Just over ten years ago, my partner and I traveled to San Miguel de Allende in the Mexican state of Guanajuato to take some photo workshops. My workshop was for creative women and was held at the Hacienda Las Trancas near Delores Hidalgo. On entering the hacienda, I fell in love with the magic of the old building and its amazing history. Meanwhile, my partner, Lee, fell in love with the Mexican people while experiencing the Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) in San Miguel.

By the end of our workshops, we both wanted to buy an old hacienda and create something really beautiful. That’s how we ended up with a 450 year old hacienda. The building and surrounding area are rich with history. The hacienda was one of the largest haciendas in the state and a prime producer of wheat. It was also known for raising horses and growing olives for the King of Spain.

One of the most amazing things about the hacienda is that it’s only had three owners. The Catholic Church (~350 years), the family of a Spanish Marqués (~100 years), and Lee and me (less than 10 years).

For me, the hacienda is a sanctuary and a creative outlet. I did a lot of the interior design and worked out how to retain as much of the original layout as possible while keeping the building’s design functional. In many cases, we reopened original doorways that had been sealed over within the last 50 years.

It’s been an amazing journey that continues. We’ve also been able to employ people to help us with the renovation work and adopted some of the local cat population. We now have four hacienda cats, Luna, Pantera, Ámbar and Karma.