To Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido
Last year in Puerto Escondido, someone mentioned Casa Wabi. So we went.
Me, a friend, and Monica—the scooter. Thirty kilometers didn’t sound like much. The road was supposed to be beautiful.
It was breathtaking. Somewhere along the way, the asphalt disappeared. Lagoons on the right, nature on the left. Heat coming from everywhere. Cows started showing up, standing there, watching us pass like they’d seen it all before.
And then Casa Wabi.
A non-profit arts foundation on the coast of Oaxaca, near Puerto Escondido. A brutalist, open-air residence designed by Tadao Ando, and founded by Bosco Sodi, built to host international artists for residencies while connecting them with the local communities. Artists stay. They create. They engage with the region—working with kids, local craftspeople, farmers.
Physically, it’s wild. A long, low concrete wall cutting through the landscape. Mountains behind, Pacific in front. Half the property’s private—where the residents live and work, and you won’t see much of it. The public side? Exhibition spaces, gardens, pavilions. Quiet. Minimal. Buildings with these types of roofs are known locally as Palapa—simple, thatched structures that let the air move through.
It’s not a gallery. Not really a museum. More like a mirage with perfect lines.
On our way back from Casa Wabi, we made a pit stop at a roadside, family-owned restaurant. The seafood was incredible—simple, perfectly prepared. After, we stopped by a lagoon, did a little sightseeing, watched the still water and the birds doing their thing.
Eventually, we made our way back to Puerto Escondido, just in time to catch the last bit of light fading out.
Got home before dark. Monica was tired. So were we.
