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Easter in SMA - what a BLAST!!

Joan Hausrath — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 21:02:51 GMT

There are no cute Easter bunnies, Easter baskets, egg hunts, new Easter duds, or hats in San Miguel today. Instead, they blast their enemies!

It started at 10:30 last night with rocket boomers and church bells blasting and ringing for a half an hour. Then they resumed this morning from 6 to 6:30 am.

The event began at noon, across the Jardin from the Parroquia where larger than life-size figures made of paper mache were lined up outside the police station.

There were about 25 of these bad guys and gals. Each had a hoop around their waist with a string of firecrackers attached. Each had been donated by a local business establishment and some had signs identifying the hated person. One said "canidate corrupto" which covers a lot! The figures were then strung up by ropes between the trees of the Jardin and the balcony of the municipal building.

One at a time they were lowered so that a man with a cigarette could light the fuse. Then they were raised and when the firecrackers went off, the figures would spin.

Then there would be a BIG BANG and the figure would be blown to smithereens. Body parts flew everywhere!

If the bang was loud and the body completely destroyed, the crowd was pleased. There were a couple of fizzles which got boos.

Body parts were collected by the crew, and after all 25 blasts, children descended on the pile to grab a limb or two for souvenirs.

This event is called the "Destruction of Judas." How cathartic to destroy your enemy via paper mache and a blast!

To see a video of one of these figures getting blown up, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaLJUTRgeYE&feature=related

HAPPY EASTER!

Good Friday, part 2 - the last procession

Joan Hausrath — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:40:36 GMT

I returned to San Miguel early in the afternoon to encounter even more people on the streets - there must be thousands of visitors in town. The atmosphere here is much different than it was this morning in San Luiz Rey; here people are on vacation and they are shopping, eating, drinking, and having a merry time.

The event this evening was one I was looking forward to since it has been reported as the MAIN HOLY WEEK EVENT. I was advised to find a spot on the street by 5pm, an hour before the procession was scheduled to begin. So at 5 pm, I was there only to encounter the streets already packed with people. All the shady sides of the streets were taken, but I did manage to find a spot in semi-shade.

Although the procession is the most serious of Holy Week events, the mood prior to the start of it was quite lively. There were food vendors going up and down the streets as well as balloon and toy vendors. With cotton candy and candied apples, it felt like a carnival!

The procession is called Santo Entierro (Holy Burial) and is the most solemn and longest of the processions with about 2000 soldiers and mourners carrying statues and candle torches. The men are dressed in black suits and the women are in black dresses, black lace mantillas and white gloves. It is a funeral procession that begins with statues of 12 angels, small ones carried by girls and larger ones carried by women. Everyone walks in silence. Those watching the procession are suppose to be silent as well, but the procession moves so slowly (it takes 2 1/2 hours) that the crowds got restless, especially the kids. This procession has been going on here for 300 years.

Of course there were the Roman soldiers, but these fellows were big guys - not your typical Mexican male size. Apparently these big guys come from a region in Mexico were the men are big and they make a special trip to San Miguel each year to show off their size.

Then came the girls carrying small statues of angels.

Women came next carrying large statues of angels. There were 6 of them.

There was an orchestra and a choir that performed music written especially for this event.

After that there were more statues, but the most important one was of the dead Christ.

Whew! That's the last of the processions! Attending all of these events has been a real cultural experience.

Good Friday, part 1

Joan Hausrath — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:48:59 GMT

Good Friday is the BIG DAY here, not Easter Sunday. There are mobs of people in town and traffic is gridlocked. Of 4 events going on in the area, I could only attend 2. Since I'm a bit tired of processions with statues, I opted this morning to take a bus to a small town about a mile out of San Miguel, San Luiz Rey, where the Passion Play was being performed by real people. When I left at 8:15 am, the only people out and about were the street crews and home owners cleaning streets of last night's litter.

San Luiz Rey is a working class town with cobbled and dirt roads. The event was to start at 9 am, but didn't until 9:45, so I had a chance to see the actors gathering outside the church.

Here are some of the Roman soldiers getting dressed outside the church.

In front of the small church is a platform where Christ was brought before Pontius Pilate and sentenced.

The little girls in white carry baskets that will be filled with chamomile and mint. They will walk at the head of the procession and distribute the herbs on the street. When the herbs get trampled, they release their fragrance.

My guess is that Pontius Pilate is on the right and one of the Pharisees on the left.

Here is part of the group of Christ's followers including the apostles and Mary in blue. Below is Death. She was present during the whole event, sometimes holding a human skull (see left.)

After Christ was judged and sentenced, the procession to Calvary began.

The procession moved through town in a round about way covering a distance of about a mile and half. The procession grew bigger as it moved along. The people attending were all townsfolk with only about 20 gringos in the crowd. The streets were decorated with purple and white crepe paper, paper flowers, overhead streamers, and palm and corn stalks.

Above are the two condemned criminals and below is Judas who wandered along in the crowd and eventually hung himself in a tree.

Along the way, the stations of the cross were acted out. (I am only familiar with several of them - all learned in art history classes!) The last bit of the way went up a steep street to a knoll used for Calvary.

I was relieved that this was all acted out without any real blood or torture. The follows were on the cross, standing on platforms, for about a half hour and then were taken down.

Then people drifted back to their homes and life in town resumed.

Along the way I photographed a view of San Miguel in the distance. A man with a burro added a picturesque touch.

Santero (maker of saints)

Joan Hausrath — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:04:01 GMT

Genaro Almanza Rios was a well known maker of statues of saints in San Miguel who learned the craft from his father, Donato. Genaro died a couple of years ago but his legacy lives on in the many beautiful statues sitting in niches in churches throughout the region. The statues have a core of a light weight wood that is then covered in with plaster then painted. Genaro was also a conservator of old statues as well as an active preserver of San Miguel traditions.

Some of the church statues are believed to be associated with miracles while others are cherished because of their age. Some were made in Spain. Many were donations to the churches by individuals who favored a particular saint or by wealthy parishioners. There is one in town that is very old and has a core of corn husks. It is brought out for display only a couple of days each year.

Tomorrow, Good Friday, there is a procession at the Parroquia where a figure of Christ meets up with a figure of the Virgin and the bowed head of Christ raises three times to gaze at his mother. It is called "The Meeting." (I will miss it because I am going to be at another procession.) Yesterday I visited the church where the statue of Christ was on display and as I was photographing it, the head moved! It was not a miracle - a man was sitting under the platform operating the head for visitors.

The figure of Christ tied to the Column is much venerated here because it is believed that it eradicated a plague in San Miguel at one time. This statue is brought from a church 4 miles away in an overnight procession. It stays in a church here for two weeks than is returned in another overnight procession.

Here are some more saints.

Santa Semana - 3 more processions

Joan Hausrath — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:31:15 GMT

Holy Week and Easter are the most religious holidays in San Miguel - a bigger event than Christmas - so it is a travel destination for many Mexican families. The number of people on the streets has increased daily and this evening I noticed that streets near the Jardin had been closed to traffic. The mood in the Jardin is especially festive these days with entertainment (juggler, hula hooping, Andean pipe music along with a couple of mariachis, and 12 foot puppets) food venders, souvenir vendors, and lots of well behaved kids. While just a block or two away, religious processions are taking place.

Procession 1

On Monday evening, one of the churches put on a dramatization of the last supper and Gethsemane followed by a procession. Children play roles in these local church events along with lots of men dressed as Roman soldiers. (I suspect that there is something macho about playing a soldier and dressing up in a flashy uniform.)

In this rendition of the Last Supper, grandmothers were in attendance to keep the apostles in line.

Here the angle is appearing to Christ while the apostles sleep.

The choir of angels waited patiently for their opportunity to sing.

Judas betrays Christ and the Roman soldiers arrest him.

Then the figure of Christ is carried through the streets followed by a procession. Chamomile is spread on the street beforehand and then immediately swept up afterward.

Procession 2

Today I attended another procession at a neighborhood church and it was a real delight! The homes along the procession way were decorated in white and purple and mobs of people lined both sides of the street to see the kids parade by.

Below is the crew that follows the procession to sweep up the chamomile and flower petals.

On the streets next to the church were women making a special Lenten treat of corn tortillas filled with brown sugar then deep fried.

Above is the head soldier in his shiny gold armor. The clown was a by-stander - he was not in the procession!

The children were dressed in costumes and family members were taking pictures - it almost seemed like Halloween! Of course, like all the other processions, there was a brass band playing somber music, there were members of the clergy, and of course, the religious statues were carried on platforms covered with flowers - but it was the kids that made this procession special.

First came the littlest angels. They were followed by older ones.

Then the bearded apostles came along and they were followed by the tortured Christs.

That's Judas in the magenta robe. Friends and I agreed that the little Christs look like they are being tortured with measles.

And the choir was last. Their singing was lovely.

Procession 3

This procession consisted of lots of religious statues (men carry male statues and women carry female saints) that made its way through town stopping at 14 locations where Stations of the Cross were located. At each location, priests read liturgy and prayed, so the procession was a slow moving one. The youngest kids that part of it were fine while the procession was moving, but when it stopped, they were bored.

There will be more in the days to come!

Palm Sunday, procession 2

Joan Hausrath — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:04:20 GMT

Procession Two gathered at a park about 8 blocks away and took about a half hour to arrive at the Parroquia. At 11am the church bells rang and rang and rang.

Then loud boomers began and accompanied the procession the entire way, about every three minutes. A fellow led the group with a rocket launcher. He set off the rockets with his cigarette!

First were the clerics followed by a drum and bugle corps.

Next came various church groups and lodges.

Then came some young people waving flags and mock fighting with knives. (I don't know what that was all about.)

The main event was the arrival of an image of Jesus on a donkey.

Jesus was followed by the Apostles and they were followed by hundreds of religious followers.

The entire procession passed through the gates of the Parroquia and entered the church for a Mass.

A great many gringos have already left town headed to homes in the north. But everywhere I turned today, I was encountering friends and acquaintances. Here are some.

On the right is Ellen from Cape Cod. Bob is standing next to her. He is her San Miguel landlord. The couple next to Bob are Claude and Nacine, Claude is Ellen's cousin.

This is Don and Leslie. I ran into them at 2 of the 3 processions today. Don was in one of my Spanish classes and speaks muy bien.

Rumor has it that the kids/angels are going to show up at another church tomorrow evening. We'll see...

Palm Sunday, processions 1 and 3

Joan Hausrath — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:04:17 GMT

I attended 3 processions today and will report on the first and third now and will follow with another post for procession two since the first and the third were shorter ones.

Procession 1
The first took place at 10am (or there abouts) and was four blocks long beginning at a chapel and ending at the church of San Francisco followed by a Mass. I was very early for the event and caught a glimpse of the apostles scurrying up to where the procession was forming. Loud boomers announced the beginning of the procession.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, I doubt he had a police escort!

After the lead group of Jesus and his Apostles and a couple of drummers, the procession consisted of parishioners carrying palms.

Before the procession began, I encountered Jesus on the street. According to the local paper, Carlos Ruiz has been playing the role of Jesus for 11 years. He is a 32 year old teacher who believes that playing the role means a commitment to Christ throughout the whole year. Cute guy!

Procession 3

There's a lot of information and misinformation around town about the various Holy Week events. The major events are listed in the local paper and appear on a website, but the many neighborhood churches have events that are word-of-mouth. And so it was with this late afternoon procession that I was told included lots of little kids dressed as angels. It didn't happen that way!

This procession was one and half blocks long. It was lead by fellows carrying a statue of Jesus on the donkey, the parish priest, and a small brass band playing a somber tune.

These fellows are carrying the image to where the procession was forming around the corner and down the street. At that spot, the priest performed a dedication of palms. The palms are intricately woven in various configurations and are sold outside of every church in town. Parishioners carry then in the processions.

The procession made its way back to the church with parishioners following.

Before filing into church for Mass, the priest sprinkled Holy Water on the palms.

Procession 2 in the next post.

Friday of Our Lady of Sorrows

Joan Hausrath — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:08:41 GMT

Today was another religious holiday with the celebration taking place this evening. Dating from the 1940's in Mexico, it is celebrated in San Miguel with many families creating altars in windows, doorways, entrance lobbies, and decorating outdoor fountains. Featured in the altars are images of a sorrowful Virgin.

Preparations begin during the day with the gathering of traditional materials that all have symbolic significance: chamomile flowers, mint, fennel, oranges, pots of wheat sprouts, candles, and purple fabric and decorations. At the mercado, there were lots of vendors selling these things and people were buying them in various quantities. As I walked around town, I saw families creating their altar arrangements.

The celebration takes place at night. People walk the streets visiting the altars. The families give out popsicles or sweet fruit drinks as symbols of the the sweet tears of the Virgin. And they play religious music. It all sounds very solemn, but it turned out to be a fiesta! I have never seen so many people on the streets of San Miguel. People must come from all over for this event and everyone was in high spirits. It is a family event with children of all ages including infants and toddlers as well as older children, teenagers, young adult couples, parents and grandparents. Some streets with lots of altars were closed to traffic. It reminded me of when I was a child and my parents drove me all over town to see the Christmas lights - only here everyone walks. Some of the altars were quite modest while others were very ambitious displays that drew crowds.

This house is just up the street from me. Above is what it looked like during the day. Below is at night when the family opened the door to reveal that they had converted their living room into an altar arrangement.

So here are some of the altars I visited.

Below is the entrance to a large house with inner courtyard. The line to enter was a block long. I didn't bother.

This one was huge and had a painted back drop of a mountain (Calvary.) It had colored lights that kept changing color.

Below is a family run hotel where preparations took two days. An inside courtyard had a huge altar. The hotel has a computer room and all eight computers displayed rotating images of Holy Week events.

There are many fountains in San Miguel, often located at intersections. Local families convert these fountains into altars.

In one part of time it was like a street party because there were so many altars in the neighborhood. Traffic was diverted and there were tables where food was being prepared and served.

I'm looking forward to more events in the coming days.

More wire art

Joan Hausrath — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:00:04 GMT

I have become obsessed. Yesterday when I returned from the studio, I took a detour just to look for more pieces of wire in the road!

Archer on Top of a Big Rock

Tired Giraffe

Woman with Hair in her Eye

Prehistoric Cave Painting

Yoga Class

Trying to Learn Spanish

espanol and more silly wire things

Joan Hausrath — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:01:40 GMT

SPANISH

While here, I've learned an incredible amount of Spanish in a very short period of time. It is all in my head except for my ears and my mouth. It will take lots more time and lots of practice before I'll be able to participate in a conversation. When I do manage to put words together and speak a sentence, I am so amazed when native speakers understand me! The Mexicans are very forgiving of gringos who slaughter their language!

Above on the left is Warren Hardy and his wife, Tuli. Warren is the founder of a Spanish school designed for older minds and Tuli is the school's administrator. Warren has authored excellent study books and materials and is a great teacher. On the right is Rocio Ruiz, a vivacious and patient teacher who makes the struggle to learn fun! Below are my classmates in the class I just completed.

L to R: Don, Sandra, Lesley, Libby, and Carolina - all of them much more fluent than I am!

FOUND WIRE ART

I found more twisted wire on the dirt road to the studio. I don't think there are any more so this is the last of them. (I have not bent any of them - they are as I found them.)

Skinny Person Sitting on a Cushion

Woman Talking on Cell Phone that has Antenna

Kid Pulling Sled

Bird on Branch

Bird in Flight

Sphinx

My Challenge (to explain to US Customs why I am bringing these home with me....)

Procession of Our Lord of the Column

Joan Hausrath — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:58:52 GMT

At 5:45 this morning loud boomers began and continued for more than an hour. It was still dark when I ventured out at 6:15 and made my way to the procession route. This is the first event leading up to Holy Week and Easter.

The procession began at midnight in Atotonilca, a town about eight miles outside of San Miguel. The pilgrims carry three sacred images from a church in Atotonilca overnight and deliver them to a church in San Miguel. After Easter the images are returned. Of the three, the most important one on this occasion depicts Christ tied to a column when we was flagellated by the Romans.

The arrival of the religious statues is highly anticipated here and elaborate preparations are made for the event. Some Mexicans maintain a vigil during the night along the procession route and at the destination church. They camp out in sleeping bags and blankets.

Church groups decorate the last half mile into town with colorful scenes and designs on the road made with brightly colored saw dust, colorful arches, bright crepe paper flowers, cut tissue paper streamers strung over the road, baloons in white and purple, and flowers and herbs. They were still putting the finishing touches on these festival decorations when I arrived at the church. I followed the road that led out of town, encountering hundreds of people (very few gringos) along the way.

There must have been at least 25 saw dust pictures along the half mile route.

And many neighbors along the route decorated the front of their homes as well.

A number of families had set up tables and were selling coffee, hot chocolate, and pastries to the crowds of people walking by. Elsewhere, people were patiently waiting for the procession to pass by.

Although this was a very solemn event, there was still a party-like atmosphere.

And then the procession finally arrived headed by little girls dressed in white with wings attached to their backs. They symbolized virgin angels. (Sorry, I didn't get any good pictures of the angelic virgins.) Next were the candle bearers. There were several men also carrying kerosene camp lanterns that were used to light the way before dawn.

I don't know who the fellow in the magenta robes represented. Pontius Pilot? Judas? He was followed by Roman soldiers.

And then the treasured image of Christ tied to the column, supposedly one of the oldest religious images in Mexico. Its magical powers date back to the 1812 when it is reported that the image miraculously eradicated a plague in San Miguel.

Then came images of the Sorrowful Virgin Mary and Apostle John.

Coming last were the people who made the overnight pilgrimage from Atononilca and they were followed by everyone else who wanted to make their way to the church.

Of course the colorful saw dust pictures and designs were all trampled, but where there were herbs on the street, the smell of them filled the air.

The Procession ended at the church where hundreds of people gathered for an outdoor mass. During the day, festivities will take place.

My pilgrimage continued to a restaurant for breakfast with friends. There I gave solemn gratitude to the chef for Mexican style French toast: the bread was dipped in a flour/egg base batter and then deep fried. I think the dish violates some Lenten rules that require abstinence from excess!

The Pope and The Beatles

Joan Hausrath — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:17:56 GMT

The city of Guanajuato is about 33 miles from San Miguel, and although the Pope is not coming to San Miguel, the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, is staying here during the duration of the Pope's visit.

President Calderon and his wife are staying at an ultra luxury hotel about 4 blocks from my modest apartment. Here are pictures of the Presidential Suite that I took off of the Rosewood Hotel website.

Due to the demand for accommodations throughout the region because of the Pope's visit, San Miguel has an unusually large number of visitors this weekend And with the Calderons staying in town, there are security forces everywhere. The San Miguel police, Federal Police, and soldiers are hanging out on practically every street corner.

The above photo is in front of the Paraoquia Friday night and below are two fellows watching over the street corner just steps from my apartment. Those that speak English enjoy practicing with tourists!

The American media has sensationalized the violence in Mexico to the extent that there are far fewer Americans coming to Mexico, including San Miguel, which has an impact on the local economy. For instance, this there are half as many people taking the Sunday house tours sponsored by the local library than last year.

Last week, San Miguel was recognized as one of the safest places to visit in Mexico, and also acknowledged as one of the safest travel destinations in the world. The crime rate in Mexico, despite the drug related violence, is lower per capita than that of the US. What the media does not point out is how large Mexico is, and although there are pockets of high crime, most of Mexico is safe for travelers. Imagine if the media reported that all of the US was not a safe place for foreigners because a foreign tourist happened to be killed in NYC. There are murders taking place everyday in big and small cities through the US, but do Americans avoid visiting NYC, Chicago, or New Orleans? (That's my safety spiel.)

Last night I went to a concert given by a Mexican Beatles tribute band. They were surprisingly good!

A printmaking excursion to Guanajuato

Joan Hausrath — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:23:36 GMT

The founding members of the San Miguel de Allende Printmakers traveled to Guanajuato yesterday to visit the studio of Hugo Anaya where we spent the day printing, learning, experimenting, sharing and having a really fun time. Hugo generously taught us the processes by which he achieves wonderful patterns, rich color, and exact registration in his monotype prints.

Above are three of Hugo's colorful prints. To see more, go to: www.piramidalgrafica.com/page7.html

Below are our experiments with Hugo's techniques.

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Then it was our turn to share with Hugo a process using polyester litho plates. Below is Linda doing a demo.

An added bonus to this very productive day was the setting of Hugo's studio. It is located on the beautiful property of a bed and breakfast owned by the famous American woodcut artist, Carol Summers which Hugo manages. The historic building and grounds display a FABULOUS collection of folk art; every guest room is quite unique. To learn more about Casa de Espiritus Alegres, go to: www.casaspirit.com/Englishsite/englishmain.html

Carol Summers is very well known for his bold woodcut prints where he achieves gloriously luminescent color. The printmaking textbook that I used in college displayed one of his prints on the cover. So it was a real treat to have Hugo explain Carol's process and to see some of his actual prints!

To see more of Carol's prints, go to: www.davidsongalleries.com/artists/summers/summers.php

This is the colorful setting where we enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared for us according to one of Hugo's original recipes. Each chair was hand painted with colorful patterns and unique images.

This fellow fascinated me!

Here is a photo of the canopy bed in the bridal suite.

The photos below are of other parts of the guest house and gardens including an outdoor pavilion decorated with East Indian textiles.

I am looking forward to more fun adventures with my printmaking amigas!

SMA shadows with a little help from Photoshop

Joan Hausrath — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:46:42 GMT

Because the sun is so strong here, the shadows are too. So, here is a collection of pictures of shadows that are spruced up in Photoshop.

Found wire art

Joan Hausrath — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:31:37 GMT

On my way to the studio, I walk along a dirt road for about a block and a half, and along the way, I pick up pieces of twisted wire. I have no idea what purpose they formerly served, but I am intrigued by their configurations.

So, here is my Gallery of Found Wire Art. In some cases I have embellished with a couple of pen lines.

DANCER

DUCK WITH A BROKEN BILL

FLAMINGO (just as I found it)

GIRL WITH LONG HAIR (ON ONLY ONE SIDE OF HER HEAD)

SNAKE IN THE DESERT

DOG

Catching up

Joan Hausrath — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:07:51 GMT

I just realized that I haven't posted in over a week. I have been productive in the studio, struggling and making progress in my Spanish classes, and socializing. I have been connecting with people, mostly women, from Cape Cod; Martha's Vineyard; Canton, MA; Maine; Michigan; Washington; Cleveland; Toronto and other parts of Canada; and miscellaneous locations in between. I have heard numerous stories about how, after being here only a few days, couples have bought property for seasonal retreats or full time re-locations. In fact, I recently got together with some printmakers, and two out of the five of them reported that had been their experience. I have also met a couple of women who are here for the first time, each for a short stay, and they both plan to return next year for 2 to 3 months. That's the attraction that San Miguel has on visitors.

We printmakers are forming a group for sharing, networking, and exhibiting. There are six of us so far, but we expect others will soon join us. Below is the group at one of our first get togethers.

Last week I was having my lunch in the garden at the studio and a small red bird with distinctive black markings sat on the wall for a few minutes. I have since discovered that it is a Vermillion Flycatcher. They are common from southwestern US all the way down to Central America. Unfortunately, I have not seen any more of these pretty little birds.

Lots of feathers, part 2

Joan Hausrath — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 04:32:37 GMT

This year at the celebration of the Lord of the Conquest I decided to concentrated on faces instead of whole costumes. Normally I avoid taking pictures of people so as not to intrude on their privacy, but since this was a public event, it gave me the perfect opportunity to take pictures of people up close.

The "women" below are part of a group of comic entertainers who romp and joke around wearing masks. Yes, they are all men.

Lots of feathers, part 1

Joan Hausrath — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 03:53:23 GMT

It began this morning at 6 am. (It is dark at 6 am.) For 20 minutes it seemed like bombs were going off. Every 2 or 3 minutes there were be very loud explosions. After a few minutes, the dogs all over town were barking. Then the roosters were wakened and started crowing. It was quite a racket! It was the beginning of the celebration honoring the Lord of the Conquest. At 7 am there was a special Mass at the Parraquia where a special statue of Christ was honored. Then came the dancers wearing pre-hispanic costumes and headdresses adorned with lots of feathers who danced to the beat of drums all around the Jardin. Groups of these dancers came from miles around for this special occasion that celebrates of the conversion of the indigenous people to Christianity. There were several hundred of them, each group had their own drummers so you can imagine the sound.

I have witnessed this event five times in the past and never tire of it. It is colorful, loud, festive, full of energy and fun!

Below is the statue of Christ that is transported through the town.

Then there were two shaman or spiritual healers who were performing rituals with incense.

I took so many pictures that I am making two posts!

Around town...

Joan Hausrath — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:14:44 GMT

Since the weather is now quite pleasant with sun and a slight breeze, I have been exploring the town. Here is some of what I have encountered.

On Saturdays there are non-stop weddings all day long at the Parraquia. As one wedding party leaves the church, the florists for the next wedding appear. Often there is a mariachi band waiting to serenade the couple.

And last Saturday there was a cute donkey waiting outside the church as well. (I didn't stay around to see how he fit into the festivities.)

As I have roamed the streets and alleys, I've come up on some interesting buildings. Here are a few.

And, from the print studio, I can look up the hillside and see a duck! I am told that it is made of concrete and is about 3 stories high. Reportedly, it was to be a part of a hotel, but the town has some zoning issues with the duck.

Today I visited 16 artists' studios on a studio tour. I have done the tour before and was happy to encounter some new artists this time. Mixed-media, collage, and assemblage are very popular techniques here. Below is the rooftop deck of Bea Aaronson whose home is crammed with paintings and assemblages.

Here are a couple of her assemblages that caught my fancy.

Below are a couple of collage pieces by Alejandra Mendoza. All of the components are her work are secured with machine sewing stitches which gives her collages an interesting texture.

To see more of her interesting work, go to: http://artealejandramendoza.blogspot.com

House Tour and Egg Smashing

Joan Hausrath — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:44:52 GMT

On Sunday I visited three beautiful houses on the tour sponsored by the library. It is held every Sunday as a fund raiser for the library's literacy program. One house held my interest more than the other two because of the owner's collection of contemporary fine crafts and folk art. In fact, I had visited the same house two years ago but enjoyed returning to discover objects that I missed the first time. So here are some of the things that caught my eye.

The figure on the left is life-size and made of paper mache and packing tape. It greets visitors in the entrance hall. Then I was enchanted with the attitude of the terra cotta urn and love her necklace. She is going to appear in one of my prints!

I like the simplicity and sophistication of the sculpture on the left and the richness and folkiness of the assemblage on the right.

In between several cabinets in one of the bedrooms there were paper mache chickens! Love 'em!

Most of the buildings here have vaulted ceilings, some are more decorative than others. Mine (below) is very plain.

One of the houses had an expansive rooftop area with fire pit, kitchen, and hot tub.

And the view from the rooftop.

When I returned to the center of town, I discovered that children were celebrating Carnaval in the traditional way of smashing hollow eggs on each other's heads. Actually, the eggs contain confetti and or/talc/flour. The Jardin was packed with families and kids chasing each other with glee.

And the ground was covered with broken egg shells.

Surrounding the Jardin are vendors selling crepe paper flowers and toy clowns with eggs as heads.

And what is a fiesta without large puppets?

Wonder why Americans are attracted to San Miguel? Watch this Nightline ABC commentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUk6MeOGGA0&feature=related