Meet Pablo - "Freedom is a Concious Choice"

In 1985 a man in his 40's, known throughout his life as Pablo, left Northern California - a place he describes as having an annual weather pattern of "6 months of fog, then 6 months of rain" - to seek a warmer winter in Baja. He drove into Todos Santos and was immediately taken by how quiet and clean the little ocean-view hamlet was.

"Clearly Todos Santos was something different", he says.

Back then, he describes, the town had no pavement and not one new truck or car among its residents. There was no newspaper, only one phone line that could call long-distance, and two Mexican TV channels available to those who could afford to hook up a line. And of course at that time, no internet or cell phones.

"So you were totally cut off from the outside world", I comment.

"No, I was set free", he smiles.

For the next four years, he spent summers working at his boatyard in Mendocino and returned to Todos Santos for the winter. In March of 1990, he was due to drive back to California but struggled. Becoming visibly moved remembering this pivotal moment in his life, Pablo recalls how he simply decided "I'm not going".

"I was happy like I'd never been happy up there and made the decision to stay, despite the fact I had no food and no money."

Fortunately, Pablo had met a rancher who allowed him to park his truck, his home, on the property freely. But he had nothing to subsist on other than coffee and peppermint tea.

"A fast really clears the head, brings you into the present", he says.

On the fourth day with no food, a Sunday, Pablo awoke and went into town. He was struck looking at the food in the supermarket windows and decided to sit down to draw the scene. For over three hours, he sketched everything he saw around him and felt a profound peace, knowing that he would eat again. He signed the picture with his name and the day of the week in Spanish.

"Pablo Domingo was born on that day."

He sold the sketch to the owner of the supermarket for the equivalent of $7.40 US, affording him three days worth of food and a half tank of gas. The next day, he sketched the town theatre and sold it to a Canadian tourist for the same amount. Same the next day with the town church. Pablo had become a professional artist.

"Back then there were no shops catering to tourists, so anyone who wanted a souvenir could buy one from me."

Pablo was instrumental in organizing the town's first arts festival in 1991, thus branding Todos Santos as an artists colony, and supported himself through art for the next 10 years. He says there was a shared consciousness among the town's residents that this was a special place, beautiful and quiet.

"I realized I was done with what they're doing up there (the US), that there was more to life than striving to get rich."

Mexican immigration finally caught up with Pablo for earning income without a work visa and deported him. Fortunately, the timing of this coincided with his eligibility for US Social Security, allowing Pablo to return without having to make a living locally.

For the past 10 years, he's lived simply and comfortably in a "permanente" pad in the El Litro RV Park with his meticulously-kept '67 Chevy, self-made custom camper, and palapa shelter. During his tenure in Todos Santos, he has seen the town more than double in size and evolve from a quiet hamlet to a bustling tourist stop. When asked if he would ever consider leaving to find a calmer home, he ponders.

"It took me five years here before I was accepted into the local community. Now I'm too old to move", Pablo says. "I really enjoy being part of this town. Now I know the grandchildren of my original friends and they know me."

Pablo's home and art: