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A Naked Woman House... With Pictures!

I was in Mexico this weekend and you won't believe what I stumbled upon!

You think your eyes are playing tricks on you, but they're not. & You are actually looking at a large nude torso of a woman with giant boobs. & Believe it or not, she is the home of an artist named Armando Mu & ntilde;oz Garcia. & He watches TV in her tummy and sleeps in her ta ta's.

This is one of the many things to love about Tijuana and Baja, California: & the spontaneous, organic, mixed-media, resourcefully constructed, unregulated, individualized, half-built, mashed up architecture. & It's so topsy turvey from our American way of life - the idea that something so significant as a home, the emblem of the American dream, can be toyed with in such a way. & I'm reminded of a show we did recently on These Days about homeowners' associations and the ridiculous rules they enforce. & I imagine a house like the one above would send some of those association board members into cardiac arrest. &

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So here's what happened...we were driving along toward Puerto Nuevo and stopped so one of our passengers could do some roadside shopping. & I looked up on a hillside and saw what looked like a large face. & We got out of the car for a better view and realized the face might be attached to an entire body! & Obviously, one doesn't pass up such things, so we asked our fellow travelers to sit tight while we checked it out. & We then proceeded to cross three highways, climb some relatively steep inclines (in flip-flops) and hike up a little hill to find ourselves in front of the house of Armando Mu & ntilde;oz Garcia. &

Armando is a sculptor and painter who is also known for a 56-foot sculpture in Tijuana called & La Mona . & La Mona is also a dwelling, and I believe it's half-built. & She stands among a dense residential mix of homes and shacks built into the city's hillside. & I've read reports that many of the residences surrounding La Mona are squatter shacks, but I don't know that for sure. & I've seen La Mona from a distance, across a canyon, and she's something to behold. & Kind of like a Lady Liberty for Tijuana. &

Since La Mona , Armando has been busy building this residence. He's spent the last 12 years working on her. Here's an even closer look...

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Armando met us outside and seemed thrilled with our snapping pictures. & Not a shocker. & One assumes if you build a naked woman house, you're counting on some looky-loos. & We had to decline his offer for a tour because our guests, including three children, were waiting in a hot car below. & But Armando was kind enough to invite us back - an invitation I plan to take him up on as soon as possible. & Apparently, the structure is four stories - the living room and kitchen are in the tummy, the bedroom's in the chesty parts, and the head and hair will be his studio. & He plans to work on a flowing mass of hair next.

Here are the best directions I could find online. & Be sure to stop by and say hello to Armando. & He's charming and gracious and the house is crazy fun. &