El Pedegral, Museum and Gallery

There seem to be a lot of special places to see in Mascota and one of them is about 10 houses away from us, on the same street - the Museum and Gallery of El Pedregal. It is a unique building created by a man who is 85 years old and has lived in the same house for his entire life. This house has to be seen to be believed.

Mr. Francisco Rodríguez Peña created a one-of-a-kind house filled with stone objects. The stones that he uses come from the beaches in Puerto Vallarta. Some of the stones are big and some are very tiny. They are different colours and shapes and he uses them to create guitars, piñatas, chess boards, pillows, caps, a television and telephones, and more. The tables, the toilet, the sink, even the decorative pillows on his bed! Everything in his house is decorated with pebbles and stones. What a labour of love.

In addition to these unique crafts, he has a large collection of photographs (of course, in stone frames) of Mascota. Some of the photos date back to 1886! Yes, photographs were taken in 1886 in Mexico.

In the center of the museum there is a stone wishing well and on the walls in the washroom, various local sayings had been written on little plaques. They were hard for us to understand as they were colloquial expressions. I am sure that the people in Mascota chuckled as they read and remembered the people who had said these words.

Apparently, Francisco is also a writer and has a written a book about the history of Mascota. This kind and gentle man lives in the house and was our ‘guide’. It is times like this that we really appreciate having learned some Spanish.

The Pedregal Museum is a visit that you will not regret doing; you will admire the various stone sculptures and you will leave there with a smile on your face.Read more