Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato

For the past 35 years, Guanajuato, about 1 hour 15 minutes away by express bus, has held an annual 3-week Cervantino festival featuring music and cultural shows in their wonderful historic venues. It is named in honor of the author Miguel de Cervantes and there are numerous Don Quixote statues around town. We went with two other couples to experience a taste of this year's programs.

The happy group (P&B, Yolanda & Victor, Larry & Stephanie)

The invited country this year was China so there were numerous Chinese programs to choose from. We saw a clever and sophisticated silhouette puppet show by the Shaanxi Folk Art Theater with a raucus (to my ears) musical accompaniment. Later that evening we saw a Chinese musical and acrobatic display from Xi'an, featuring lots of fancy drumming, gongs and colorful costumes. These and many more shows were free to the hardy willing to come early but we bought the right to actually sit in chairs. The musical show was outdoors at night, surrounded by the striking monuments of the city.

My favorite program, held in a church in the hills above Guanajuato, was a concert by the vocal quartet Arveiros. The solemnety of the music in the gold-encrusted nave of the church was moving.

The real star of the trip was Guanajuato itself with its altogether different atmosphere than our San Miguel. It is a university town so there are lots of young people, especially at night when the traditional singing and drinking begins. It also has sidewalk cafes that I miss in San Miguel. The whole city has a much more European feel with plazas and cafes in hidden corners as you climb the hills.

We spent the night so had an extra day to explore the markets and plazas before we took the express bus back to San Miguel.

A trip to Delores Hildago

Today we actually got the car out to drive about 20 miles to Delores Hildago, a town about the same size as San Miguel that is famous for it's colorful Talavera pottery. On our way out of town we stopped by the home of a woman who was selling some of her household goods. She was selling a beautiful hand woven and embroidered patchwork Guatemalan bedspread or wall hanging as it clashed with her color scheme. We fell in love with this cloth and, as you have seen, not much clashes with our decorative scheme. Here are a few shots of our guest room with it's new look.

Our drive to Delores took us through miles of wild sunflowers lining the road. We were looking for a chest for our living room to hold a TV and the other stuff that goes with it. There are a few places in Delores which create furniture from recycled antique wood and at first we thought we would do that, but finally settled on a carved new wood one to be built to Bryan's specifications. Here is a shot of the style of painted carving we ordered. I'll let you know in a couple weeks how it turns out.

On our way out of town we stopped at a roadside carnitas BBQ place and sat outside enjoying the meal and the view of Mexico passing by. Wish you could have joined us.

My Birthday in San Miguel

Well, this has been birthday like no other. I hope I can summarize.

Friends old and new

September 29th is the fiesta of St. Michael, patron saint of our city. It is celebrated as part of a group of traditions, called La Alborada, which had their origins in San Miguel in 1924. This includes parades, exploding paper mache figures, large puppet-like figures, music, Masses, fireworks and the statue of St. Michel, not necessarily in that order.

The celebration begins early so we set our alarm at 2am and were in the Jardin (or main square) by 2:30, greeted by several bands creating impromptu parades of hundreds of enthusiastic and most likely inebriated followers. The crowd continued to grow as more people marched in carrying large paper mache stars on long poles lit within by candles. Added to this were crowds following traditional giant puppet-like figures.

Among this group were about 100 young men in white shirts with bandanas across their faces. Around 3:45 they went into the main church on the square and received a blessing, then promptly as the church bell chimed 4am, we learned why they needed blessings. They were reenacting a battle between St. Michael and the devil (or devils) because half of the men were inside the church fence heaving live fireworks out at the other half who were dancing and wildly dodging said live fireworks. The ambulances parked outside the square were needed as this craziness lasted for a full hour, with some of those outside removing their protective clothing and simply testing fate. The noise was deafening and sparks were flying everywhere. Seasoned observers brought umbrellas but I used the hood on my parka and loaned Bryan my scarf to cover his nose and head. I wish I had brought ear plugs.

Did I mention that while this was going on there was a full-on fireworks display overhead? This is the largest fireworks event of the year. Once the battle ended with presumably St. Michael the victor, the castillo was lit. This is a spindly wood tower supporting complex pyrotechnics of windmills and spirals. The climax of each castillo is when the top piece is shot into the air, flying saucer like, and lands where it will. The crowd parts where it comes spinning and sparking out of the night sky and crashes to the ground. No OSHA here.

Things calmed down a bit after that so we went home and slept from 5:30 to 10, when we went back down to my favorite breakfast place. By the time I finished my lovely fruit plate and Bryan his poached eggs, the energy level in the Jardin had again reached a high pitch. I really have trouble remembering what happened but at the same time we were watching Los Voladores, the pole flyers from Veracruz spinning upside down around a large central pole with ropes attached to their waists, at least 100 horseback riders came into the square for a Mass and outdoor blessing by a priest.

At some point dozens of young girls came out of the church after their first communion dressed in elaborate white gowns and wandered around town posing for photographs with their families. Oh, I almost forgot the colorful regional dancers in the square, the dance band in the gazebo, Mariachi groups performing around the park, and some exploding figurines on poles which showered sweets and treats to the children underneath. Whew.

Finally, house pictures

When we started this project 3 years ago we had no idea what it would involve; we only knew that we loved being in San Miguel and we wanted a comfortable place to return to each time. We got what we wanted.

It is a 2 bedroom, 3 story home in the colonial style, with a garage for the Suzuki, in an out of the way neighborhood with a view of the city center and the lake and hills beyond. It began as a simple open-air 3 room house on two stories covering the entire lot. We first saw it with our friends, Anna and Milton, and we were a bit overwhelmed.  We brought our friend and a architectural "engineer", Alfredo, up to the highest point and asked him what he thought.  He said definitely and I am so glad he agreed to remodel it for us.  Just because he spoke no English and I had only some words in Spanish at the time didn't mean we couldn't make it work.

I would say we are about 2/3 through with it but basically it is finished. There are walls we want to paint and some more lighting fixtures to put up and a few more pieces of furniture we want. The stairwell glass covering still leaks. Good thing it is a tiny house!

Wildflower walk

This morning we went to the Botanical Garden just out of town for a guided wildflower walk. It was led by Richard Cretcher, one of the co-authors of Flores Silvestres: Pocket Guide to the wild flowers of San Miguel. Last night there was an especially enthusiastic rainstorm which meant the lake was unusually high for this time of year.

This has been an especially wet summer and the flowers were abundant. The yellow one is called pegarropa which, loosely translated, means it sticks to your clothes when you walk by. The red is like our Indian Paintbrush.

Of course we saw plenty of butterflies

The gardens are used as a sacred place, particularly for ceremonies celebrating the full moon and solstice. This particular construction is a súchil or ritual altar elaborately decorated with local plants.

And lastly, my favorite shot from this morning. It is now my desktop graphic. Let me know if you want a larger image for your desktop.

Enjoy

Independence Day Celebration

Imagine the 4th of July and New Year's Eve and you have a Mexican Independence Day celebration. There were more people crowded into the central square than should have been, getting their faces painted with Mexican flags, waving Mexican flags or draped in Mexican flags.



The evening began with an energetic and joyful performance of regional folk dances by a folkloric troupe. It is impossible to watch these dances without a grin on your face.

It is a family oriented night and, although not part of an official program, some parents showed their pride in dressing their children.

At 11pm there was a reenactment by the mayor of an historic call to battle,"The Grito," followed by fireworks. The party lasted into the night but I crashed before midnight. There is more tomorrow night!

The best laid plans...

Monday morning we woke up armed with an agenda. We wanted to apply for the senior discount card which required multiple copies of passports, visas, and even our original birth certificates. But we were prepared, except for 3 very tiny photos each. The cards are issued between 8 and 10 each Monday. Well, the photo place was closed at 8 and when we got to the office at 8:30 the line was closed as they didn't have enough cards today. Oh, well, there is always next Monday.

The big success we had today was signing up for cable and internet. We went to the office at 10:30 when it opened and by 5pm we had speedy wireless internet and basic cable. The affable guy who came to hook us up again was the one who had done our previous two hook-ups and he congratulated us on completing the house. The first time he came we were still sleeping on the inflatable mattress on the floor so that's progress. I will try to get some photos of before and after for the house soon.

Preparations are continuing today for this weekend's big celebration of Mexican Independence which occurred on Sept 16, 1810. A main player in this was Captain Ignacio Allende, the namesake of our town, so most decorations include his likeness. This is the first time we will be in town for this celebration.


This is also a good time to stock up on Mexican flags and sombreros decorated with the word Mexico.