Garden of Boquillas:
How Boquillas Blooms
by Shawna Graves
A wide angle view of Max’s garden, nestled in an opening between mesquites and other vegetation, down wind of
Boquillas C anyon.
Friends enjoy the shade of a large mesquite at the garden camp.
A
dvances in technology have come
much faster to residents living in
the hinterlands of South Brewster
County, namely Terlingua and Study
Butte, than they have to those living
south of the border at Boquillas del
Carmen, Coahuila de Zaragoza,
Mexico; but according to Max Sanchez,
a Boquillas native, people move to – or
stay in – Boquillas for many of the same
reasons folks are drawn to Terlingua: “To
get away from the bull****,” he states
matter of factly.
Boquillas is frequented by visitors to
Big Bend National Park through the
official port of entry at Boquillas
4
Crossing, now in its fifth year of being
reopened after being closed for over a
decade following 9/11.
The massive Sierra del Carmen
mountain range, looming a whopping
8,900 feet high and 45 miles long, cre-
ates a formidable barrier between
Boquillas and the rest of Mexico. The
humble village exists in nearly utter
isolation, joined to other populations
via an unpaved mountain road leading
to Musquiz, the nearest Mexican city
several hours away to the southeast, and
via the international border to the north.
This border does not provide ease of
access to the convenience store and gas
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2018
A fresh slice of watermelon on a summer day is always a treat, especially in Boquillas.
station located less than a mile away on
the U.S. side, but does provide a stream
of park visitors. Without a gas station in
Boquillas, making the trip to Musquiz is
rare, to say the least. Lacho Falcon, oper-
ator of a small tienda in town, tries to
make the trip often enough to bring
back potatoes, onions and other shelf-
stable goods.
continued on page 26