VALLADOLID, YUCATAN.- The “Casa Maya” continues to be one of the main attractions of this town, even though it is a house belonging to the well-known painter José Abraham May Chimal who has maintained it for 30 years.
Since its construction and to date, tourists have confused it with a hotel or restaurant, because it has a Mayan style and paintings with designs that the owner himself made with the help of collaborators from the town.
The professor, 62 years old, retired just 7 years ago as an elementary school teacher, said that since he was a child he loved art and painting and believes that he inherited from his mother, who was an excellent drawing artist.
He remembers that his mother did not have enough resources to paint, and neither did he, so he painted and drew with colors. Over the years and thanks to his profession he had the opportunity to acquire the necessary materials to make paintings that have even been exhibited in places such as Merida and Mexico City.
He also mentioned that painting brings him a moment of tranquility, peace, and without stress. The artist has been a teacher of the painting workshop at the Valladolid House of Culture for 30 years, where he has 50 students.
Casa Maya in Valladolid, where did the idea come from?
The Mayan style of his home came about when he was studying in high school, one day the teacher asked them to draw three goals to accomplish in the future and that was when he designed the house.
“I have the sketch. I always liked to live in a palapa-style house, but I had this one built in concrete instead.”
“I went a lot to Chichén and Itzá, Ek Balam every March 21, I liked to admire the ancient Maya castles, I think that was my inspiration and I started to come up with the idea.”
It took him a year to finish the house, and without the support of architects, the design was done by him together with his bricklayers.
The house has two floors and there is a bedroom in the back, with a bathroom and kitchenette. Every so often he gives the facade a touch-up and paint job because there are murals that he also designed.
He says that because of its unique shape, the house continues to be a tourist attraction in the town.
TYT Newsroom
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