Roberto Alvarado Pulido
Roberto “El Diablo de Chihuahua” Alvarado Pulido, a well-known antiques dealer and founder of El Antiquario and Show Daily magazines, passed away on Friday, February 28, in a San Antonio, Texas hospital after a long illness. He was 75 years old.
Born on June 28, 1949, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Roberto moved with his family to Detroit when he was two years old. A Vietnam War veteran, he returned to Mexico in the 1970s, where he studied at the Bellas Artes – Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. After spending a few years working in Mexico City, he returned to the U.S. and lived in Houston, where he owned an auto plate-glass company.
In the late 1980s, Roberto sailed to Key West, where he met his soulmate, Susanna Kirchberg. The couple opened the restaurant/cantina Roberto’s Patio, which they ran for several years before relocating to Guadalajara. There, they opened a short-lived restaurant in Colonia Providencia in the early 1990s, followed by an antiques store.
Roberto and Susanna then founded El AntiQuario, a bilingual magazine focused on Mexican folk art and antiquities, which was distributed on both sides of the border. They also launched Zona Rosa, a monthly publication dedicated to the Ladron de Guevara and Americana neighborhoods in Guadalajara.
Simultaneously, the couple participated in Texas Antiques Week, held twice annually in the Warrenton-Round Top area of West Texas, where they imported Mexican collectibles. In 2000, recognizing the event’s growing popularity and the need for a guide, they launched Show Daily Magazine, a publication now referred to by Texas Monthly as the “bible” of the event. The magazine continues to operate under the leadership of his son, Roberto Jr.
Though they eventually purchased a home in Rutersville, Texas, Roberto and Susanna maintained a home in the Chapultepec area of Guadalajara, where they hosted many soirées for local antiquarians, artists and artisans over the years.
Roberto is survived by his son Roberto, two grandchildren, Aundrea and Lilliana, and three great-grandchildren, Malcom, Levi, and Isabel. He was predeceased by his four brothers and his wife, Susanna.
His funeral was held at the Houston National Cemetery, where he was honored with a 21-gun salute. A memorial service will take place during the first week of the antique show (March 20 to April 5) in Warrenton, Texas, near Zapp Hall.