Aguilar Foundation Will Curate Adobe

Descendants of the original Juaneno inhabitants of the 202-year-old Blas Aguilar Adobe are finally seeing a dream turn into reality.

The newly formed Blas Aguilar Foundation, which includes descendants of the Aguilar family who once owned the adobe, has been chosen by the city as the official curator of the historic structure.

The foundation’s goal is to turn the city-owned adobe into a museum that will house artifacts reflecting the different periods of the city’s centuries-old history.

The adobe is already opened occasionally so that the public may see Juaneno artifacts, historic photos and documents of the early mission days.

For Juaneno tribal chairman David Belardes and his wife, Aurora, the great-great-granddaughter of Blas Aguilar, the curatorship is significant on several levels.

“It’s not just about getting an old adobe open again,” said David Belardes, who helped establish the nonprofit foundation with Aurora and other members of a local historical preservation group.

Members of the foundation hope eventually to open the adobe as a museum five days a week. But a number of repairs must be made first.

“Grant money and donations are what’s going to help us renovate this,” said Domingo Belardes, the great-great-great grandson of Blas Aguilar. “We still have a lot of workto do.”

A local preservation group, Friends of San Juan Capistrano, has been dissolved and is donating its remaining funds to the foundation, which is trying to raise at least $75,000 for the restoration.

On Oct. 26, the foundation will have an autumn festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Historic Town Park, with the adobe and its artifacts open for viewing. The adobe is at 31806 El Camino Real. Information: (714) 493-4933.