On the way to Patagonia to do some winter birding, Laurie Zuckerman stumbled across the Telles Family Shrine, perched on a rocky hillside in Southern Arizona. This rock grotto was built in 1941 by Juanita and Juan Telles in gratitude for the safe return of their son from World War II. These shrines, also known as capillitas or grutas, are Southwestern icons, but they are usually few and far between. It was a stunning find for this particular snowbird. I have been to Patagonia many times, but never from Nogales north on Highway 82.
Here's a look at what you would see from this windy road near mile marker 16. Follow my camera all the way up the crumbling concrete staircase into this alluring cave. In hindsight, the setting for this shrine was far more provocative than the shrine itself, which contains mostly newer mundane plaster saints, plastic flowers, and glass votive candles, many of which were lit with the eternal flame the Telles family planned for.
Thank you to all who have contributed comments and family history of this Telles Family Shrine.
