[high-pitched tone]
LILIANA SALGADO: This land is a gift.
Normally, you don't see the waves next to the desert
is very special combination.
We are in a very beautiful place,
that's why I thought we need to build something special here.
OLAF MORALES: One of the main reasons
we decided to create this project was to actually feel
connected with nature, and especially with nature
in the Baja, like telling the story of the region
and also connecting it with the elements that are
part of my Mexican heritage.
So Lily and I worked really hard to actually choose
the pieces that tell the story, helping people
understand why the elements that represent Mexico
are so important.
[mutters]
More coffee for the coffee lover.
Uh-huh.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
We are in Cerritos, Baja, California Sur, Mexico.
Cerritos is located very close to Todos Santos,
and it's a very small community, really--
probably, there's no more than 12,000 people
living here in this area.
LILIANA SALGADO: Well, we are in the middle of the desert
next to the sea, and this is a special place.
I born here in Baja, California Sur.
My family is from here.
When I was younger, normally, I came to the beach
and see the sunset.
I say sometimes I will have a house on the beach.
OLAF MORALES: Just like your dream, right?
LILIANA SALGADO: Yeah. OLAF MORALES: It's your dream.
LILIANA SALGADO: It's my dream.
Casa Pakal is my dream.
OLAF MORALES: I'm originally from the South
of Mexico, Chiapas.
My ancestors were actually Mayans.
What we want to do is to honor them, to honor the heritage,
to honor the history, culture, traditions.
So even the house, if we even think about the name Pakal.
Why Pakal?
Well, Pakal was a Mayan king.
So Pakal was chosen by us as a way to actually
honor the Mayan culture.
Casa Pakal is about a 1,000 square feet.
One common kitchen, one outside living room, and
two bedrooms and one bathroom.
And also, we have the rooftop, which
is the perfect view to enjoy the landscape of the region.
You know, this landscape really tells the story of the Baja.
LILIANA SALGADO: It's very peaceful,
and you can hear the, the waves here in the house.
So it's very, very nice.
We respect the land, so we try to don't
move the cactus and the torotes because I love that tree.
OLAF MORALES: And when we very first started, the foundation
of the house, I remember Lily was so much worried
about something, and it wasn't even about like the foundation
of the house.
It was more about like cacti.
So we, we talked to our friend and contractor.
And Lily told him very specifically,
please, like, make sure not to, like, damage any cacti.
One of my favorite is just that one right there.
LILIANA SALGADO: Maybe 200 years old.
OLAF MORALES: At least 100 years old, but it could be 200 years.
LILIANA SALGADO: Yeah.
OLAF MORALES: I don't know, but that's, that's really nice.
Coming here to the Baja was, for me,
an opportunity for growing as well,
not only professionally, but also like personally.
Early 2018, I opened this opportunity for the community
to take English classes for free.
So Lily was basically one of my first students here in town.
LILIANA SALGADO: This part of this land
is a legacy from my family here.
My grandfather has this land from his father.
I am so grateful because he's not--
he's not alive, but I saw, OK, I need to work
with this piece of land.
This is an opportunity to do something special here.
OLAF MORALES: When I met lily, one of the things that I like
the most about her is that she likes to actually work
hard and make things happen.
By 2021, we finally finished--
LILIANA SALGADO: The house.
OLAF MORALES: --the construction of this house.
Yes.
So we love Pakal and Pakal is our first baby,
and the place where dreams can happen as well.
LILIANA SALGADO: This is the pompones,
and we love the colors.
OLAF MORALES: Pompones represent fiestas.
In the South of Mexico, by having pompones then you
are telling your friends, you're telling people around
that there's like happiness.
And that's why we decided to add them as part of the entrance.
The first thing that we see, it's the kitchen.
And in the kitchen, we have these tiles
and you can see that the tiles, the green, different tones
of greens are connected to the door,
but it's also connected to this Mayan culture.
LILIANA SALGADO: The Mayans use a lot of jade in gallery
and that was used by the king.
And this is the guest room.
You can see textiles made actually by Chamulans.
The Chamulas is a community in Chiapas.
They are Indigenous.
OLAF MORALES: The way that actually
people dyed these textiles come from an insect
known as cochineal.
And this little insect grows in the nopales, which
is like a plant here in Mexico.
It's so impressing how our ancestors actually
created these different colors.
When you buy it, you're actually not just buying that cushion,
you're not buying that cover, but you're buying like, history,
which comes from our ancestors.
LILIANA SALGADO: This is the main room.
Maybe you can jump from the bed to the pool.
So I like to keep in touch with the water, and at the same time,
you are hearing the waves.
So it's, it's a nice combination for us.
OLAF MORALES: The layout of the house
was a very interesting project by itself.
It's more like this organic feeling of like moving
around the house and just like feeling that everything here
flows naturally and smoothly.
LILIANA SALGADO: We have the living room outside
because we love to hear the birds in the morning
and have our breakfast and feel the nature very close.
So why not to enjoy it?
OLAF MORALES: Hola.
Buenas tardes.
[spanish]
We usually invite people over to our house.
These are old friends we've known over the years.
In Mexico, the kitchen is very important.
And this is the place where conversations happen.
And this is the place where families
actually gather together.
It's not a living room.
It's actually the kitchen.
WOMAN: [speaking spanish]
WOMAN: Oh, I see.
WOMAN: [speaking spanish]
[speaking spanish]
[ladies laughing]
[easy-listening music]
[speaking spanish]
[men laughing]
[chatter in spanish]
LILIANA SALGADO: It's very hard to find a place where you can
disconnect the rest of the world, and rest,
and really enjoy yourself and the nature.
[speaking spanish]
[spanish]
DINNER GUEST: [speaking spanish]
[speaking spanish]
[chatter in spanish]
OLAF MORALES: I believe Paqal invites people to come.
And in some way, it's this place that will embrace you,
which it sounds like the opposite,
right, because we're in the desert.
But instead, Paqal has this unique vibe that will tell you,
you can stay as long as possible,
and you can just relax, and you can recharge batteries.
LILIANA SALGADO: Casa Paqal is my dream come true.
[easy-listening music]