Now he often gives parties on the family’s half-ruined hacienda at Yautepec. and sometimes makes old family friends squirm by assuring them that Mexico’s progress began when the great ...

In this conversation, we go behind the scenes with Yashar Yektajo, the architect who brought one of Mexico’s most coveted hotels to life.

Within a few hours’ drive of Mexico City, these centuries-old estates have become restaurants, museums, hotels and even water parks. In all of them, beauty and history linger.