As Museum, Old Adobe to Preserve Old Culture

To many residents, the 202-year-old Blas Aguilar Adobe is simply a relic of the past, a dusty symbol of the early days of the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

But to the Belardes family, the home is much more than that. Here is where their Juaneno Indian ancestors lived and worked, loved and died. They share a deep kinship with the little adobe. It is where they came from.

“This is our culture here,” said 26-year-old Domingo Belardes, a great-great-great-grandson of Don Blas Aguilar, the last mayor under Mexican rule who called the adobe home.

Now, with help from local organizations, the Belardes family is working to restore the city-owned adobe--one of eight still remaining in town--so they can turn it into a Juaneno Indian museum.

After months of scrubbing and dusting, they will open the historic adobe Sunday to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in commemoration of Historic Preservation Week. The event will feature Juaneno dancers, rattle songs, food, music and displays of early Juaneno artifacts, as well as tours by the local Historical Society’s Walking Tour Guides. Sponsored by the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission, the event is an opportunity for people to catch a glimpse of early Juaneno life.

“Our dream is to have our own interpretive center, where we can keep our culture alive,” Belardes said.

The family is trying to set up a foundation, applying for grants and welcoming community donations to help fund their cause. They need to raise about $75,000 to complete restoration work, according to Belardes’ mother, Aurora Belardes. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Blas Aguilar and the wife of David Belardes, a local Juaneno leader and chairman of the Cultural Heritage Commission.

The family is working out a deal with the city to act as curators of the adobe and rent it for $1 a year.

“They’re doing an excellent job,” said city management analyst Mary Laub. “It’s a win-win situation.”

Built in 1794, the home was one of 40 adobes constructed to house Juanenos who worked at the mission. Then in 1845, the esteemed Don Blas Aguilar bought the adobe and turned it into a hacienda known for its elegance and beauty.

“There’s so much history here in this one adobe,” David Belardes said.

The house was in the hands of the Aguilar family for nearly a century until 1940, when the Catholic Diocese of Orange bought it and turned it into a duplex. Then in 1987 the city purchased the aging structure, with hopes of converting it into a museum.

Now it looks as if that vision may become a reality. Starting in July, the Belardes family hopes to open the adobe for a few days a week, with displays of Juaneno artifacts and historic photographs.

“I just want people to understand there was a culture here,” Domingo Belardes said.

Added his father: “Our story is the story of San Juan.”

The adobe is at 31806 El Camino Real.