An uninhabitable, monumental shrine, Espinoza started building the castle around 1980. He hauled the “regal” pink exterior wall stone out of the desert in nearby New Mexico, and covered much of the metal-sheathed surfaces with the circular ends of aluminum cans— earning him the nickname: “Cano.” “I just followed where one board ends, looking at it, and imagining the board is gonna throw me this way—oh, I think that looks good— I’ll just follow that.” A Vietnam veteran, Buddhist temples the young foot soldier saw in Southeast Asia made a lasting impression, and he hoped to one day build his own Christian-inspired response. His best friend in the Army was killed one month before his “time in country” would have been up, and Dominic gives thanks to a “guardian angel” for his own safe return in1970. Perhaps the castle is a dwelling after all: for Cano’s spirit guides and protectors.
