El Secreto de Coyote Canyon

By Daniel Kandell Zamudio

Rodrigo Landeros Vélez was originally a portrait artist from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, across the border from Brownsville, Texas. He, his former wife and in-laws first visited San Miguel de Allende nine and a half years ago, and it took the couple all but one-and-a-half hours to decide they both wanted to relocate.

About year and a half later, with their first child on the way, the couple left behind their family and a successful business to instinctively move to San Miguel. Rodrigo initially thought he would live off of his painting skills in the artistic and touristy colonial city. But while preparing for childbirth, he and his wife met a friend who was a yoga instructor, who introduced the couple to a "very special place", which turned out to be the archaeological site known as la Cañada de la Virgen.

The couple enjoyed the particular energy of the site so much that they revisited several times until one day they were confronted by an old Mexican cowboy on horseback, straight out of a classic Western. After a few minutes of polite conversation, Rodrigo ventured to ask the old cowboy if there was anywhere he could possibly rent some horses to go riding himself.

The cowboy responded that there was no need to rent the horses, that Rodrigo and his family only had to come by his ranch and they would lend them the horses at no charge. Rodrigo, impressed with the old cowboy's friendliness and tremendous generosity, assured him he would take him up on his offer and a month later Rodrigo returned with his sister and three friends to see if they could actually borrow the horses. Sure enough, soon the horses were rounded up, saddled and ready for them to ride.

Rodrigo had never ridden a horse in his life and he asked the cowboys if they took people on excursions or riding lessons frequently. The cowboys answered that they had never done this, that they generally used the horses to work on their cattle ranch, and that they rarely rode for pleasure, which was considered a waste of time for most of them. The group was immediately awestruck by how gorgeous and striking the desert landscape was with its incredible vistas and plunging canyon, complete with raging riverbed. And with each passing comment the overjoyed group made, the cowboys looked at themselves more and more perplexed.

"Really?" the cowboys began to question, "You think this is pretty? We think it's pretty ugly out here, actually. It's all dry, in the middle of nowhere, it takes an hour to get into town. What do you like about this place?

"No, this place is beautiful," Rodrigo countered. "It's almost a kind of a paradise, except you guys don't appreciate it, because you see it everyday, you take it for granted because it's your backyard, so you don't see it the same way, but I assure you it's beautiful, it's gorgeous."

So about 15 or 20 minutes later Rodrigo asked the cowboys if they would be interested in him trying to round up some customers. "Customers for what?" the cowboys wondered. "Well, for this. Exactly what we're doing right now," explained Rodrigo. "Take people on a ride through your land, show them a nice time, feed them a good meal." "And you think people would like this?" asked the cowboys in disbelief. "Oh, people would LOVE this," Rodrigo answered emphatically. "Just like we love it, anybody would love it."

This was followed by the inevitable: "And you think people would PAY for this?"

"I'm sure people would pay for this," confirmed Rodrigo. "This is a tremendous experience. Of course."

The cowboys thought this was a crazy idea and their response was basically, "Well, you know where to find us, we're not going anywhere, if you need the horses, come bye." But they didn't expect to see Rodrigo ever again. About a month after that experience Rodrigo was feeling the economic pinch of not having sold enough paintings, only having one week's worth of grocery money left. He knew he needed to do something quick and he feared finding a real jobÑwhich he self-admittedly could never hold downÑso he revisited his idea. So he took a group of friends out on horseback and did a test run, cleaning up the trail a little bit, modifying it to make it a little more scenic, taking a bunch of photographs along the way.

		At this point, he couldn't afford to buy a cell phone or make copies of flyers, so he made some cardboard drop boxes with photos of the excursion and his information. Potential clients could drop off their name and number to make a reservation at various points around town. Six-and-a-half years later, over 2,700 riders, ranging in ages from a year-and-a-half to 83 years old, have taken the Coyote Canyon ride. They currently offer half-day excursions which consist of riding lessons, riding across the plains, through the river canyon, hiking, and on our particular occasion, rappelling off a 150 foot cliff and later a dinner.

The full-day excursion involves all that along with a practical tour of the old-fashioned ranch, including milking the cows and making fresh cheese and tortillas, exploring the ranch houses which function without the luxury of running water or electricity and interacting with farm animals.

Overnight excursions feature camping and weeklong excursions are launched from downtown Guanajuato, climbing up into the mountains outside that city, riding through several river valleys, roaming hillsides, various canyons, through Cañada de la Virgen and eventually dismounting in downtown San Miguel in front of la Parroquia.

They also offer rides for corporate groups for as many as 70 riders at a time and treat them to a cattle drive, followed by drinks at a Mexican fiesta, a bareback horse racing spectacular, a Mexican feast, authentic band and genuine rodeo. There are also romantic hot springs excursions complete with catering, African drumming sessions, acrobatic shows and pyrotechnic displays. Apart from that they can also book excursions on ATVs, hot air balloons, mountain bikes and hiking. And coming in summer of 2007: The Coyote Canyon Spanish Emersion Adventure Camp and Internship Program!

For reservations and more information call Rodrigo at: (415) 154-4193


Fotografías:
Michael Amici,
Ruth Castro Ll. y
Rodrigo Landeros Vélez