[9] For Refugio Reyes the most important events of his childhood, considering that he was born in 1862, were the births of his sisters Goya in 1867, Felipa in 1871[note 1] and Leona in 1872.

Between the ages of eleven and fourteen he made notes on political and military events related to the president of that time, Porfirio Díaz.

His friends called him Cuco, and he seemed happy; however, his parents did not agree that he should continue studying and, for a time, he returned to Sauceda to support his family financially.

Brother Alfonso from the convent insisted on the importance of Refugio continuing his studies, so he made a deal with his parents: they would get him a job with the promise that the salary would be given to them in full.

In his second marriage he had five children: Alfonso (August 2, 1892); Jesusa (June 6), who died the same day of her birth; Esteban (May 9, 1896); Refugio (December 9, 1900) and Eva (September 17, 1907).

[17] The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), an event that transformed the socio-political structure of the entire country, also has a preponderance, since the railroads of Aguascalientes were an obligatory passage for Villists, Carrancists and Huertists troops.

[17] A revolutionary anecdote relates that in 1914, Alberto Fuentes Dávila and David G. Berlanga, tried to take the Templo de San Antonio to turn it into Legislative Palace, as retaliation to the support of the church to the troops of Victoriano Huerta; for this reason, a group of catholic women headed by Adela Douglas opposed and defended the doors of the temple with sticks and stones.

[19] In his notes, Refugio Reyes describes his participation as a laborer and assistant in the decoration of the "Templo y la Capilla de Anapoles" (sic) —Chapel of Naples—, when he was sixteen years old.

[20] One of the first projects Refugio Reyes worked on was the construction of the Central Mexican Railroad in Zacatecas, where he learned some of the most modern techniques of the time, especially with respect to metal structures.

Later, the presbyter José Campos Mota called Reyes, who was 77 years old, to supervise the arrangement of the atrium, the laying of the floor and the erection of the dome; works finished in 1940.

[14] In 1897 he built the Chapel and the Casa de la Hacienda porfiriana El Soyatal, remarkable and original for its construction, execution and spatial conception.

His urban vision is also recognized, since part of the design of the city center, as in the case of the opening and ornamentation of Madero Avenue, as well as the numerous ochaves of his constructions that gave another perspective to the streets, are a hallmark of the architect.

[37] Although Refugio Reyes did not receive professional architectural training, his beginnings as a mason and stonemason allowed him to become involved in the creative aspect of construction.

At the end of his life, thanks to the professional relationship he maintained with architect Federico Ernesto Mariscal Piña, Reyes came to handle architectural concepts at an academic level.

[38] His biographers point out that one of the characteristics of Don Cuco, as he was called during his lifetime, is that in spite of having been related to the academic field of architecture and also to terminology, his creativity was not altered or inhibited by the dogmatic orientation of preconceived styles.

[44] Since he did not have a higher degree that accredited his knowledge of architecture, Reyes received a low salary throughout his career, especially considering the responsibilities he had and the number of works in which he participated.

[20] In January 1985 he received the posthumous title of architect from the Faculty of Architecture of the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes[45] and on October 3, 2014 he was declared a favorite son of the municipality of Vetagrande, Zacatecas.

The day before his death, Refugio went about his daily routine, he followed up on the work being done in Guadalupe, Zacatecas, and when he saw that the master builder had not paid the laborers, he made the corresponding payment out of his own pocket.

[48] Víctor Manuel Villegas, the architect's first biographer, stated that his death had occurred in 1945, an erroneous fact that has been repeated on many occasions and even on a commemorative plaque next to the Templo de San Antonio.

[52] Villegas was the first to affirm that there was a link between the architectural tradition of Aguascalientes and Refugio Reyes, and praised his works, which became a posthumous tribute to the empirical architect.

[54] In 2008, the municipality of Aguascalientes celebrated the centennial of the Templo de San Antonio[55][56] and recognized the work of Refugio Reyes Rivas by placing a bronze sculpture of the architect, commissioned to sculptor Miguel López Artasánchez.

At the end of 2013, the City Hall completed the restoration of the house that Refugio Reyes built and lived in, to turn it into a museum displaying the architect's models, plans, materials and furniture.

[58] Finally, in April 2015, it was announced that it would not open its doors to the public due to budgetary problems of the municipal administration,[59] and because the space did not have the conditions to establish a museum.

[60] In 2017, the house opened its doors, not as a museum, but as a cultural space for teaching crafts and imparting artistic workshops by the Instituto Municipal Aguascalentense para la Cultura (IMAC).

[66] The project was commissioned by the Franciscan order of the city to the young architect Refugio Reyes, who had already shown signs of his talent in the neighboring state of Zacatecas.

The Temple breaks with the tradition of the Latin cross plan, because taking advantage of the triangular shape of the construction site, the only nave was lengthened to finish it with three parallel ones, thus creating a basilica floor that surrounds the presbytery.

This construction differs greatly from the Templo de San Antonio, because unlike the former, here sobriety and solidity predominate; although it is also an eclectic work that combines neoclassical and gothic elements.

[74] Later, during the administration of Governor General Martin Triana, Refugio Reyes was entrusted with the intervention of the building, which included a neoclassical portico, a second courtyard with ambulatories and rooms with the architect's personal touch.

[74] In 1975 the building was acquired by the administration of José Refugio Esparza Reyes, who converted it into the Museo de Aguascalientes as part of the celebrations of the fourth centennial of the city.

Later, presidents Miguel Alemán, Adolfo López Mateos and Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, as well as artists such as Mario Moreno "Cantinflas", also stayed in this hotel.