The day to day stuff

Boo hoo! Our visit to beautiful San Miguel de Allende is almost over. I can really see why so many people come down here, fall in love with the place and end up staying long term. It is such a relaxed, friendly place. The best thing for me is that you can live with your windows open. Leave them open all day and all night. Since the house is behind a wall from the street you don't get the street noise or fumes and you feel like you are safe and you have your privacy too. This house has no AC or heat others than one plug in radiator (which we used one night,) and one fan. Here's the resident cat trying to help me with my Spanish.



One thing you do have to get used to, however, is the way they do the trash pick up here. The trash piled up pretty high before we understood that just before the trash truck gets to your block, this highly energetic boy of about 11 years old runs down the street banging on a cowbell with a spoon? as loudly as possible. When you hear this, you stop what you are doing and run out to the street with your bags o trash. As far as I can tell there is no rhyme or reason as to when this occurs. Today I rushed out toting my bags only to find a guy selling ice cream instead. You have to learn to differentiate your bells.

We have been buying many many plastic bottles of water from places like this because we have failed to master the intricacies of getting deliveries from the water guy.



My lunch lady arms might be shrinking, but I do not enjoy toting liter bottles up and down the street. We are supposed to be getting the bottellas giganticas delivered. When the truck is on your street, somebody goes down the street ahead of time ringing everybody's doorbell. The doorbell makes a sound just like the bells we used to have at school to dismiss class before it all went electronic. Brrrrriiinngggg! It is loud and sudden. The one day the water man actually came, the bell rang, and I thought it was a fire. Too many fire drills maybe? Anyway by the time we opened the door he was climbing back on his truck. He yelled "Viernes" at me which I thought meant see you Friday but actually meant "sorry sucker! You old ladies be hauling your own water!" Never have seen the man since. Every time I ask anybody about it, like the folks at the corner store or the maid who comes to feed these cats, they always say " later today" or "tomorrow" he will come. They try to be supportive.
All these empty plastic bottles are filling up the trash quick which leads to previously explained bell recognition problem and or possible ice cream cream consumption. Crazy, but fun!

Flamenco and other dancing

Last night we went to the historic theater here to see a flamenco performance. Before the performance we went to a rooftop bar to take in the view of the sunset and have some refreshments. Margaret got the mango margarita which appeared to have a tamarindo topping of some kind. It was so flashy it made Susan's ordinary margarita look kind of sad by comparison. I had the anejo tequila with a sangita (the red stuff) chaser.



The sunset was pretty too.





Then we went to the Angela Peralta Theater where we got to sit in the box seats. We thought we were so cool.








There were a couple of guys who played guitars while the lone dancer changed costumes. This vid is for my dad cause he loves guitars.

Here is the dancer, Patricia Linares. I think she teaches classes here in SMA.


I can't believe I neglected to video her dancing! I actually got so wrapped up I forgot! Not like me! It was a good performance , but pales in comparison to what I saw in Spain. After the performance we noticed there was some hub bub going on down at the plaza so of course we strolled down there .


Turns out it was the first night of the Cuban festival. We had just missed the performance by the Cuban band! Bummer! The were taking the harp off the stage when we got there. They had a big tent set up with drums and other stuff from Cuba for sale. We checked that out.


The mariachis were on every corner of the square with their own little crowds of dancers and partiers. Here's a sample, sorry it is so hard to see.

There were hundreds of young people just walking around the square having the best time. They all seemed to be dressed similarly, many in white button down shirts and black plants ( even the girls). On the way home I asked the taxi driver about it and he said that on certain weekends the young people from neighboring villages/towns come to meet in the plaza here. They dress alike according to where they are from, at least I think that is what he said. He also told me he used to work in a dairy in Nacogdoches, Texas. Dang! My spanish is really improving!

Learning

San Miguel is known as an artist colony. There are all kinds of art here and a lot of people who come here to learn these kinds of art. The most well known and original art school is called the "Insituto". We visited there today and got the privilege of conversing for a while with an English artist who had a show of his water colors going on there. He told us some interesting stories of the time he spent in Kuwait. He thought it was a great place! Too bad I did not get his picture or even write down his name. Drat. I did love his water colors but did not have $14,000 on me at the time.



I wish I had taken a close up of the fantastic mural that is painted on the wall in this picture below. It tells the story of the history of Mexico and it is really interesting. It is much larger than just the part you can see in the picture.


The Instituto has a great view of the cathedral on the main square.


Also the houses on the hillside nearby.



I thought this was a pretty bird of paradise flower. The orange trees were loaded with oranges and the blossoms smell so wonderful. Another thing I should have photographed!


This afternoon we attended a lecture by local author and former national geographic photographer Robert Le Gast. He discussed photography tips and it was pretty interesting. This is the same guy we met in a restaurant a few night ago. It is just so easy to meet people and chat them up in SMA! The library is really the hub of all the expat activity . Here are some of the guys who were playing chess in one area. In the patio were people getting Spanish lesson and some giving English lessons and helping the local kids with their homework. They had a good sized computer lab which was packed.


In one room people appeared to be singing and in yet another people were taking dance lessons. It is a very wonderful place to hang out.


On the way home we stopped by the bakery to pick up some more pan dulce. They let you go behind the counter with a big silver tray and tongs and load up what ever you want. It all looks so good!


After a little more shopping around we went to the plaza to get a cab. I took some advice from the photography lecture I attended today and shot this pic of the cathedral at night.


Walking through the Jardin we joined the people watching the young guys dancing under the gazebo. It was a really interesting day for sure!

Homes and gardens

On Sunday the library here runs a home and garden tour as a fundraiser. They had four busloads of people! They showcase different homes each week . This week they took us to homes that had "bovedas", or arched brick ceilings. We were surprised to be taken out of town to a private gated community with ultra modern homes. This was the first one we saw.



Loved the red tile bar.


The domed bovedas ceiling over the living and dining room was quite impressive. It takes a specialized craftsman to build these.


Below is a blurry picture of an artist's house in the suburb of Mexiqitas(?) I think it was. It was full of all kinds of cool stuff!


The owner made art of metal as you can see on his kitchen ceiling.



The outside cocina (kitchen)






Later that evening we went over to visit Susan's friends Rod and Glenna . They had a fab view from the beautiful place they rent. A few years back they drove all over Mexico in their RV. They told us about a great RV park near where we are staying now. I would love to go check it out! I guess you know how much I enjoyed talking about RVs with them. Their daughter is taking the bus out of San Miguel back to Dallas on Tuesday. It costs $75. I look forward to hearing a report on that experience from them.


They took us to their favorite restaurant and indeed it was awesome. I had a chicken cordon blue and some of this ginormous margarita that Susan and I shared. What a great evening with some really fun people!

Maybe this video will play

Concheros dancers from festival day. I understand the video did not play in the original post.

New and old worlds collide

Today we made our way out to the edge of town to visit the "Fabrica" which was not quite what I had expected. I thought it would be a mercado where local artists gather to create and sell their art. Instead we found a sleek and modern complex of galleries selling all kinds of art. Some areas had a little more Mexican character.



We loved the silk scarves and the jewelry as well as all the fabulous oil paintings and antiques. The prices were shocking, as in really expensive. One shop had a loom set up to show off some local yarn and textiles they had for sale.


The courtyard areas were so pretty. This one had a brilliant poinsettia bush in full bloom.






Other areas featured cacti.



We met a new friend, Carmen, who was selling items from India. I love her umbrella!






The shops were cute but we had a plan to go check out another interesting site a few miles out into the countryside. The "Painted Church" of Antotonilo was built in the mid 1700's. It is known for its intricately painted ceilings and wall. I did not get any good pictures of the inside because these folks were having their wedding.



The church and the surrounding tiny village are UNESCO world heritage sights. Here are a couple of shots of the church.








This young man, who appears to be wearing a modified bridal veil, was participating in an eight day spiritual retreat. They also had little rope whips with which they hit themselves. There were quite a few young men and guys doing this retreat. The little village of Antotonilco was tiny and really, really rustic. Its murals commemorated the arrival of the Spanish and the life and works of Jesus.
Another fine day in Mexico!

Festival day

What a spectacular day we had today! It was an unexpected treat to be here on the day of the Feast of our Lord of the Conquest. It is not a well publicized event and so there were not many tourists, mainly just locals celebrating in the streets. The day started off very early with loud fireworks and church bells about 7 am. By the time we got to the plaza the Concheros were dancing in front of the church in some of the most fantastic costumes I have ever seen. Check it out below.

The Concheros are groups of indigenous people (they have to document their heritage to belong to the group) who are preserving the dances as performed by the Aztec. When the Catholics came they incorporated these dances into certain feast days to try to convert the native people. Now there is a movement among the dancers to remove the European influences and get back to the purest form of the dance. It is not considered a "performance" but rather is an ancient ritual to honor a culture and the ancestors of the native people. These are just regular office worker type folks who really seem to relish this experience as a way to get in touch with their spiritual roots. Their pride was evident. They make their own costumes from feathers, skins, skulls, bones and textiles, the more natural the better. This guy's headress was awesome.



Close up of headress shows a parrot with an arrow through its eyes, then a leopard head then a vulture head(I think?)



I am thinking this is maybe the spine of an alligator below



Everybody had there shell rattles on their ankles.



These headdresses had bird heads.



Parrot head






Toucan head



Alligator skull?



There were also donkeys wearing sombreros


And some giant paper mâché puppets, mariachis, and just general mayhem, fireworks and church bells.

What else could we do but go for some " two for one" tequila shots with sangrita and lime?



We also had one of my favorites today which is posole (pork stew with hominy). The food continues to amaze us!
Well, here are a few of my fav pics from today. It was simply awesome !