I'm packed, but not ready to leave.  I am eager to return home but will miss San Miguel and its magical ambiance. 

When I began the blog this year, I was not sure what I was going to photograph or say that I hadn't covered last year.  Turns out that there was a lot and I suspect when I come back next year (which is likely) there will be even more.  

The attraction of San Miguel goes beyond the beauty of the place - it is the mix of local and foreign culture as well.  For instance, on Friday in the Jardin in front of the main church, el Parroquia, the descendants of the native Indians danced and celebrated. On Saturday evening, the week-long Baroque music festival concluded with a concert in the Parroquia of Bach's "Magnificat" conducted by Sebastian Knebel. Then on Sunday evening, a bandstand was erected in front of the church for an oldies concert including songs by the Beetles and the Beach Boys.  And when these kinds of special events aren't going on, there are the mariachi bands in the evening.  (Doc Severnson and John Davidson are residents of SM and occasionally give performances.)  There is something for everyone here. 

I posted some short video clips of the Indian fiesta on YouTube.  To view them, click on the links.

Fiesta: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoMrAK6rfRg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrhsA9hECac

The oldies in the Jardin Sunday evening: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I00pBRwTfTM


In addition to music, there are lectures, films, art openings, exercise groups, tours, book signings, and classes in art, cooking, Spanish, photography, meditation, dance, bridge, and yoga.  There are discussion groups, social groups, religious groups, motorcycle groups, gardening groups, support groups and theatrical and music groups.  And there is an incredible amount of charity and volunteer work going on for animals, for children's' education, for feeding and housing the needy, for women's education, for providing health services, for orphanages, for hospice, and other causes I can't think of at the moment - and all of these organizations sponsor fund raising events.  All of this stuff happens everyday of the week.  So there is a local newspaper published by the library that lists what's going on on a daily basis.  If you were here on Wednesday, March 10, you could choose from 26 different offerings!

San Miguel de Allende is truly a unique place.

I have some miscellaneous photos to share.  First, this is a picture of Gary Berkowitz, printmaker and folk art artist wearing one of his latest creations made of corn husks.  For several years now he has created a line of funky glasses that have become collectors pieces.  If you can't tell, Gary is a character.  He and his wife, Jo Brenzo who is a photographer, graciously share their studio with me.



Below is a manipulated photo of Gary and Jo.  The photo is by Shannon Reece.



Here are a couple of new additions to my folk art collection.  I love 'em!



This has been my home away from home for the last five weeks.  I've been doing my blogging on the kitchen table.  The steps lead up to the rooftop patio.



This is the entrance to a little Italian restaurant next door to my apartment.  I just had dinner there - homemade pasta with pesto sauce.  I spent the last of my pesos!  SEE YOU ALL SOON!!

Tomorrow I leave for home, so I decided to spend my last morning at the Botanical Garden.  I picked a good day to visit it because it was overcast, in the mid 60's, there was a slight breeze, and no blazing sun to contend with.  The garden consists of several acres of land high above the town - I took a taxi up and walked down!  Most of the area is natural with several kinds of cactus, mesquite, acacia, and succulents.  Paths wind through the area and lead visitors to specialized gardens and a conservatory.  Cacti from all over Mexico have been collected for display gardens.  Along the edge of the garden is a deep canyon with trails.







Here in the high desert terrain, there were a few signs of spring.  Cacti were sending out new growth, the acacia was in bloom, and I spotted a few flowers.  It will be several weeks yet before the profusion of flowers appear.













And I became intrigued by the geometry and symmetry of nature!



On my walk back from the Botanical Garden, I descended through a neighborhood  located on a steep hillside called the Balcones (Balconies) where elegant homes are hidden by high walls.  I did get a glimpse over the wall of this house.



I have to pack now.  I'll do a wrap up entry this evening.

I never stop marveling over the colors and color combinations I am discovering here.  Only in Mexico do these homes have charm -   how tacky they would look in New England!  Within the historic district, colors are restricted, but outside of the zone is another world.









And the few incidents of graffiti that I have found have been artistic as well.  Made with markers and brushes instead of  spray paint, the marks are calligraphic and resemble Abstract Expressionistic canvases.











And while I have been here I have been working on a new series of prints that continue the direction of my Travel Series.  These new prints are more colorful, textured and layered than earlier versions.  They reflect my continuing fascination with prehistoric markings, petrogylphs, etc. and a primitive aesthetic. 

Six years ago a design and art center opened in San Miguel in a complex of old mill buildings.  The mill originally opened in 1903 and produced cotton fabrics until the 1970's.  As most of you know, I live in a converted old mill building that was built about the same time (and converted about the same time) so I have a special fondness for Fabrica la Aurora. For more about its history, go to:http://www.fabricalaaurora.com/history.html

Today there are several buildings that contain designer decorating shops, antiques and furniture galleries, folk art, jewelry, and fine art galleries, artists studios, a book store, a restaurant and a cafe.  As with Riverfront Lofts, original features of the building have been preserved at Aurora. Connecting the buildings are nicely landscaped walks and plazas.  Once a month there is an open house with music and food.



For a factory building, the facade is quite grand.



And the courtyard, original to the building, is equally impressive.



The interior spaces are spacious and lit with skylights.






Mill equipment  and power looms are still in place in parts of the building.  One gallery surrounds the generator.





Even fire extinguishers become part of the decor.

Yesterday was a religious festival day in San Miguel. "Our Lord of the Conquest" is the celebration of the conversion of the Indians to Catholicism.  As I understand it, this is a fiesta unique to San Miguel which was started many years ago by families descendant from some of the local Indians.  I witnessed the celebration during my first visit to San Miguel over 25 years ago and was impressed with it then.  It is now bigger and better than ever!

Events began the night before, when at regular intervals, firecrackers are set off.  Then a special Mass took place in the main church in the morning.  After that, it was a day of non-stop dancing.  Various groups from the region arrived with drums and costumes and lots of energy and stamina.  The costumes were amazing and the feathered headgear spectacular!!  Some appeared to be based on historic styles but most were contemporary versions with sequins and lots of glitz. They danced in the street in front of the church and the streets that surround the Jardin.  The dancing was to the beat of drums and people of all ages participate.  As the day wore on, more groups appeared and more spectators arrived until the area was packed.  By the middle of the afternoon, I would estimate that there were at least 12 groups dancing, each group with 20 to 50 dancers -  that's 500 dancers!  And each group danced to the beat of their own drums so it was LOUD, not to mention more loud firecrackers and church bells tolling every 15 minutes.  I could hear the beat of the drums three blocks away.  At one point, I ordered a hamburger from a vendor and had to shout in his ear so he could hear me!  (The chilis in the hamburger caused tears to stream down my face, but I ate every bite!)

The feathered costumes were incredible and I could not stop taking pictures. It's a wonder that all the birds in Latin American aren't nude. (I don't want to think that birds died for these costumes.)  What amazed me most was the endurance of the dancers since they were there from 10 am until 8pm, taking only a few minutes for breaks.  The spectators included all of us foreigners, of course, but we were vastly out numbered by Mexican families.  There was no drinking of beer or booze nor was there any rowdy behavior!  I was very impressive.

So, I hope you enjoy these pictures.























This fellow had the biggest headdress I saw all day,







When the dancers took rest breaks, they put their headgear in front of their group's altar.



There was one group that danced with masks instead of feathered head pieces.  Masked dancing is more popular in towns south of San Miguel and I was especially excited to see it yesterday because of my interest in masks.  Many of the characters that I depicted in my series of prints last year danced yesterday - the clown, the bull, the diablo, the Spanish ladies and conquistadors.







Notice the conquistadors above have little horses attached to their waists.  And, below you see that men play the part of women.



To one side of the church there were several large boards with large breads attached.  I never did find out anything about them, but my guess is that it was some kind of bake sale to raise money for the dance groups.



The dancing continued after dark.  The finale was when the groups paraded out of town (to the buses waiting to take them home.)





As these dancers left the area, I went off to view more dancing!  As it turned out, there was a modern aerial dance troupe performing last night. 

Fumbling with my newly acquired skills at the Spanish language, I managed to take a day trip by bus to the city of Queretaro.  It is a city of over 1,500,000 people located over an hour away by bus.  Below is a map where Mexico City is indicated in green.  By bus it takes about 3.5 hours to get to San Miguel from Mexico City.



During the 16th century, Queretaro, like San Miguel, played an important role along the route that gold and silver was transported to Veracruz for export to Spain.  It also became a center for the mission movement; consequently there were many churches, convents and monasteries established in the city. 

When the United States invaded Mexico in 1847, Queretaro was declared the Capital of Mexico.  It was here that a treaty was signed in 1848 that divided Mexico in half and the United States acquired the northern half.  Then France invaded Mexico and set up Maximilian I as Emperor in 1867.  His troops were defeated by the Mexicans and Maximilian was executed in Queretaro.

At the conclusion of the Mexican Revolution in 1917, the new constitution for Mexico was signed in Queretaro.  Today the city is the capital of the state of Queretaro.

An important landmark in Queretaro is an impressive 18th century aqueduct that was built because the town water supply had become so polluted that safe spring water had to be piped in from nearby mountains.  Legend has it that its benefactor built the aqueduct at the request of a num with whom he was in love.



I spent the day exploring the Historic Centro and really enjoyed the flatness of the city (it is between two mountain ranges.)  The streets felt spacious compared to the intimacy of San Miguel and Guanajuato where streets are narrow and hilly.  I especially enjoyed the smooth levelness of the sidewalks where I could walk along and not have to worry about looking down to avoid holes, steps, and uneven cobblestones as I do in San Miguel.  (SM is known as the town of " fallen women.") 

Queretaro has several very pleasant landscaped plazas.  But what impressed me the most were the buildings dating from colonial times and the architectural detail.









The building below is La Casa de la Marquesa and was built by the Spanish marquis who gifted the city with the aqueduct.  It has been restored and furnished with antiques and is now a 25 suite hotel.  When I first entered the main salon, I marveled over the Moorish influenced tile work that covered the walls and ceiling - only to discover that it was flux painted.

To see some of the suites, go to: http://www.lacasadelamarquesa.com/eng/habitaciones1.htm





Many of the buildings along the streets are only one story high and the colors are lighter, less intense than San Miguel, which contributes to the feeling of spaciousness
.




The city also has some wonderful historical church buildings.





The building above is a former convent that is now a regional historical museum where I found some of my favorites: masks and prehistoric pictographs.



For lunch I had a Queretaro gordita.  It is a thick grilled cornmeal tortilla that is split open like pita bread and filled with various things - I had a concoction with chicken.  It was sloppy and delicious! (Only $1.70 for a very filling gordita and diet Coke.)





Yesterday there was an all-day fiesta in San Miguel and I took oodles of pictures.  I will post them as soon as I can - just what until you see these costumes!!!!

The town of San Miguel was founded in 1542 by a Franciscan monk by the name of Juan de San Miguel.  The town, originally named San Miguel El Grande, became a thriving trade city because it was on the route from the silver mines in Guanajuato and Zacatecas to the coast where the silver was shipped to Spain.  Wealthy Spanish mercantile families built grand mansions in San Miguel including one built by the Allende family. 

Ignacio Allende, the son of a wealthy trader, joined the Spanish army in 1802 and eventually became a captain.  At that time it was popular for intellectuals to meet in Salon-style gatherings to discuss cultural and political matters and Allende belonged to one of these groups.  It turned out that members of this group, also attended by Fr. Manuel Hidalgo, expressed their dissatisfactions with the political leadership of Spain, which led to conspiratorial meetings to plan the country's possible independence from Spain.  Although Allende and Hidalgo initiated the independence movement in 1810 and led the Indians and mestizos in several battles against the Spanish army, they were both captured and executed before independence was won in 1817.

Today, Ignacio Allende is recognized as a national hero and the city of his birth was renamed San Miguel de Allende.  The city of Dolores is renamed Dolores Hidalgo because it is there in his parish church that Fr. Manuel Hidalgo gave El Grito, the battle cry of the independence movement calling his parishioners to take up arms against the Spanish.  Hidalgo is now known as the Father of the Nation of Mexico.

The bicentennial celebration of Mexico's Independence takes place this year as does it's centennial celebration of the Revolution begun in 1910 against the autocratic rule of Porfirio Diaz. Celebratory events are taking place all over Mexico, especially in locations related to these rebellions.

For more about:
Igancio Allende: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio_Allende
Manuel Hidalgo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Hidalgo_y_Costilla
Mexican Revolution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Revolution

Ignacio Allende is depicted in statues and murals throughout San Miguel.  He is always depicted in his Spanish captian's attire and is often shown on horseback.











On the horse is Allende while Hidalgo is reading El Grito from the pulpit.

Today was the kick-off for the 4th annual Baroque Music Festival in San Miguel.  The event brings 55 international musicians to town and there will be nine concerts during the week performed in plazas, churches, theaters and historic buildings, many of them free of charge.  This year the festival celebrates the Baroque music of  Mexico and New Spain in honor of the bicentennial of the Mexican Independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution.  Most of the music will be played on Baroque period instruments.

In the Jardin this evening there was a Baroque music and theatrical performance. The music was superb and I would imagine the comic actors were also good if only I understood Spanish.  (After two weeks of Spanish classes I could only understand a word here and there.)

Last evening I attended a bullfight in San Miguel's bullring.  The place seats 3000 and it was packed!  The event consisted of performances by 3 bullfighters, each encountered 2 bulls.  One of the bullfights was an apprentice who fought a young bull while another was an experienced matador.











The highlight of the evening was Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, a Spaniard who has settled in San Miguel and who is the most famous rejoneador in the world.  A rejoneador is a bullfight who fights from horseback.  He uses a number of different horses during the event, each trained for specific moves, all highly skilled in dressage and trained not to be afraid of the bull.  The horses will approach the bull straight on and then at the very last second, dart to the side.  Then the bull is encouraged to chase the horse and rider while the horse does various moves like prancing sideways.  The performance last evening was incredible - both the bullfighter and the horses were spectacular!  And yes, he kills the bull.  One of Pablo's kill was so clean and efficient that he was awarded both of the bulls ears!

For more about rejoneadora, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejoneador

To watch a video of the spectacular horsemanship of Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, go to:   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgG_Gwy7Ysg

Since bullfighter and horse were in constant movement, I could not get any decent photos.  So, here are some of Pablo I found on the Internet.

On Saturday I signed on for a day long tour to see ancient petroglyph and to visit an abandoned mine and mining town.  I went with five other Americans and a guide.

We traveled though several towns before coming to Victoria, located near a mountain range with spectacular views.  The area also had some very unusual rock formations.  We scrambled among some of these rocks at a site that is routinely used by local Indian shamans.  There we saw the petroglyph which were a great disappointment for me because there weren't very many of them and they weren't very distinct.  (I have seen more impressive petroglyph in Arizona and New Mexico.)  Nevertheless, the scenery was impressive and our guide's explanation of how the shamans use the site for giving instructions to those who want to learn shamanism was interesting.  It takes many years of study to learn all that is required to become a shaman.





This is Cesar, our guide. He guides on weekends and is a school principal during the week.



These markings date to 900 AD.  The pigments that were used have been naturally altered by chemicals in the rocks so that they are permanently preserved.  According to Cesar, the images relate to a creation legend.  In both of these photos, you can see an image of a sun.





We then traveled on to Pozos, a once thriving town of 50,000 people that was abandoned when the nearby mines closed in the 1920s.  Unlike San Miguel de Allende, many of the buildings in Pozos are made of adobe instead of stone and the walls are painted white instead of an array of bright earth colors.  About ten years ago, some people from San Miguel, both Mexicans and foreigners, began to buy property in Pozos with the intention of revitalizing it.  Now there are several B&B's, a couple of restaurants, some galleries, and artists' studios and a population of about 3000.  At the same time, a great many of the buildings are still empty and falling apart.  Because the streets are cobblestone and many of the buildings still exhibit some interesting architectural features dating from Colonial times, the town does have the potential to become a charming tourist destination.  As it is today, it has an eerie feeling to it.









We then visited an abandoned mine, the largest in the area, Ex-Hacienda Santa Brigida.  It was first put into operation in the 16th century by Jesuits who learned of the silver deposits from local Indians and it became one of 500 mines that eventually were operating in the area.  The Pozos mines excavated silver and some gold and other minerals from deposits that were abundant in Central Mexico.  Guanajuato and Zacateras are large cities that also had their origin in mining.  The mines were later owned by wealthy families who lived lavishly from the profits of their mines while the Indians and Mestizos who worked the mines did so under extreme conditions for very little reward.  They were more or less enslaved to the mines for their very survival.

We approached Santa Brigida mine across an area of mesquite and cactus.  At one time, the land was covered with trees but they were all cut to produce charcoal for smelting.  The area includes a complex of buildings as well as collapsed tunnels and open, deep shafts.  It is a dangerous place to explore without a guide, because, unlike in the States, there are no warning signs or safety railings to protect people from falling deep into the earth!

In the picture below, the mansion house (where the gold and silver were heavily guarded) is in the distance.  It was repainted not long ago by a film company that was filming the story of Pancho Villa for a TV movie staring Antonio Banderas.





At one time, the buildings on the site formed a complete village with housing for the miners and stores, as well as ore processing areas and smelting furnaces.





Over time, three furnaces were built.  The oldest are these impressive stacks dating from the 16th century.





The most impressive structure on the site was a wind tunnel dating from the 19th century.  It measures 600 feet in length and is designed so that strong drafts of wind would rush through like a bellows to heat up the charcoal for processing the ore.



Inside the tunnel.



Here is a diagram of the tunnel.



Below is a picture of a section where tunnels have collapsed illustrating how deep in the earth they were constructed.  The hole is like a big canyon!



And here is one of many open, very deep shafts that tourists could easily fall down!  You can better believe that I did not venture off the beaten path!



It was late in the day when we left the area and the sunlight was shimmering on the cactus and weeds.  The effect was haunting and mesmerizing with a hint of menace.  The strange loveliness of the landscape was seductive and threatening at the same time.