"Las Pozas" is a sculptural garden consisting of a series of concrete architectural structures and marvelous paths. Located near the Mexican village of Xilitla, with waterfalls

"Las Pozas" is a sculptural garden consisting of a series of concrete architectural structures and marvelous paths. Located near the Mexican village of Xilitla, a river with a waterfall flows through the garden and is surrounded by a huge terrace jungle. The design was conceived by The English poet and Surrealist art collector Edward James and mexican Hillitra artist Plutarco Gastlum. What began as a story of butterflies and dreams began in 1940 when Edward and his friend Gastlum traveled to this place, bathing and resting in a small pool, when suddenly a flock of butterflies flew in circles around them. Edward decided that this was a sign from God, and between 1947 and 1949 he decided to build the Garden of Eden here, which he had long aspired to. Despite his considerable wealth, James was forced to auction off his surrealist collection to cover the $5 million in structural costs needed to build the garden. In the 1960s and 1970s, James poured more and more resources into what he called a "surrealist hideaway," spending millions of dollars and hiring hundreds of masons, artisans, and local artisans. By the time James died in 1984, he had built 36 surrealist concrete sculptures scattered throughout the approximately 20-acre tropical jungle.