose Luis Ibarra Grimaldi, his wife Maria and their children moved to Todos Santos from Mazatlan four years ago. But they retain their Sinaloa ties and buy their shrimp and smoked marlin from there (Jose Luis reminds us it’s all the Sea of Cortez!). When asked what makes a great taco a great taco, Jose Luis doesn’t hesitate. “There are really 3 main factors: 1. The product – what you put into it. We only buy the best. 2. Spices and salsas. We take great pride in our salsa bar. 3. Service.” El Sinaloense also serves a variety of meat tacos, papas rellenos and quesadillas. Soft drinks, orchata and water available.

This list is just representative of some of the taco joys you can find in our pueblo magico. Got your own favorite taco joint in Todos Santos? Tell us all about it!

The Saints of Todos Santos: Equestrienne Kaia

by Bryan Jáuregui | Adventure, Culture

by Todos Santos Eco Adventures

This article on Hollywood horse champion Kaia Thomson is the third in our series, The Saints of Todos Santos, which profiles some of the people who help put that spark of magic into our pueblo magico.

Queens may come and go, but queen-makers are a special force to be reckoned with, and Kaia Thomson has made 14 queens…so far. In 2005 Kaia was running a 55-acre ranch with 60 horses where she had trained 12 Gymkhana champions and 14 rodeo queens, including Brandy De Jongh, Miss Rodeo America 2000. She was at the top of her game in the horse world with students, horses in training and competing. Then she decided to move to Todos Santos. “It was my 50^th birthday and I decided that I just had to move to Mexico with my horses. All my friends thought I was crazy, but I wanted to do something radical. I just had to do it.” So she did. She finished out the year on her ranch and arrived in Todos Santos in December 2005 with 3 horses and the remains of her worldly possessions. It’s now hard to imagine what the town would be like without Kaia and her incredible skills as a teacher, rider, trainer, naturalist and photographer.

Kaia Demonstrating Her Skill at a Reined Cow Horse Competition

Kaia is one of the most down-to-earth people you’re likely to meet in this life. A characteristic that is not explained by the fact that Kaia is a true Hollywood gal who grew up under the Hollywood sign, spent a lot of time on Hollywood Boulevard and had her first horseback riding lesson at the age of 4 at Sunset Ranch Hollywood Stables. She went to Hollywood High School with many (now famous) stars and worked at a tack shop where she regularly rubbed shoulders with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Sam Shephard, Richard Farnsworth, and Juice Newton. She worked for Glen Randall who trained Roy Rogers’ horse Trigger (“he said Trigger was the smartest horse he ever met – he could recognize over 100 words and cues”) as well as with Glen’s protégés Rex Peterson and Bobby Lovegren who trained horses for movies such as Black Beauty, Hidalgo, Zorro, and The Horse Whisperer. She ponied horses for Laz Barrera, renowned trainer of Affirmed (the last horse to win the Triple Crown) and worked alongside many champions on race days at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar racetracks. She rode a horse named Madrid, a grandson of Bold Ruler – Secretariat’s sire – and trained, competed and won in dressage, jumping and showmanship. She traded a saddle for a mule in the Sierra Nevada’s and competed on mules for over 16 years. She saw a Reined Cowhorse Show in Las Vegas in 1989, and soon became a regular on the National Reined Cow Horse Association circuit. She trained with Teddy Robinson, the world’s greatest Reined Cow Horse champion, and acquired the exceptional horse skills required to rein, cut and work cattle in competition. Kaia thrived on the perfect complement of sportsmanship, connection and discipline that horse competition in all its variety demanded. Then she fell in love.

Silver Drift, a dorsal-striped dun charmer affectionately known as Fourteen, was Kaia’s equine soul mate, the greatest horse she ever owned. She got him in 1996, and loved to gather cattle and team rope with him. “Roping on 14 was like riding on mashed potatoes with extra butter…everyone wanted me to head for them!” They had a great partnership and he helped her train some of those rodeo queens on her ranch. “Then on a Friday the 13^th in 1999, he was just playing in his paddock and broke his leg. We had to put him down. I was devastated. It almost made me quit horses altogether. To distract me, some friends took me to Catalina Island to go scuba diving, and I was completely hooked. I went all the way through instructor and about 20 specialty courses, mainly because I loved being able to engage in one of my great passions – photography – under water. This is what led me to Baja because in 2000 I came to La Paz for my birthday to go scuba diving in the Sea of Cortez – which I even did once in my birthday suit! I absolutely loved it and started coming back 2 to 3 times every year to dive. On one of these trips it was too windy to dive so a friend suggested that we check out this little town called Todos Santos. When I got here I realized that I’d seen all this lush greenness in the desert several times from the air. I loved it.”

Kaia Jumping

While it seemed like a wild decision to walk away from the incredible life that she’d built in the horse world in the U.S., Mexico was a natural fit. “Mexico is founded on ranchero culture – horses, mules, burros – all used for transport and working the ranch. Mexicans are very proud of their horse heritage. The Criollos, the local horses, can all trace their lineage back to the horses that Hernán Cortés brought to Mexico over 500 years ago and turned loose before heading back to Spain. Mexico now even has its own official breed of horse, the Española, a cross between Andalusians and quarter horses. This mixture is meant to create the ultimate caballo de charro or rodeo horses, and they’ve been pretty successful with this.”

“The horse community here has been so welcoming to me. My horse buddies and I are always invited to ride in the cabalgatas (horse parades or trail rides) and these are an enormous amount of fun. These are often 2 days and 1 night, and will have over 200 riders on horses, burros and mules. There are around 30 cabalgatas a year in the little towns around southern Baja, and the one we participate in the most ends in an extravaganza at the stadium in Todos Santos where the Escaramuza ladies put on a great show. These are young women who ride in a drill team style formation at a full gallop to emulate the women of the revolution who would put on their colorful adelitas – pretty dresses with full flowing skirts – and head out on horseback to attract the men of the enemy. When the men got into firing range the escaramuzas would sling the hidden rifles off their shoulders and aid the rest of the army with the task at hand. Lots of the local cowboys also do horse dancing and trick riding. We also get invited to a lot of the horse races on straight tracks that are held in all the different towns. After the “fancy” horses run, sometimes my students will ride one of my horses in the races – we’ve actually won 6 out of 7!”

Heri and Javier at an Internado Competition

One of the reasons the local horse community is so fond of Kaia is because of her work with the Internado, the boarding house for ranch kids who come to Todos Santos to go to school. Each year the Internado has an Annual Open House to raise funds, and Kaia trains the Internado students for 2 months to prepare them for the competition that they put on as part of the fundraiser. Past events have included simulating ranch tasks like catching a chicken, roping a cow, and “killing” a bandito with a machete, all from the back of a galloping horse (chicken/cow/bandito dummies used), as well as barrel racing and cavalry-style carousels. Throughout the rest of the year Kaia sponsors the Internado kids to come to her place once a week to go riding and work the horses with her.

The Internado students are not the only ones who benefit from Kaia’s generosity with her talents. For each edition of the town’s local magazine, El Calendario, Kaia – a “self-appointed naturalist” – donates two pages of her amazing photographs which document the wild beauty of the flora and fauna of Baja. She also usually contributes an article or two on local businesses, people of note, or natural history. “I always completely embrace wherever I am. I’ve been fewer places than some people, but I know a great deal about many aspects of those few places and I love sharing that knowledge.”

Luckily for the people of Todos Santos, residents and visitors alike, Todos Santos is one of those few places where Kaia has chosen to shine her light and share her knowledge. She has a really fun place where you can train in dressage, jumping and gymkhana. Or you can just go on a Todos Santos Eco Adventures sunset ride with Kaia, and ask her about endemic bird species…or the life spans of local cactus… or Mexican charro rodeo regulations…or whale shark feeding habits in the Sea of Cortez….or the beauty secrets of rodeo queens…or what it really feels like to be an American cowgirl living in a magic Mexican village.

Kaia with Friends in Todos Santos

Rick Bayless Continues Filming in Todos Santos

by Bryan Jáuregui | Culture, Food

In addition to the segment on Doña Ramona, Chef Rick Bayless filmed several other key parts of our Todos Santos Cooking Adventures Week for his TV show Mexico-One Plate at a Time, and this video blog captures several of those elements including: