As Dominic Espinoza built his Colorado castle, he didn’t use a blueprint. “[I] just followed where one board ends, looking at it, and imagining the board is gonna throw me this way,” he said. “Oh, I think that looks good — I’ll just follow that.” The results were about what you would expect: a quirky, fun desert castle sure to catch any passing eye. Tale a closer look, however, and it’s easy to see something is “off.”
Cano Castle
Standing outside Cano Castle’s gates, a few things are apparent about the structure. One: There is no chance it could keep any armed knights at bay; two: there isn’t anything else quite like it. Four incredible towers comprise Dominic Espinoza’s decades-in-the-making creation.
Four Towers
The four towers sport fitting names: “The King,” “The Queen,” “The Knight,” and “The Rook.” Each boasts a standout feature that separates it from the other three towers, though each shared the same three sources of inspiration, which, according to “Cano” (a nickname given to Espinoza by his niece) were “Vitamin Mary Jane, Jesus,” and… Vietnam.
War Stories
A veteran of the Vietnam War, Cano (below) never spoke much of the horrors he saw. What he brought back from the fighting were stories of Buddhist temples he saw while deployed. He was mesmerized by the sense of grandness and tranquility, and when he returned to the States in 1970, he had a new goal in mind.
A Religious Experience
Building a castle, then, was “his way of building something for our religion,” which can be understood just by looking the front gates. “ALCOHOL + TOBACOO IS KILLS” and “MARYJANE IS HEALING” are plastered throughout the structure, along with “Jesus, Lord of Kings” arcs over the entry.
A List of Skills
The castle started with humble roots: upon getting back to the U.S. in 1970, Dominic settled in Antonito, Colorado, in search of a newfound, postwar purpose. He took a job picking potatoes, and he taught himself construction, adding on to his at-first modest home with scrap material. The place was standing out.
Fire, Fire Everywhere
And then it burned down. If you ask Cano, he’ll tell you it was arson, citing a report that the firefighters just stood around as his house burned and a long-held family theory that the government conspired to take his family’s vast real estate. He knew if his castle could stand against outside forces of arson, it needed something special.
Rocking Out
He decided to rebuild his home with stone imported from New Mexico, which, as he put it, “almost forced [him] to build a castle.” In the ’80s, his aging mother moved in, but that didn’t stop Cano from building his vision. He continued adding on to his rock-and-scrap-heap castle until it became a tourist attraction.
“Something That God Made”
While curious tourists made pitstops near the Colorado-New Mexico border to get a glimpse of the castle, Cano saw it as so much more than a photo opportunity: “I have a different image of the castle,” he said. “We call it ‘the castle,’ but still it’s something that God made, he just used me, I can’t explain it.”
Neighborly
“I made Jesus my neighbor so Jesus will back me up,” Cano said. “I want to persuade Jesus that he needs to go to Washington so that I can go with him.” The ensuing journey, he said, would allow him to right the wrongs against his family — like the aforementioned arson. A monument to his quest for justice, Cano’s Castle featured several devilish details.
“The King”
The most prominent of the four towers, “The King” was built with aluminum cans peppering that hard stone surface. We should note that, despite his clear anti-alcohol stance, these are mostly all beer cans. Sparkling with color, the roof is made of empty bottles, though the space isn’t inhabitable — it’s more of a shrine than anything.
Virgin Mary
Across the face of The King is the phrase “La Virgen de Guadalupe,” written in jagged wire. This isn’t the only mention of the Virgin Mary, and Cano often patrols the grounds placing flowers nearby anywhere her likeness appears. One such spot is a sculpture in a bathtub across the way.
“The Queen”
Connected to “The King” via a rickety bridge that looks dangerous on a windy day is “The Queen,” the second most prominent structure on the castle grounds. Similarly built with beer cans and bottles, she gets the added feature of hubcaps framing the entryway. Inside, it’s a tangle rat’s nest of wires.
“The Rook”
Like its comparative chess counterpart — Cano said the chess-themed names didn’t come to him until after the compound was built — “The Rook” doesn’t have the same stature as the King and Queen. It’s the least exciting of the four structures, yet “The Knight” might soon be the most impressive.
“The Knight”
At the moment, “The Knight” supports the necessary castle flag pole, and in the future, it will get another upgrade, so long as Cano can find the scraps and time. The upcoming design will complete the “medieval feel” of the castle.
A Dragon to Slay
Because Cano hopes to add a dragon — one built from old cans and hubcaps — to the very stop of “The Knight.” Sure to add a punch of magic, the addition will draw even more tourists to Antonito, Colorado. Locals don’t mind; in fact, Cano provides some special opportunities for his neighbors that make up for the annoying foot traffic.
Green Thumbs and Drums
Despite being on the edge of the desert, Cano’s Castle offers a lot to all the locals that want to take advantage: there’s an animal farm and a vegetable garden. When the mood strikes, Cano bangs on drums, the beat echoing through the neighborhood. Of course, that’s just a start.
Dribble Game
Additionally, Cano added a basketball court to the property, which provided a home for several pick-up basketball games between folks in the small town (and those from far away). Still, neighbors know not to expect him to make too many appearances.
Message to the World
“My time is very, very important,” Cano told Roadside America once reporters randomly showed up to his house hoping to catch a glimpse of him. He mentioned that he doesn’t typically talk to guests unless they’re pretty girls or God tells him to. That’s why he gave one reporter a special message.
