Imelda, Gina and Carolyn are three sisters, native to New Mexico and traditional New Mexican hospitality. Raised by two beautiful souls, José & Viola, these sisters endeavor to draw from the rich history of New Mexico to create an Inn filled with warmth, comfort and a sense of tranquility.

Jose and Viola

The Story Behind the Building of La Mirada

Brick by Brick....

La Mirada is a charming Hacienda-Style Compound which sits beautifully in the New Mexican landscape and reflects more than 400 years of family rich history of the Rio Abajo Valley and the life-giving Rio Grande.

An ingenious, yet humble man, named José Sisneros, who we have the honor of saying is our father, built this Inn, RV Park and other buildings at this compound. The brick walls, which are similar in appearance and ambiance to that of adobe (sun-dried, straw packed mud bricks) but are truly one of a kind. They were both invented and manufactured by this intelligent and hardworking entrepreneur.

After many years of seeing him "cooking gypsum" in our mother's kitchen, and experimenting with many different ingredients and preparation variations, he began the hard work of quarrying the gypsum, and other materials, pouring each brick by hand into handmade wooden forms and then setting the brick into the walls.

He was the type of person to get right in there and work, sometimes until the wee hours. He continued to pour the needed amount of brick for these buildings here onsite and allowed them to cure only as long as necessary because they were being set in the walls just as quickly. Several hundred thousand were made for this building alone.

The decorative lentils above the doors and windows, the roof insulation, which was poured in a slurry form. The mortar used between the brick and even the artistic reliefs that you see down the corridors (also created by José Sisneros) were all made from the same material. He believed that the available common natural resources used for building would be in shortages in the years to come. Gypsum is available in great amounts all over the world. He wanted to make a building more affordable and create a building method with less phase work.

The R-value of this brick is 36. Compression tests conducted by independent testing labs rate the brick at 370 PSI. This is 33% in excess of building requirements for this type of material and is eleven times stronger than original adobe!

The walls were erected and until recently, nothing else was done to them. The brick has a natural pink color and was exposed both inside and out. However, due to the recent renovation of this building, exterior walls have been stuccoed and interior walls have been lightly plastered to protect their integrity. The "feel" of this building remains warm and comfortable.

Our grandfather Esquipula, a farmer, rancher and the father of 8 hombres was in the habit of hard work and always quoted the Spanish "dicho", "While you're resting, go make adobes." Dad took this attitude to heart, and the result is a loving reminder of the ingenuity of our papá.