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San Vicente de Chupaderos in Durango, Mexico
The town of Chupaderos, Mexico, doesn't exist. Or at least it didn't when it was created. Chupaderos was a fake town created in 1954 to film the American western, White Feather. The town operated as a set until 1977. Robert Wagner, Tom Berenger, Daniela Romo, María Félix, John Travolta, Pedro Armendáriz, John Wayne, Audrey Hepburn, Jack Nicholson, Charlton Heston, and even Ringo Starr all performed there. Among the facades are a hotel, a bank, a saloon, a church, and even a gallows in the middle of the street. A community grew up around the set, working as extras, porters, or assistants who made their homes there. When the westerns were forgotten, the set was abandoned, but the town took it upon itself to keep the place alive. Eventually, the set took on a life of its own as a real town. There are real schools, shops, and churches. But downtown, the film set remains abandoned, like a ghost town. Tourists visiting the Durango area generally seek out the "Paseo del Viejo Oeste," which emerged a decade later as a tiny theme park built on another set.
The town of Chupaderos, Mexico, doesn't exist. Or at least it didn't when it was created. Chupaderos was a fake town created in 1954 to film the American western, White Feather.
The town operated as a set until 1977. Robert Wagner, Tom Berenger, Daniela Romo, María Félix, John Travolta, Pedro Armendáriz, John Wayne, Audrey Hepburn, Jack Nicholson, Charlton Heston, and even Ringo Starr all performed there.
Among the facades are a hotel, a bank, a saloon, a church, and even a gallows in the middle of the street. A community grew up around the set, working as extras, porters, or assistants who made their homes there. When the westerns were forgotten, the set was abandoned, but the town took it upon itself to keep the place alive.
Eventually, the set took on a life of its own as a real town. There are real schools, shops, and churches. But downtown, the film set remains abandoned, like a ghost town.
Tourists visiting the Durango area generally seek out the "Paseo del Viejo Oeste," which emerged a decade later as a tiny theme park built on another set.
