Our Challenges with the Facade

The National Institute of Archeology (INAH) has decreed that the houses of Mazatlán’s Historic Center should resemble the token Neo-Tropical Colonialism. This type of architecture fuses French and Spanish Colonialism with a Tropical essence. There’s a lot of parallel to the homes in Cuba as far as Mazatlán’s Historic Center is concerned. And while Havana’s architecture has pretty much remained preserved, the styles of Mazatlán’s Historic Center saw many manifestations throughout the years with the various architectural styles that hit the scene.

In the Historic Center one can see many ranch-style homes, art deco-style homes, Spanish hacienda-style structures and even French colonialism. And yet, the one constant style has always been Neo-Tropical Colonialism, a style that is currently being preserved by INAH.

When we bought the house on Constitución, we wanted to bring back a little bit of its original history by restoring the facade to a similar style. Because the house itself had lost its historical landmark once the former owners changed the facade in the 1950’s, we weren’t able to perfectly preserve the original look. However, by giving the house back the beauty she once had, we knew that we were making the right decision to give her the updates needed to restore her beauty.