continued from page 4
The town only recently received elec-
tricity in 2015, thanks to a small solar
plant erected by the Mexican govern-
ment.
Yet Boquillas is a “make-do” kind of
place, and its residents are full of opti-
mism and generosity. The intense desert
heat is worthy of observation, but never
complaint. A guest will be welcomed
with the best seat in the garden, even if
it is an upside-down bucket, and always
a spot in the shade. Visiting offers a les-
son in perspective, especially for those
willing to take it all in.
Most people cross over to have lunch
at one of two restaurants, Falcon’s or
Boquillas Restaurant; hang out at Park
Bar and have drinks or play pool; peruse
local crafts; check out nearby warm
springs; or for the truly adventurous,
hire a guide and trek through the back-
country of Maderas del Carmen Natural
Protected Area –a Biosphere Reserve, as
designated by UNESCO in 2006.
Big Bend National Park has record-
ed just shy of 12,000 visitors to
Boquillas in 2014 and 16,700 and still
counting for 2018 (for fiscal years
starting Oct. 1 and ending Sept. 30).
The total tally since reopening is over
73,100.
Max and others have taken notice
and are trying to find more ways to
accommodate visitors and prosper as a
village. For example, Falcon’s Restaurant
added on extra motel rooms and
Boquillas Restaurant is newly opened.
There is more than one willing guide
ready to show visitors around town, or
to “Old” Boquillas; and a local enter-
prise named Boquillas Outfitters has a
Facebook page to help visitors plan
guided trips to the backcountry, includ-
ing to a mysterious-sounding site called
Crystal Cave.
“The town is back to life again,” Max
said.
Max is one of the locals with long ties
to the area. He was born two miles to
the west of Boquillas, on his family’s
ranch and farm, as were most of his fam-
ily, back to at least as far as his father’s
grandmother.
Many from those earlier generations
came to work lead, silver and fluorite
mines, in operation from the 1890s
until 1919. Max’s family had been in the
livestock business, and they stuck
around to continue ranching after the
mines went bust.
He remembers his father’s garden – it
26
Max Sanchez at the location of his family’s homestead a couple miles west of Boquillas. The Sierra del C armen range looms in the background.
“Isn’t this a beautiful place?” Max marveled.
had everything in it, but mostly corn
and beans. “I remember a corn cob over
a foot long and 20 hundred-pound bags
of beans. All the town would go to him,”
Max said.
At some point, the family well went
dry, and Max said wind and dust took
away from them what had been one of
the most prosperous ranching opera-
tions around, as well as his father’s gar-
den.
Since then, the old homestead fell
into disrepair, and beams were taken out
to be reused in new structures.
During the post-9/11 decade-long
border closure, the village dwindled to
only those who could not leave, mostly
due to the needs of their livestock. In the
five years since the border reopened,
population has rebounded to a robust
estimate of 300. It’s proof of how much
villagers are willing to throw stock into
tourism, a legitimate, and hopefully
viable, means to make a living in this
harsh, rugged and beautiful land.
Max creates distinctive versions of the
walking sticks Boquillas villagers are
known for making. His walking sticks
feature carved owl toppers and roadrun-
ner figurines pecking their way up the
shaft.
But he is inspired to do more; so, this
year, for the first time in recent memory,
he and his primos planted a summer
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2018
monsoon-season garden.
Besides Lacho’s store, Max said the
only other source of fresh veggies he
knew of was through his uncle’s orchard,
although this year, strong winds tore up
most of his uncle’s plants.
Max is hoping to help fill in the fresh
veggie gap in town by growing enough
to share, barter, and sell.
The garden, dubbed “Rabbit Ranch”
in homage to Max’s father’s “Jackrabbit
Ranch,” has already been very successful,
producing several varieties of watermel-
on and squash.
The garden is situated in a well-cho-
sen spot, just downstream from the
mouth of Boquillas Canyon (on the
Mexican side), and is surrounded by a
thick row of vegetation, which slows the
violent winds that sometime blow
through the canyon. It’s on solid
ground, with enough loam in the soil to
stay put and not wash everything away
like a pile of sand. And it’s near enough
to the river to make pumping water to
the site practical.
With the help of his primos, Max set
up a simple jacal-like encampment
made of cedar posts and river cane next
to the garden. There’s also a screened-in
tent, a couple cots, and a makeshift
kitchen set up under a tree.
During the hottest part of the season
in May and June, they had to frequently
water and baby the seedlings, requiring
that they stay near the garden camp
around the clock. In August, they did
not have to water at all, thanks to a
decent influx of monsoon-season rains.
One rain brought a flood high enough
to take out a fence – if they’d had a
fence, Max explained.
Speaking of fencing, he could really
use a fence to help keep livestock out
and he’s pursuing a grant program
through
CONANP
(National
Commission of Protected Natural Areas,
the governing body of Maderas del
Carmen Protected Area for Plants and
Animals), to hopefully add some shov-
els, wheelbarrows, and other tools to his
kit.
Tending the garden offers a nostalgic
retreat for Max, who can often be found
with friends under the shade of the large
mesquite tree on the garden’s edge, or
under the thatched roof of the structure
he and his primos built.
He said other villagers always ask him
why he spends so much time there –
staying a month at a time without com-
ing to town. The answer – he likes the
simple life.
This year, Max and his primos have
mostly given the garden bounty away,
but if they are able to grow more next
year, it may turn a little profit.
Next year they will add cucumbers,