Once you start exploring the massive metal sculptures at Borrego Springs, you can’t help but wonder where they came from and why. Lucky for us, with the help with the internet, and some answers straight from their creator. We found the clues to unlock the puzzles of this crazy place. The sculptures are all the work of one man, Ricardo Breceda. The craziest thing is they almost didn’t exist. At one point in his life, Ricardo was a hard worker in the Durango, Mexico on a construction site. But after a serious fall on the construction site, Ricardo’s back was injured and his construction career had come to a sudden end.
To pay the bills, Ricardo Breceda started a new job selling exotic boots. Little did he know, that one pair of boots would change his life forever. Ricardo traded a customer a pair of boots for a welding torch. He wanted something to play with on his days off. He realized his true artistic talent after his 7-year old daughter asked him to make her a life-sized dinosaur for Christmas after watching Jurassic Park 3.
Lucky for him, fate had bigger plans for his creations. He had set up a small store in Perris, CA called “Perris Jurrasic Park”. It was actually about 15 minutes from the house Dustin grew up in. This was where he met the late Dennis Avery, who you might know from the Avery office supply brand. Dennis happened to own 3 square miles of land right in the middle of the small town called Borrego Springs, right outside California’s largest state park, Anza-Borrego.
Dennis had a vision. He wanted to create a free-standing art gallery for all to enjoy. The beasts depicted draw inspiration from animals whose fossils were found in the desert. The elephants are actually Columbian Mammoths and Gomphothere, and the bird is an Aiolornis, for example. Avery had just financed a book on the extinct creatures and fossils of the Anza Borrego Desert when he drove past Ricardo Breceda’s Perris Jurassic Park. Avery decided to hire him to create statues of them on his estate.
Since we don’t know exactly what these animals looked like, Ricardo Breceda has put a mythical spin on them. It’s meant to mimic what the desert looked like centuries ago. Some of the sculptures show the history and culture of the area as well. There’s a grizzled miner panning for gold, Native Americans, and a stagecoach. In 2008, Mr. Avery and Ricardo struck up a deal to bring 133 of his masterpieces to scatter throughout the desert. Galleta Meadows Estate was born, and it was a hit. People come from around the world the see Ricardo’s creations. Unfortunately, Dennis would only be able to enjoy it until he passed away in 2012.
In addition to having the largest collection of his work featured all over Borrego Springs, you can find Ricardo’s work from Canada to Australia and all over the globe. He also has to upgrade his
We recently made our way to Ricardo’s shop in Vail Lake because we had to meet the man behind the welders mask. We knew we had reached our destination when we saw Optimus Prime, standing on the side of the road and welcoming us with open arms. His shops are filled with sculptures from tiny metal ants to giant dragon that breaths fire. We found the man himself resting peacefully with his dog. After a quick introduction, Ricardo happily answered some of our burning questions
One thing that we loved about Ricardo is that when we asked him which of his sculptures was his favorite, he answered: ” I don’t know, I haven’t made it yet.” But he was pretty fond of one of his newest creations. He had recently completed a replica Iron Man suit which he proudly drove around town with it.
We asked him which of the sculptures were the hardest to make. He chuckled and said that none of them have been too hard for him, but that building and transporting the serpent was pretty challenging. Each section except for the head had to be split into two pieces to be transported to Borrego Springs. As for what he has planned for future sculptures, he already has one incredible fire breathing dragon at his shop. But he wants to make another one that has even more detailed and can be triggered by remote control. You can tell that Ricardo Breceda doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon!
We also had to ask about the fighting scorpion and the grasshopper. Dustin wanted to know if there was a story behind it. Ricardo had wanted to set the stage for a ferocious battle and one of its fighters was going to pay homage to his upbringing in Durango. The state of Durango is known as “the Land of the Scorpion” due to its abundance of the 8 legged arachnids. So when Ricardo was given creative freedom, he jumped at the chance to create the monster.
The last thing that we had to know is what happened to that very first dinosaur that he made for his daughter. Well don’t worry, he is still alive and well. He currently calls Perris, Ca his home. Due to his size and shape, it would take nothing short of a helicopter to relocate him to Ricardo’s new house. So if you know anyone with a helicopter that would like to help our buddy Ricardo out, let us know!
Don’t forget to check out our blog on how to explore the awesome sculptures at Borrego Springs.
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