Well, all those umbrellas did not go to waste. The ones people carried to the Locos parade and the ones sold by vendors under threatening skies.
The rains stayed away and thousands of gaily costumed — and bizarrely, quaintly, curiously, delightfully, enchantingly, dreamily, whimsically, scarily, creepily, amusingly and shockingly costumed — paraders strutted, danced, boogied, jumped and jived their way down the Ancha, en route to the Jardin Allende in the civic square.
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Such a relief.
It now rains most evenings in San Miguel de Allende, somewhere between 5 and 7 p.m. I could almost set my watch by it, if I had a watch.
We got caught in a downpour last night in Colonia San Antonio as we were leaving a nearby Italian restaurant, Denver’s Los Olivos, with some friends. Juan Miguel (Denver) always delights — a very old-school chef with traditional recipes and a dining-in-the-kitchen feel.
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More than five years ago, we lived in a “penthouse” apartment that overlooked this tree from nearly a block away. You could not miss it. You could not turn away. Its color is otherworldly among the beige and brown stucco buildings.
After the splendid jacaranda trees drop their lavender flowers, this one, and more like it in hidden courtyards behind drab walls, spring to life.
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The celebration of the Resurrection of Christ on Saturday night at the Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua in Colonia San Antonio was incredibly moving. Worshipers filled the plaza to overflowing. They stood and prayed for hours during the Easter Vigil as the life and death of Jesus Christ was recounted from the altar.
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Everybody is experiencing varying degrees of winter, some harsher than others this year. In northern climes there is a touch of schadenfreude in the air as southern spots like New Orleans try to figure out how to move snow off their streets and sidewalks and in Washington DC, the presidential inauguration was moved inside because it was too cold.
Right now I’m sitting in front of a fireplace shivering but in another hour or so I’ll be down to shorts and T-shirt. That’s just the way winter goes in San Miguel de Allende. Temperatures sink and soar on a whim.
In another week we’ll begin the celebration of Candelaria, which sort of pushes Spring to the forefront. The celebration is part religious and part commercial. Candelaria marks Candlemas, the 40th day after the birth of Christ.
Continue readingUpdate: Change of venue for San Miguel PEN Presents! Talks and times are the same, only the location has changed: Nectar at Camino Silvestre, Correo #43, Centro.
Talk is not cheap but it sure is plentiful in San Miguel de Allende during the first couple of months of 2025.
Intelligent, knowledgeable and often-times brilliant speakers will be stepping before podiums all over the city to offer enlightenment on topics like explaining the last U.S. election, explaining the current Mexico president, explaining the media, poetry, Artificial Intelligence, outer space, talking about their latest novels, the history of San Miguel, and so much more.
If you are looking for a modern-day Chautauqua Movement, look no further than San Miguel.
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“Bob,” many of my Google-adverse friends ask at this time of year, “what does the word ‘crèche’ mean?”
Well, my little Wikipedia-bereft amigos, crèche comes from the Latin word cripia which means crib or cradle.
Unless you are British. The British, being British, have a completely different meaning for the word, mainly, I suppose, so they can have another excuse to complain about North American English. The British sided with the French on this one and think that a crèche refers to a day-care center.
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This weekend has been a massive celebration of our community’s namesake, San Miguel, the archangel who drove the devil from heaven. We call it the battle of Good versus Evil.
There was a massive fireworks battle in the Jardin, with rockets shooting over the treetops — the forces of good on the Parroquia side and evil on the side that houses government offices. OK, the optics aren’t all that great for local government, but they must have signed off.
Fortunately, it was all symbolic.
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How do they do it? How do they put on some of those costumes that look not only like a second and third layer of skin but a whole winter coat for a grizzly bear — and then head down the street dancing and twirling and skipping to the pulsations of Mega the Sound Systems Inc. on the back of a pickup truck?
Crazy, I tell you!
Locos, by name. This year, the Locos are earning their name and reputation for endurance, exuberance, perseverance, and any other “ences” you can think of. It is hot. Every single day. Hot. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen it rain on a Locos parade.
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This week starts off with not one but three locos parades. Each leaves from a different location at staggard times but they will emerge and find their way back to Parroquia San Antonio de Padua where a towering soundsystem is set up.
There will be dancing food and music into the night. Don’t miss it.
At the other end of the week, the long-awaited memoir and photography of Ojala Ninos founder Elsmarie Norby, “It Is To Wonder,” is published and she will talk about her journey on Friday. Take my word for it: It is too wonderful.
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Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More 