The Biography of My House in Puerto Rico

Welcome to Casita Penchi

My pink house is a welcoming space for working on dreams.

Casita Penchi was born from the dream of my father, Israel (Torres Penchi), who envisioned an old-fashioned house, similar to the “casita masó” (a type of Puerto Rican pre-fabricated house) that sheltered him in the 1970s, when his life became both a new beginning and a blank page awaiting the writer's hand.

Together with his brother, Ángel Oscar, he built this new house little by little, using recycled materials, gifts, precious hardwoods, and all his dedication, like someone who was building a refuge for the soul.

Years later, his work finally completed, Israel left in search of other horizons, and the house remained closed. Though not for long.

I made it my refuge a couple of years later, when, due to life's circumstances, I had to leave my own home. Although I had never considered the little house as a possibility, one day it suddenly popped into my mind, and I realized it could be the refuge I needed at that moment.

I asked my father to sell it to me without money, but with a promise. It would belong to both of us so that there would always be someone to take care of it.

And he immediately said yes.

That's how, in 2018, in the midst of an uncertain time, when life was asking me to start over, I arrived at the house and named it La Casita de la Pintora de la Magdalena (The Little house of the Magdalene Painter.)

I lived in it. I listened to it. I dreamed about it: I fixed the kitchen, the bathroom, the forgotten corners. I made it my art and life studio. I invited artists and friends. I filled it with objects I had collected on my travels.

Then I had to leave, but I left it as a reminder of my own dreams, welcoming me back each time as if I had never left.

Since then, the house has continued to transform.

Today it is a workshop, a refuge, a promise… A place where art breathes, where ideas germinate, and where imagination has a home.

Its garden grows free and wild, among cilantro, oregano, and shrubs, surrounded by the silent presences of birds and trees.

The little pink house invites you: to create, to remember, to stay a little longer.

Now that my father is no longer with us, I have renamed it Casita Penchi in his honor, and in my grandmother’s honor, because this was their land.

Casita Penchi will soon open its doors to those who seek a space to create and connect, close to nature, but not too far from civilization.

For those who carry a dream in their hearts.

For those who know that there is another way to live that is more intimate and more true.

This is our little house. A threshold. A whisper. A place to bloom. 🌺

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A House in Puerto Rico for Personal Creative Retreats

In the near future, my house in Puerto Rico, in the town of San Germán, will be available for week-long stays and experiences. Starting this summer, I’m starting a series of creative retreats that include short trips to natural places and time to create as well as to share.

To see photos of our 2024 creative retreat, visit my blog: https://tanyatorres.blogspot.com/2023/12/trip-to-puerto-rico-after-year-of-art.html

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