We hinted in the last post after house and pet sitting for Mirna for the month of May (2021) that we might return to San Miguel de Allende, el Corazon de Mexico, a place our hearts can call home and where I would gladly live the rest of my days were it not for our lack of health insurance.
In the COVID Years Part I post we covered many of SMAs attractions so won't repeat them here unless there are great recent photos or information about one of them.
Mirna invited us back to care for Sophie and her home in August 2021.
We drove, taking three days, along the coastal route, not knowing the road and what to expect. We were surprised to see all the many, many oil rigs in the Gulf.
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| Enlarge this photo and you will see about nine rigs on the horizon |
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| Some are surprisingly close to the shore |
The drive turned out to be as routine as it could get in this country with the crazy habits of driving slowly on the shoulders of two-way highways and people passing the slow vehicles in each direction with visions of head-on collisions ever present, the ridiculous speeding and reckless passing and lack of turn signals and brake lights. Paul did all the driving as I have been reduced from a confident driver in Canada/USA to a timid and fearful person in a car on Mexican highways. You need lots of cash on hand to pay for the toll roads.
We had a few hours to explore the city of Puebla de Zaragoza (Puebla City), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on one of our overnight stops and would love to return with more time.
Casa Agave, the apartment that we rented is a few short blocks from Mirna's home and in this neighbourhood of Calle Independencia, and the Guadalupe, and San Juan de Dios Markets at the bottom of the hill. We mostly park the car and walk everywhere. We can buy all our fruit and veg from little tiendas and the markets and drive to the big grocery store every ten days or so.
There were fleeting moments when I wanted to be back in Grand Forks, BC with my nursing colleagues who came out of retirement to help fight COVID ... but mostly, I was perfectly happy to be here.
Anne & Jeff come to visit from Canada as do Nancy and Pete, while Mark and Carol cancelled due to the uncertainty of travel with COVID and the impending birth of their second grandchild ... but they come in January 2023, and we drive from Tulum to join them for two weeks.
Chrissy and Warren whom we met and spent several days with, in Malaysia visited with the purpose of deciding where to live in Mexico. There is so much to see and do in San Miguel that showing visitors around feels like a holiday.
We have lovely neighbours in the apartments above and below us: Veronica from Chile and Joanna from California, both friends of Mirna. We became fast friends with Joanna. Mirna hosts a dinner during the Christmas season for her women friends to which I'm invited. She decorates her home beautifully.
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| To my left is neighbour Joanna & on my right is Veronica, while Mirna is to my far left |
Mirna also brings me to a party hosted by the people who bought her home in Labradores (about 15 minutes outside of SMA) before the one she's in now. Her husband was a talented builder, and she is a master at interior design. Then on New Year's Eve, there's a gathering at her rooftop patio where we can see the Parroquia and the fireworks as if we were right there.
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| Verbal permission from Sam Perez to use this photo |
At midnight we get our twelve grapes to eat, one with each strike of the bell to make our wishes come true.
Winter in San Miguel comes with cool mornings and evenings, so it's off to the enormous Tiangus market to find a sweater or jacket. It would be hard to leave that market without something you need in the way of tools, household items, clothes, or hardware. Some people go there just to eat. It's an experience
The beauty of hot-air balloons at sunrise floating over the Casa Agave rooftop patio is always breathtaking as are the moonrises over the Sierra Central mountains from our dining room table.
We become regulars on The Fat Bastard (Waylon) walks to see the new street art blossoming throughout all the neighbourhoods. Each walk a donation is collected from participants and passed on to the artists. Those walks have stopped now, but his friend and photographer extraordinaire, Paynal Ward keeps posting the latest photos on the Fat Bastard Art Walks FB page. A few favourite murals are below, but here is a link to many of the photos that we have taken. Such talent in these mostly young artists.
One day Waylan organizes a bus to take about forty of us to nearby Commonfort to see all the new work from a mural festival that's just ending. As we walk the streets, villagers stand in their doorways to welcome us. At times we have a police escort fend off vehicles as we walk down the middle of the streets.
The artists walk with us to explain the thinking and emotions behind their pieces. A Catrina graciously poses with most of us for photos. Local politicians give speeches. In the evening, a show with music plus traditional dancing and horsemanship is put on in the main zocalo. For this festival, the artists were requested to incorporate the theme of water. Link to all photos
Another day and Waylon lead us to a festival of women painters who are painting murals on a long wall outside of an elementary school. One painter doing her first mural is fourteen years old. Some have come from other Latin American countries or from places like Mexico City. These women become an inspiration and role model for the children as women are just breaking into the field of street art here.
After a walk one day, in the San Luis Rey part of town, Carol invites everyone to her house for margaritas. It's the first of several adventures with her.
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| Shenanigans & too much wine with Carol |
Regular walks at Parque Landetta and at El Charco allow us to see the cacti through several seasons. A longer walk in the Los Frailes countryside setting, ending at the Saturday market, is a pleasure.
Dancing to live music in the open air, surrounded by cacti and sated with Mexican food at both Zandunga and El Coyote Flaco is a treat, as is sitting in the beautiful Teatro Angela Peralta listening to performers of the International Jazz Festival. Losing our tickets to a blues event at the Cento Cultural de Nigromante was a real downer. A playhouse owned by a Canadian is right next door, where we can see plays in English or listen to concerts.
Zandunga
A fifteen-minute drive takes us to Zandunga Ranch in a beautiful desert country setting and the home of Gabriel (Gil) Hernandez and his wife.
Gil is a virtuoso Mexican guitarist and composer who plays throughout North and Latin America. Read about Gil here.
Admission tickets included two sets from Cuban band Yai L/Amour as well as from Gil's band and a buffet with a wide selection of typical Mexican food.
There was lots of room to dance and we cut the rug with Nancy and Pete as well as Mirna and a lovely gay man she found to dance with.
El Coyote Flaco
Open-air dining is everywhere, but Mama Mia Campestre's in Atotonilco, recommended by Joanna, is a favourite.
SANTIAGO de QUERETARO (Queretaro City)
We accept a house and pet-sitting gig for a few days in this capital city. The dog is very needy, so we dare take only a brief afternoon to explore Centro, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Queretaro has been settled since AD 200 with the Otomi and Chichimeca being two of the main indigenous groups then and now.
Today's Queretaro with a population of over a million people is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country and has the second-highest GDP per capita of all Mexican cities.
Known as the Crossroads of Mexico, it has close to forty different colleges and universities; a growing wine industry; headquarters of many international companies; the aerospace industry and more. It invests in infrastructure and public services, as well as the creation of parks and sports and cultural facilities.
The Plaza de Armas and other public squares are incredibly spacious. Baroque churches stand proudly.
It's well worth the hike uphill to view the Aqueduct built between 1726 to 1738 at the request of nuns to supply the city with water. Its seventy-four arches span 1.28 km and reach twenty-three meters high. While no longer in use, it is in excellent shape.
GALLERIA de ATOTONILCO
In May, the Gallery de Atotonilco was by appointment only due to COVID. We finally get there in September, then visit several more times and buy a couple of treasures.
Mayer Schacter and his wife Susan Page took a piece of raw land and created grounds, a home, and a gallery that are spectacular and Mayer gathered a world-class folk-art collection. He was a celebrated ceramic artist in the United States, who became enchanted with Mexican folk art, building relationships with indigenous artists from cities and remote villages all over the country. Several times a year, he will do an exhibition featuring the work of one artist. He often takes guests on a tour of the gallery and their home collections. His energy, passion and knowledge can be hard to keep up with. On arrival, their rescue dogs looking for pets greet visitors. Sadly, at our 2023 visit, we learn that Mayer has died.
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| Mayer Schacter and Susan Page |
Susan makes an indelible mark on San Miguel as the founder of the Literary Sala and as author, organizer, and director of the famous San Miguel's Writers Conference. She continues with both Mayer's work at the gallery and her own work at the writers' festival.
Below are a few favourite pieces from the gallery. Click here to see more work.
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| This is for a dancer to wear around the waist at a festival |
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| Antique & rare dance costume with masks. People were tiny then. |
HOT SPRINGS of SMA
Between San Miguel and Atotonilco are several thermal hot springs, developed for guests. The two I visited with Mirna (not Paul's thing) were not resorts with accommodation, but there were lovely grounds, restaurants, and spa facilities. Bring your own towels.
My favourite was La Gruta in a gorgeous natural setting. Breakfast following early soaking and swimming was delicious.
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| Glad I was able to share it with Pete and Nancy. |
There are many cities small and large within a day trip or an overnight or two from San Miguel.
We do day trips to Delores Hidalgo and to Mineral de Pozos.
DELORES HIDALGO, CRADLE of NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE
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| A few of the churches we wander into. |
Mineral de Pozos
A journey to the Pueblo Magico of Mineral de Pozos was as
inevitable with my family history as it was that my grandfather died from
pneumoconiosis (black lung, or miner’s disease).
Pozos at the height of the silver and gold boom had a
population of 70,000 but by the sixties became a ghost town. Today the population of 3,500 fights that stigma with a vibrant arts community, music
festivals, a microbrewery, boutique hotels that pamper visitors and mountain
biking for the active.
Church and prayer to both God and ‘the Lord of the Work’ were central to the lives of families whose men journeyed underground day after day. The beautiful San Pedro parish from the 1700s with walls covered in hand-painted frescoes and floors, its soaring dome and lovely organ demonstrate the commitment to faith.
We visited mid-week and found that the curator of the Pre-hispanic Musical Instrument Museum and Store and member of the family musical group “Corazon Endiosado” had time to demonstrate instruments from clay flutes, guiros, rain sticks and the many drums that his son had made. We were especially intrigued by the one made from a single piece of mesquite tree that seemed to resonate within your body when played. We hope that the musicians will make it to San Miguel to do a performance while we are here.
An elderly woman hand-making dolls left her solitary position at the sewing machine to take time to explain where each indigenous doll and her traditional dress originated from across Mexico.
Seventy-five pesos seemed a proper sum to wander the high desert country around the Mina Santa Brigida. The ruins of many buildings are a testament to how productive the site once was. The fifty-foot-high triple ovens from the 16th. century known as ‘Los Hornos’ were impressive as was the long building from 1595 built by the Jesuits that not only served as the poisonous gas scrubber for the underground mines and to “air” the gold and silver, but it was the astronomical and astrological observatory by which the Jesuits could interpret both lunar and solar light. Inside it was like being in arches of infinity. Looking down the open mine shaft (gated off) seemed like yet another route to infinity.
Wandering the town where past and present come together was intriguing. Ruins of adobe buildings stood next to newer structures.
Huge plazas now empty and cozy green spaces both with benches and landscaping made walking a joy. Jardin Juarez in the center of town was where we enjoyed a snack and drink. There are a couple of shops here that sell utterly unique hand-crafted items from clothing to home decor, items for children and more.
This is now an agricultural area. Only one fruit and a vegetable vendor was at the market this day, but with the colourful flags and space for
sellers, one could imagine the busy days.
Sticking our heads into the boutique hotel “The Posada de los Minas” right downtown resulted in an invitation to look around. We immediately recognized scenes from around town set into walls on hand-painted ceramic tiles. The stunning courtyard gardens were beautiful as were the numerous little quiet spaces with benches and greenery.
Leaving town, on the outskirts, Paul saw a small sign for a microbrewery, so off onto a country road we went. The signage was adequate, and the staff of “Vopper,” makers of Artisanal Cerveza greeted us at the gates.
This is so much more than a brewery. It’s a boutique hotel with a restaurant, spa, and wide-open spaces for events. The swimming pool begins inside the restaurant flowing to the outside to a large pool with a swim-up bar.
We are already thinking of what special occasion we can use as an excuse to come stay here for a night. We would especially like to return to do some mountain biking as we understand that there is a 25 km path that winds through many of the haciendas.
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| CHEERS to Vopper & the charming Mineral de Pozos |
The SMA Flood of 2021
The rainy season here starts in June and tapers off by the end of September, but this year copious rain fell all in one night, and high winds, plus the bursting of a dam upstream created a disaster. Homes and markets were flooded, as was Civil Protection which had to disconnect 911 for twelve hours and halt services just when people needed them most. Riverbanks were torn away with retaining walls swept downriver. Storm drains were clogged. It was a tough time for many.
In early October we still could not walk some of the paths in Parque Landeta as they were underwater, and the roar of water going over the dam in El Charco could be heard from afar. Normally the water trickles over these falls. The water reservoirs were filled to the brim.
Guanajuato City
Guanajuato is a university town. You can feel its vibrancy and see the new and modern alongside the ancient and traditional in everything from architecture to music and the city's attractions. Throughout the year there are festivals for local wine, artisanal beer, dance, puppets and the medieval, to name a few.
It’s a theatre town and it is the home of author Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote with Sancho Panza. The story influenced Eulalio Ferrer who in the 1980s gave his collection of memorabilia to the City of Guanajuato, and so the Don Quixote Iconographic Museum was created. With over a thousand pieces it is the Cervantes capital of America.
Below are a few of my favourite quotes by Cervantes in Don Quixote:
The yearly Cervantes Festival has been attracting international visitors since 1972,
Music is everywhere from performances at the many theatres and other commercial establishments, to the organized festivals, to the school of music at the university, to the Callejonedas and their nightly strolls through Centro, to the evening Mariachi bands at the Jardin de Union, to the Mexican busker trying to earn some pesos, to the everyday man singing as he works. Musicians are honoured in statues here and there throughout the city.
At the Jardin one evening, a man having dinner with his family summons a Mariachi Band and requests several songs that are well-known to him. He stands and sings in this magnificent voice to the band playing. A crowd gathers.
Little plazas are tucked in everywhere, each with its own character.
The name 'Casa de Colores' fascinated us and so became our accommodation. What a delightful place.
It's a strenuous walk up and down steps and hills to Centro and back from here, but worth it. Did I mention that the steep hills of Guanajuato make the geography of SMA look flat?
Coming here was an excuse to celebrate our 37th. wedding anniversary. Here we are looking down on the city following an inexpensive funicular ride that relieved us from climbing at a 30-degree angle.
At the top is the statue of El Pipila (Juan Amaro), a man born with physical and learning disabilities who became an unlikely folk hero of Guanajuato and all of Mexico when his brave actions resulted in the first victory of the war against the Spaniards in the long War of Independence.
Bernal
We ride a cuatrimoto to get the best views of La Pena, the third-largest monolith in the world in the pretty little city of San Sebastian Bernal. The riding group was us and vacationing students from nearby Queretaro learning to be flight attendants and eager to practice their English skills.
We saw our first traditional wedding and joined other waiting outside the church that was bedecked with flowers, for the bride and groom to emerge. For the guests, a little donkey had satchels loaded with cold cerveza and a tray with shots of tequila. A bride and groom mojiganga waited with us.
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| A typical Molcajete meal. |
Less than a two-hour drive from SMA is Tequisquiapan (so hard to pronounce!). This lovely little city has clean wide streets, perfect for wandering.
Someone here does stained glass windows, seen in churches, hotels, businesses, homes and even in the graveyard.
This is the jumping-off place for cheese and wine tours, both budding industries.
We spent time together at a bicycle fest that is in the main plaza.
Festivals
A joy of being in San Miguel longer is that one gets to witness and/or partake in some of the many festivals that this city is known for. It's impossible to pick a favourite. Many festivals celebrate deeply held religious beliefs, so their deepest meanings evade us. Of course, we didn't get to all the festivals, but below is a taste, starting in September.
September 16 - Independence Day is celebrated with heart. for here in the center of the country in 1810 was the beginning of the fight to end three hundred years of Spanish rule, calling for independence, the redistribution of land and racial equality. San Miguel was the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, captain of the Novo-Hispanic militia and sympathizer who fought with the rebels in the first stage of the war. Delores Hidalgo was the starting point of the fight when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued his famous 'Cry of Delores' and the 'peasant army' under the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe began the battle. Queretaro, once the capital of Mexico is known as the cradle of liberty. The populous city contributed many soldiers to the battles, and all Mexican constitutions have been signed here.
Mexican flags are everywhere. The parties, fireworks, and family gatherings go on with vigour.
VIVA MEXICO
3rd. Week of September - The Corn Festival (held at Rancho Via Organica)
Via Organica is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote organic agriculture, fair trade, and a healthy lifestyle. Check out their website. It's a place of teaching, learning and celebration. Within a 15-minute drive away from the city we pass through fields with thousands of wild sunflowers and a pink flower, I don't know.
Many corn dishes eaten today originated in pre-Hispanic
times.
Corn was first a wild grass from which the people extracted a sweet juice to drink, then 7,000 years ago it was cultivated. Today there are sixty-five registered varieties in Mexico from red to black, blue, white, and yellow.
Today there is food, music, lectures, a play and displays all about corn.
A delicious pozole (corn and chicken soup) and an organic beer are chosen for lunch. For the first time, I saw clay casserole dishes sitting over an open flame for cooking.
Wandering the farm, their practices of planting pollinating crops to attract bees and medicinal plants become visible. Honey and healing tinctures in addition to fresh fruit and vegetables and organic tequila are just some of the products sold in the store.
Along with the kids, we enjoy petting the donkey, rabbits and goats and watching the ducks, geese, and chickens.
NOTE: Photo below. Terracotta jugs are buried everywhere in the soil. They are buried
in the ground to absorb water which can then be used to water crops. There is a water shortage (some say a crisis) in San
Miguel. We learn from a member of the
NGO that they must soon dig a well.
Until now they have gotten by, by practicing water collection and
conservation.
We visit Via Organica at other times too. Mirna likes to buy her herb starter plants there and we like shopping for the organic food products in their store. The story of our pulque experience there may be told later. Suffice it to say, hell may freeze over before either Mirna or I drink it again, while Paul was unaffected by its powers.
Last Week of September - St Michaels Day (La Alborada) - we skip this festival as the celebrations start at midnight with four different brass band processions converging at the Jardin in Centro at about 03:30 hours. At about this time, the mojigangas show up and then the fireworks and music begin at about 04:00 hours and go on beyond sunrise and are heard all over the city. St Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of San Miguel. He is a spiritual warrior in the battle of good versus evil, a protector of police, soldiers, grocers, radiologists, and children. The beautiful Parroquia is the Church of St. Michael the Archangel. He is spotted in street art and statuary throughout the city.
Another part of La Alborada is the offering of Xuchiles. Indigenous peoples from all over the state head to San Miguel. The night before there is a pre-arranged overnight gathering area for feasting, singing, dancing, and making offerings. The next day these are carried to the Parroquia, where they stand for a week or more.
November 1st. & 2nd: Day of the Dead & the Catrina Parade
By mid-October, a special market will be set up in Centro where people can buy items to decorate the altars that they will be preparing.
It's a long journey for the dead to find their way home. A delicious, sweet bread called pan de muerto as well as other goodies waiting to nourish them. It comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, colours, fillings and finishings. This website provides not only a traditional recipe but delves into the meaning of the shape of the bread and other traditions.
Alters, catrinas and mojigangas are everywhere: at workplaces, homes and in neighbourhoods.
The creation of altars helps people bring to life memories of colleagues, family, friends, and neighbours.
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| Alter at the Public Library to honour its Canadian founder. |
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| Every gallery at Fabrica la Aurora has a tribute. |
In Guadalupe, someone has set up several stacked wooden boxes in a key area. People are welcome to create their own alter in a box.
A little further along an apartment building hung large photographs on the outside of the building, presumably of former renters.
A hotel in Centro has hung beautiful paintings of Catrinas on its outside walls.
There has been no parade over the COVID years, so this year will be special.
In Centro, a couple of blocks of Hidalgo Street are closed to traffic. Makeup artists have tables with the tools of their trade placed in the centre. Chairs line each side of the street as people patiently wait their turn.
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| This woman gets the full treatment from her makeup artist. |
We dress up and mask up, ready to join one branch of the parade that will meld with another in Cento, then everyone heads to the Jardin.
People are shoulder to shoulder. It's packed. When the parade reaches the Jardin, mariachis are playing and there is a contest for the best Catrine and Catrina but with the crowd, we can't see. Suddenly it's over and the crowd disperses.
December 12: The Day of the Holy Virgin of Guadalupe and the start of the nightly Posadas
The Virgin of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of Mexico, "The Mother" and her image is everywhere: on ceramic tile embedded into exterior walls of homes, large statues somewhere in a park or a gathering place on a city block, painted onto a variety of surfaces, in every Catholic church and more. The official day is December 12, but events to celebrate her can begin as early as December 2.
Out walking during this time, we saw that people had blocked off car access to neighbourhoods so that friends and family could gather in the streets to share food, drink and good company. A taxi with a large statue of the Virgin on its roof passed us by.
Statues, shrines and paintings of her were elaborately decorated with flowers and lights.
She is clearly loved and celebrated.
AKA: Three Kings Day or Epiphany
This marks the day when the three kings visited baby Jesus with their gifts and thus marks the end of the Holiday Season.
Some Mexican children receive gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas day while others must wait until January 6. Outdoor parties, street vendors and a festive mood abound.
Delicious Rosca de Reyes bread is served. A baby Jesus or two will have been baked into each wreath. The lucky finder of a baby becomes Jesus's 'godparent' and becomes responsible for holding a tamale feast on the upcoming Candlemas Day.
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| Mojiganga 3 Kings at a hotel in Centro |
It's on this day that people who found Baby Jesus in their Three Kings bread need to host a Candelaria party with lots of tamales and atole for family and/or friends
In Pre-Hispanic days it was a time to honour the rain gods, with rituals to bring rain and abundant crops. Later seeds and bulbs were brought to church for the priest to bless.
For the last six decades, the annual spring flower and garden show has been held at Parque Juarez. A riot of colour is everywhere. Plants from the ordinary to the extraordinary, pots, tools, furniture and more. Food booths are everywhere. We enjoy corn-on-the-cob on a stick.
We walk down most evenings to the stage for music and dancing.
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| Two couples demonstrate the tango, then the audience is invited to the stage. |
This event lasts the entire month of February.
Another surprise awaits us in Centro. The streets are lined with people selling colourful crepe flowers in all sizes and shapes. It's Mardi Gras! Also for sale are big baskets of cascarones. Eggs have been broken, cleaned, stuffed with confetti, glitter and/or cornstarch and dyed. All around us are the squeals of delight from kids who get to break the eggs over the heads of each other, adults and especially gringos. Cobblestones are a-glitter with a rainbow of colours.
February 24: Mexican Flag Day
Flag day has been celebrated since 1937. The flag has great historical and cultural meaning to the Mexican people. Flags are seen everywhere, and people wear green, white, and red with pride.
The colours of the flag have never changed but over time the meaning has shifted, and the national emblem has had some tweaks.
The green first symbolized independence, but now represents hope.
The white first represented the Roman Catholic religion but now symbolizes unity.
The red at first referred to the alliances and friendships between Mexico, the Europeans and all of the Americas, but is now known to represent the blood spilled by the people of Mexico in their long War of independence.
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| A street vendor with wares for Flag Day |
February 27
One fine day near the end of February we are out for a walk in the ‘hood to find a parade about to begin and more mojigangas gathered in one place than we have ever seen.
The parade is in respect to Leopoldo
Estrada Buenrostro who was not only a doctor by profession, but who dedicated a
large part of his life to the creation of mojigangas. At the age of 61 in 2011 he was honoured by
the State Institute of Culture and the National Council for Culture and the
Arts for his key role in this cultural tradition.
His first mojigangas weighed 30 kg, but
he continued to innovate until he created modern, collapsible ones that are
lighter for the wearer and can be transported easily in a van and thus appear
in more villages.
The mojigangas were twirling and
dancing so fast that my videos came out as a blur.
We walked alongside the mojigangas, up through Centro.
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| Huge wood framework for the wearer. |
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| 2 photos in this collage are of Dr. Leopoldo Estrada Buenrostro |
March and April: Holy Week: El Senor de la Columna
Many celebrations happen during Holy Week. We are back house/pet sitting for Mirna and are awakened at dawn by fireworks and the clanging of church bells that sound like they are in the back yard and do our best to ignore them. Heading out for the morning walk and our street "Independencia" is decorated in beautiful purple and white. We missed the procession of the Lord of the Columna.
We have seen this life-size statue of a bloodied and bruised Jesus with the kiss of Judas on his cheek, leaning with exhaustion on his cross, at his home in the Sanctuary of Atotonilco. And there are two mosaic plaques on Independencia.
At midnight, the night before thousands gathered eight miles away in Atotonilco to walk all night, carrying the statue, stopping here and there for prayer and hymns, until daybreak when the top of Independencia is reached. Citizens of SMA line the streets to welcome the pilgrims and statue and accompany its journey to the San Juan de Dios church, where a carpet of coloured sawdust greets the procession.
The statue goes from church to church for two weeks then returns to Atotonilco the Wednesday after Easter.
March and April: Holy Week: Our Lord of the Conquest
We felt so very privileged to have seen this festival. Hundreds of dancers from the interior of Mexico converge in front of the Parroquia and all around the Jardin. Dancing begins at dawn and continues all day, and into a second day. It is worth going here to read the history and meaning (both religious and about resistance to conquest) behind the dancing.
The Spanish attempt to extinguish indigenous culture could not stop the dancing ... and so it continues.
So many groups are dancing at once. Drumbeats keep the dancers going, the sh-sh sounds of the shells on the dancers' legs, make your own legs want to go. The scent of copal permeates everything and the mix of vivid colours is a visual treat.
Also, during Semana Santa, there is a gathering at Jardin where effigies are filled with firecrackers and rockets and strung up the square. Eventually, they are lit, causing them to spin crazily until they blow up. In days of old, it was likely to be the traitorous Judas Iscariot who was blown up. Today it is more likely to represent comical characters, or unpopular politicians or public personalities.
The 3rd. Week of June: Dia de los Locos (Day of the Crazies)
Now, who wouldn't love this parade? All can participate if the costumes are not purchased. They must be made. The origins of this parade go back a long time, are vague and have evolved over the years and now it is one of the most anticipated festivals of the year. In 2022 folks couldn't wait until June, since COVID had cancelled it in recent years, so we got to witness it in the spring and read later that another was held at the usual time. Often a theme is announced for the year. We couldn't guess the theme of this parade.
The Chapel of Jimmy Ray
We eked a quick two-week visit to San Miguel again in January 2023 to meet up with Mark and Carol. This time Paul did the drive in two long (11-hour) days.
We finally made it to The Chapel of Jimmy Ray, after a couple of failed attempts during the eight-month stay. The guided tour of this home is so worth the 300 MXN admission fee. Book in advance over What's App.
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| Some of the buildings. Photo top center is an outhouse. |
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| Inside Outhouse |
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| Self-portraits |
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| Friend Carol enjoying the throne. Images & names of their rescue dogs are on the wall behind her. |
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| Random images |
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| A small part of the wall dedicated to their rescue cats |
Again, in January we take some friends to CASA, the not-for-profit Center for Adolescents of San Miguel de Allende. The work that this group does encompasses all the most beloved parts of my nursing career and much more. After stumbling upon it near the beginning of our eight-month stay, I immediately went home and wrote out a resume for the purposes of volunteering and sent it in via e-mail.
Over time, I learned two things: one is that websites don't really work in Mexico and two, most business is transacted via What's App. I never had an acknowledgement of my application.
On this 2023 visit, I learned that the organization was going through many changes at the time and taking on volunteers was not really occurring and was invited to volunteer now, which sadly didn't fit with our return to Tulum.
The two times we have shown up, the staff gave very personal tours of their facilities and programs and leave us with a copy of their last annual report. It is most impressive.
DOORS & WINDOWS
DOORS
As always, the ever-changing decorations of the doors and windows of San Miguel are enchanting.
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| Day of Dead Doors |
Christmas Doors
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
In February an
overnight trip into the Sierra Madre mountains of Michoacan was so worth it to see the
Monarch butterflies - post here
What's Next
During all this time we have been trying to sell our condominium in Tulum as we would much rather be in San Miguel. Unfortunately, Tulum is in a "gold rush" situation. Hundreds of new apartments come online every month and there is no market for resale homes, even selling at below cost. Our feeling is that Mexico is a good place to rent, but not to own.
We have also learned that private health insurance is simply too expensive. It increased in price every year by about $2,000 CAD so we are pulling the plug on full-time living here. The plan is a minimum of six months in BC to maintain health insurance and who knows what for the other six months.
There are many more parts of Mexico to explore.
It seems that for some time to come, we have a home waiting for us in Tulum when an escape from cold and snow is needed.
RANDOM PHOTOS
Wandering in Centro one day we see a door open and cleaners, while busy working, invite us in to look around. It's a strange little place. There are alcoves for quiet conversation, cocktails, or maybe smoking, small tables, and chairs in the centre perhaps for card playing or special meals. A mezzanine above. With no signs or indications, it can be what we imagine ... and our imaginations decide that it's an exclusive men's club.
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| Open weekends only. On Hidalgo in Centro. |
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| Weekends only. In our Independencia area. |
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| This Maria doll maker was happy to grant us permission to take her photo |
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| Hand-painted dress in a shop window. |
