The Purple House at La Calera: A Guide.
Index History Getting There and Away The House:
The Kitchen The Laundry Room The Master Bedroom The Living Room The Library The Guest Bedroom
Important Details:
Garbage Parking Internet Security Groceries Medicine Cabinet Contact People
History: The Calera is a former lime stone factory located in the old neighborhood of Ex Marquesado at the entrance to Oaxaca City. It opened its doors in 1957 and ran a successful business for more than twenty-five years. It closed operations in 1983, leaving as a legacy an incredible space of 54,000 sq ft. The Calera is a privately owned family property In 2007 the owner began to renovate the factory and to develop its natural beauty into working spaces and studios for artists to work and create. Much of its original machinery and architecture has been maintained. In addition to resident artist´s studios La Calera also contains working spaces for the organizations Save the Children and Jacaranda Education, a community library, private houses, and a media film studio. In addition to its permanent residents La Calera has opened its doors to a range of different artists and creative people who wish to create and display works in its wonderful spaces.
Getting There and Away: La Calera is still relatively unknown to a lot of Oaxacans therefore don’t expect that the average taxid driver or local will know where it is or how to get there. The best place of reference to use is “El Panteon Ex Marquesado” – the cemetery of Ex Marquesado. La Calera is next to the panteon. It is a five minute car ride from the Zocalo or downtown or a twenty minute walk.
As a former factory you can imagine that it is a fairly big space and one that has two entrances. i.
If you are entering with a car you need to use the entrance which is on Juan Escutia street. You will need to drive through a piece of land which is about 150 meters until you reach the electric gate and wall of the factory. Late at night the gate to this piece of land is padlocked and so you will need to use your key to get in.
ii.
A second pedestrian entrance was opened this year which provides direct access to the street level through the 3ra Privada de 13 de Septiembre. This is marked with the big arrow in white on the map.
All traffic leaving the city flows down the one-way street of Div Oriente. All traffic flowing into the city center goes down Calz Medero. If walking into the center it is advisable to use Madero as it has wider sidewalks and is more comfortable. Many local busses run along both streets. The price of a bus journey is 5 pesos fifty centavos. A taxi will charge you 35 – 40 pesos.
The House: The Kitchen The kitchen comes equipped with almost everything you will need to prepare your food except a conventional oven. Important to Know: i. The stove is electric and therefore it can take a little extra time to heat up. The ring that is marked red tends to heat up quicker. To heat water for tea and coffee or pasta it is better to use the electric kettle. ii. There is no hot water in the kitchen tap and so dishes are washed with cold water. It is good practice to try to capture the dish water and to throw it onto the trees immediately outside or any plant close by. The dish soap that is found in the house is biodegradable and so is very plant friendly.
iii. Oaxaca does have a very particular climate and so it is a good idea to keep as much food in the fridge as possible to keep it fresh. Anything left outside should be closed in a container. iv. A good and fun way to cook is with the solar cooker. This is a big black bowl which sits inside a bigger thick glass bowl with a lid that then can be placed on the terrace in the metal satellite structure. One can cook anything but it is excellent for stews and meats and fish in a marinade or sauce.
v. Large (30 liter) bottles of water are found in the kitchen with a small pump for drinking water.
The House: The Laundry Room In the laundry room you can find cleaning supplies, hand towels, and bathroom towels along with the iron and washer-dryer.
The House: The Master Bedroom & Roof Terrace On the top floor is the master bedroom. The room has three sets of bed sheets which can be found in the green canaster. Attached to the master bedroom is the roof terrace. The roof terrace has lounge chairs to sit and enjoy the space and to the right an outside table for meals. Important to Know: i. During the daytime the upstairs rooms can get a little warm during the hot seasons and so it is advisable to keep the doors to the roof garden fully open during your stay. This is great for keeping the temperature of the house upstairs down. At night the temperature will drop. During rainy season – where storms can be quite heavy – it is advisable to close the doors to a minimum. ii. Bathroom and Shower: The Calera has its own water filter system. For this reason no paper products should be flushed in the toilet as it will cause a block. There is a small canaster to the side of the toilet to deposit paper. iii. Bathroom and Shower: The hot water system works automatically. It will be switched on prior to a guest´s arrival. However, should you need to you can access the water heater via the roof garden. Walk to the right and to the end and next to the bathroom window you will find a grey box. Open the box and make sure that the red button in the middle is on and a temperature is showing. iv. During the rainy season it is important to keep the outside table covered when not in use.
The House: The Living Room In the living room you will find the TV with cable and DVD. There are several hundred channels that can be accessed along with a DVD player for movies. Don´t worry about falling book seed pods it is part of the art piece. There is a drinks cabinet with a wide array of spirits.
The House: The Library Attached to the front side of the house is a library. This library space is connected to the house via two huge large old church doors. The library is a work space and is also opened up to the local community three times a week – Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons. When the library space is in use the church doors should be kept closed and locked from the inside (the kitchen). When the library is not in use the doors can be kept open and the space enjoyed freely. The library comes with over 2,000 titles in all subjects with many related to the local context. There are also working computers with printer and internet connection. The Community Library – Bibliocalera – is a free service provided to the local community and is an integral part of the educational development activities of the site.
The House: The Guest Bedroom The guest bedroom has its own garden. This garden is great for relaxing during the daytime as it has good shade. The hot water system for this bathroom will be switched on prior to your arrival. There are three sets of sheets for the bed which can be found in the orange canaster.
Important Details: Garbage Garbage can be disposed of outside the house close to the pedestrian entrance to the Calera.
Important Details: Parking There are numerous parking spots located inside the Calera around the Calera tower close to the vehicle entrance. There are no marked spots – just park where there is a free spot. Important Details: Internet The house is wired with wireless internet. The name of the account is Jacaranda and the password is 1111729211. The local provider is quite good but it can occur that with storms or other disturbances the network can go down temporarily. Important Details: Security The Calera has excellent security with two secure entrances and a high periphery fence. The site does have auxiliary security guards who are also present in the evenings and who add a little extra security for visitors. The site also has safety lighting to illuminate walkways at night. Important Details: Groceries It is great to do grocery shopping in the famous markets downtown of 20 de Noviembre. However, on the map you will see that there is a large conventional supermarket – Chedraui – just a five minute walk away. On the corner of 2 de Abril and Privada de Niños Heroes – in the heart of the old neighbourhood or Ex Marquesado – you will also find a small but decent local supermarket with a good selection of basics. Important Details: Medicine Cabinet There is a selection of medicines and bandages found in one of the canasters in the living room.
Important Details: Contact People *To dial a cell phone in Mexico from a landline you must dial 044 then the number. Michael Beckwith: House Owner: Cel 55 3981 4558 Maggie Roberts: Local Contact: Cel 55 9190 4967 The Purple House: Landline Number for Incoming Calls: 951 205 1344