Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 14, 2015, 10:35 am I have been a winter resident now for four years and I recently finished shooting some footage of the hotel ruins (on the beach) for an art project of mine. I am wondering if any of you long time residents know the history of that building? I have heard various different stories about what happened but so far they have all been different stories.(!) Also, does anyone know anything about the graffiti? There are a lot of different styles. Some of it is pretty sophisticated. In particular some bright box like letters in bright blues and blacks. I would be most grateful for any information/translations etc and will be happy to buy a round of drinks at Pedro's next year when I return. With thanks in advance for your time. Chris This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Daniel H on February 14, 2015, 11:34 am, in reply to "Hotel Ruins and graffiti" All I got is this from 95 http://www.lamanzanilla.info/e_la_manzanilla_photos_old_hotel.html Google search - la Manzanilla Mexico old hotel http://rjamesvandyke.com/back-stories/blog/the-old-hotel not much, I know there is more but I don't know where. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 14, 2015, 1:32 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Thanks Daniel. The video is really interesting. His feelings about the place were similar to my own. The photos are very informative as well. Good work! This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 14, 2015, 2:01 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Thank You John. Now I have a name for the place. Rooms for $10 !Wow! This is interesting. No leads on the graffiti yet. I am wondering if the really cool stuff may have been done by kids from Mexico City or some other large City. It could even be Gringo but I rather doubt it. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Daniel H on February 14, 2015, 2:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Good guess on the Grafitti. In 95 when I took the photos there was a care taker named Sepian (sp) Sara Henze went to meet him at that Hotel in 93 when she first came to La Manzanilla and they stayed there a while. The earth quake of 95 knocked the spiral staircase down shortly after those photos were taken and the care taking stopped. After that it got stripped of everything of value, window frames, plumbing, electrical wire, leaving it close to the condition it is in today. At certain times of the year you can find a lot of flat beach glass, all of which came from the broken windows of the hotel. In early 2000 I used to ride the horses to there, get naked, ride and bathe the horses, paradise. My understanding is that one family owns all the property from the trailer park to the South side of the old hotel Sometime in early 2000 one of the family members tried to sell it without the permission of the rest of the family and the property entered the court system. Someone put a chain link fence around the entire property which turned to rust after a couple of years and literally dissappered into the sand. Another time early 2000 someone took a tractor and totally cleared the Mangrove between the road and the hotel. Finally someone came and told them to stop. You can see how the mangrove used to look a couple hundred yards to the North. Most recently someone cleared the property just South of the Hotel and there is a for sale sign on it. supposedly it is titled land and they have made 70 lots which are for sale. I would be very careful if considering buying there. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Charley on February 14, 2015, 4:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" The Caretaker name was a nickname " Sepillin" (a famous clown) given to Jean Francois, a friend of mine from Bordeaux France who was also Sarah partner for few years. He was a funny "payaso" with round fake nose and all . At that time alot of backpackers would stay there I lived almost every winter in Boca de Iguanas from 1992 on The rest of the story of the hotel's abandonment I will not divulge Rumors and all. In 1995 the tsunami gave the last coup de grace. In 2009-10 the hotel was used by Mexican emergency organizations for practice for earthquake rescue. The grafittis were done at different times. I dont think Banksy stayed there. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Daniel H on February 14, 2015, 8:44 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Cool Charley, we construct the past in the present to pass the stories on. Am curious about the "will not divulge" though, perhaps just a bit? This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by john p on February 14, 2015, 1:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Daniel has the best photos I've seen. I love this description of the Hotel Bahia from a Mexico travel guide I have by Memo Barroso copyright 1986. "Especially the second paragraph"!! (hope tiny pic grabbed it) This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Larry F on February 14, 2015, 9:01 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Imagine. armadillos, deer, wild boar, and deserted beach that few years ago. What have we done to this place, we humans? John, that copied page is so interesting. Any chance of getting more of it out themre abs local history. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 15, 2015, 2:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Thanks to all of you for your contributions to my research. This is all fascinating stuff. I picture armadillos and wild boar, intrigue death and natural destruction. I am thinking of calling my piece. Hotel of Broken Dreams, does that resonate at all with your feelings about the place? The un-divulged secrets are particularly interesting of course. If any of you have any leads about the graffiti please do let me know. The film is currently running at about 40mins. It is very fragmented, like the building, and has pounding surf on the sound track. It is more like a painting than a film. I could do a little screening of it next winter when I come down if there is any interest? Many thanks. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Charley on February 16, 2015, 8:23 am, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" I you want to know more about it. Read the comments in spanish This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 16, 2015, 11:26 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Good point Charley! I confess that If I spoke more Spanish I would do exactly that. I have tried to decipher some of it with a dictionary but, either it's pretty colloquial or my dictionary is crap or the film footage is moving too fast. So if anyone happens to be passing by I would be so grateful if they could make a note of a sentence or word here or there. Some of it is just stylized letters.Then there some I love whatsisname and some is a bit rude. You know, the usual. What I am interested to know is this: is any of it political or does any of it refer to the history of the building.? Sadly I had to leave the day after I shot the footage and now, for my sins, I am in BC Canada, Incidentally I once heard that the hotel is cursed because it was built on a first nations burial site. Has any one else heard of this?Thanks again everyone. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by sparks on February 17, 2015, 8:14 am, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" A vehicle squeezed on a tree at Boca de Iguana, about 55 miles North of Manzanillo. runup heights here at least 6m and the wave penetrated to at least 480m inland. http://www.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/manzanillo/ This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Charley on February 17, 2015, 9:03 am, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" do you have any of the still photos of the graffiti you could not decipher?. you could e-mail me. I can try to translate them within context. Banksy Graffiti are not always related to site....... This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Charley on February 17, 2015, 9:44 am, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" http://https://www.facebook.com/historiagdl/posts/736534903055626 if you want me to translate some of those posts , i will. e-mail me This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Charley on February 17, 2015, 9:45 am, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" https://www.facebook.com/historiagdl/posts/736534903055626 This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 18, 2015, 7:43 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Hi Charley, Sorry not to have responded sooner to your generous offerI have been in the edit room for the last two days. Yes a translation would be great. I will send you some stills. Thank you so much for offering. I haven't mentioned this yet but the film (hence the title "Hotel of Broken Dreams" ) is a sort of lament for the break up of a very wonderful relationship . I shot the film on the same day (just one week into a two month visit ) that Kate suddenly, and without warning or explanation, decided she wanted to break up with me. Unfortunately I was a guest in her house so in my despair the hotel felt like appropriate alternative accommodation (!) and I ended up spending the day loafing around in there. It was a terrible shock and the violence and disarray along with the sadness of the place encouraged me to write my own Graffiti: It is very traditional with a heart between the two names : Kate --->Chris Feb 14th 2014 - January 9th 2015 I mention this with the greatest respect to Kate who is a wonderful person . From what I have gathered my dreams are not the only ones that have been broken around the hotel! The good news as it now appears is that, whilst moping about, i did at lest manage to shoot a new project. This was just as well because I decided to Return to Canada the following day! This event was only the emotional motivation for the film The work is also , at a metaphorical level at least, about break down in general: Environmental/ Political /Geological/ climatic/economic/ psychological/ . and so on. At a physical level it's about the break down of the image itself which in the film appears to be unstable and precarious The crashing of waves on the sound track add to this sensation. I am mentioning all this for the second time because i had hope to raise some local interest in the art community. Video art is, as I'm sure many of you know, very important part of 20th and 21st century art ( some would say that it is the most important) and most enlightened galleries exhibit the sort of work I make on a regular basis. I exhibit in galleries worldwide but also love to show locally when the subject of the work is of local interest. (hopefully!) I have not mentioned what I do when I have been staying in town so unfortunately I don't know many artists in La Manzanilla. However, I feel it is time after 4 years here to get more involved and I was rather hoping this video might work as an introduction? The local gallery seems mostly interested in painting so perhaps another sort of space would work better? Any ideas would be gratefully received. Thanks for your contribution to this project> I will put something like this on the credits: "thanks to the La Manzanilla message board and the people of L Manzanilla" This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Daniel H on February 18, 2015, 8:30 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Instead of Hotel of Broken Dreams may I suggest Hotel of Expectations. No need for the word broken as expectations have that built in. This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 18, 2015, 9:18 pm, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Nicely put Daniel, thank you! This message is locked.

Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti Posted by Chris on February 21, 2015, 7:50 am, in reply to "Re: Hotel Ruins and graffiti" Well it looks as if this thread has run it's course. Thank you everyone for being so generous with your time.Your contribution to the making of my project is much appreciated. It is very kind of you all to have shared your stories about the hotel ruins. Thanks also to those who have communicated off line.The drinks are on me ! I am still not decided what to call the video but for now I have changed the name from" Hotel of Broken Dreams" to" Dead Reckoning" which, as you may know is a term borrowed from marine navigation. The personal stuff has been removed since the history of the building has enough emotional charge already. My story pales into insignificance compared with what I have learnt about the hotel! I hope that I will have the opportunity to meet you all when I show the video in town next winter. This message is locked.

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