SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif — Ricardo Breceda’s sculptures in Borrego Springs are world famous, but many are unaware he created them without any formal training. Breceda was a cowboy boot salesman when he made his first piece 23 years ago – a dinosaur for his daughter, who saw Jurassic Park and asked him to make her a life-sized sculpture. Breceda placed his 20-foot-tall creation next to a freeway and almost caused an accident.
“The freeway stopped, bumper to bumper both ways,” Breceda said. “People literally got out of the car to take pictures of my big dinosaur.”
Seeing the joy his creation brought to so many people sparked a passion to build more.
“I just enjoy making people happy, I guess,” Breceda said.
Breceda may be known for his 133 sculptures in Borrego, but his art gallery in Riverside County has more than 2,000 pieces and is open to the public. It’s located just over the San Diego County border in Aguanga and is filled with pieces that show pride for his Hispanic heritage.
“Mexican, Spanish people, Latin people, we are hard workers,” Breceda said. “We take pride in our work. In what we can accomplish.”
He built that first dinosaur 23 years ago, but he’s still making his sculptures today the very same way - banging out every piece with no fancy equipment.
“Everything is by hand,” he said. “I don't have tools. I have snips and I have hammers and a welder.”
Ricardo also has a couple of employees to help him with the bigger pieces. And while buyers will occasionally commission specific pieces, for the most part, everything at his art gallery is his idea.
Ricardo finds mistakes in every piece, but never fixes them. Instead, he says, it makes them unique. No two pieces here are exactly the same. And like a loving parent, he refuses to pick a favorite, but there is one he's especially proud of.
“Four horses, the stagecoach life-sized, driver, the guy with the shotgun and a couple passengers,” he says about the giant stagecoach on his property. “It's amazing.”
Ricardo, who is originally from Durango, Mexico, owns 20 acres of land, but so far he’s only used about six. He has big plans to expand.
“Right here, I'm making a restaurant and bar,” he says pointing to an undeveloped area covered with dirt. “Winery, something like that. With that view and then I get people drunk and they buy my stuff,” he adds with a laugh. “Oh ya, I have a plan!”
But for Ricardo, this isn't about profits, it's about providing pleasure. His ultimate goal is to turn his art gallery into a public park for generations to enjoy. And when that happens, Ricardo says “I will feel complete. I will say I fulfilled the American Dream.”
Ricardo's art gallery is located just off Highway 79 in Aguanga. It's open 7 days a week. It does cost $10 to get in, but he'll give you a small souvenir to take home or you can use that $10 toward a credit on a bigger piece.
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