Artistic Renovation by Marco Aldaco, Mexico’s Most Celebrated Architect, Restores this Historic Hacienda to its Former Brilliance

New York, NY – Hacienda San Bernardo defines an artistic renaissance for an historic residence built in the 1860’s. A glorious achievement in the enduring value of important architecture, the vast compound with multiple buildings benefitted from the vision of Marco Aldaco - dubbed Mexico’s most revered architect – to completely reinvent the property. The result is a preservation of a storied past combined with a modern aesthetic, while incorporating the artful appointments and native materials for which Aldaco is famous.

“The Yucatan setting is so peaceful and restorative and the main home and surrounding buildings flow with a timeless elegance,” says Rick Moeser, Executive Director of Christie’s International Real Estate. “The care and expertise of the property’s rehabilitation is obvious at every turn.”

Numerous grand haciendas, specializing in the manufacture of sisal, sprung up in the Yucatan in the early 1900’s, turning this Mexican outpost into one of the wealthiest regions in the world. Sisal offered a myriad of opportunities; maritime ropes for a burgeoning shipping industry; baling twine on hay to replace wire which injured cows and the reason John Deere supported these operations; carpets, hammocks, wall hangings, table placements were other common uses. The possibilities seemed endless. 

The “green gold” - Henequen, a variety of the agave cactus – is the plant from which sisal was derived. Hundreds upon hundreds of acres of the spikey succulent were planted in the Yucatan and their owners become rich beyond imagination. They traveled the world to market their wares and returned enamored with French and Italian architectural and art influences to infuse into their fine homes. This remains evident in Hacienda San Bernardo.

To support these large-scale operations and manage the planting, care, harvesting and manufacture of sisal, multiple outbuildings were required. In addition to the main residence, which frequently served as the administrative center, there was a manufacturing facility, housing for the field hands and quite often chapels and schools.

In the 1940’s, the sisal market bottomed out, due in large part to the introduction of synthetic fibers. Without the economy to support them, Yucatan haciendas, like Hacienda San Bernardo, were abandoned and left to crumble in the jungle for the next half century.

Fast forward to the 1990’s. Those with a keen eye rediscovered the haciendas and reclaimed them from the march of disrepair and restored them to their original glory. A number of these have been transformed to luxury hotels and others as private residences.

Hacienda San Bernardo is introduced by a soaring exterior promenade with supporting arches, a theme replicated inside giving the main living rooms depth and context. Twenty-four foot ceilings create massive walls which are perfect for the display of even the grandest of art collections.

A quaint Mexican kitchen is located off the chapel for intimate al fresco dining. The chapel is glorious in its simplicity, and roofless in the Mexican tradition to allow prayers to ascend directly to the heavens. The large sisal manufacturing center, still proudly showcasing a tall smokestack, now serves as a guest residence. The property is further appointed with two lovely tree-shaded pools, gardens, the twittering of birds, and fountains and water features.

"Hacienda San Bernardo is truly Heaven on Earth in the heart of the magical Yucatan Peninsula,” says Eduardo Molina Dubost, whose family has been living in the Yucatan for over 300 years and is representing the property.

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