The shining tin stars are stretched out above the cobblestone streets. The fairy lights hang from the trees, and the poinsettias fill the garden. Storefronts are decked in holiday apparel.
And tonight, the community Christmas tree was lit amid a splendid fireworks display.
Feliz Navidad, from San Miguel de Allende.
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Today’s celebrations of San Miguel Arcangel only theoretically started at 3 a.m. They have been running non-stop for the past week here in San Miguel de Allende. All through last night, the sounds of music and fireworks drifted over the moon-kissed night skies from all directions.
At 3 a.m., the Alboradas converged on the plaza in front of the Parroquia San Miguel de Arcangel. These are the colorful giant twirling stars — one of the happiest sights you’ll see as processionaires dance and twirl their way into the square with marching bands and mohigangas in tow.
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Yes, those were definitely drums. Not the assertive, muscular, rhythmic pounding that fuels many a procession and parade here in San Miguel de Allende.
These were tentative little thumps, like someone was trying them out for the first time. A test ride. Coming from somewhere near the intersection of Correo and Recreo. Hortus restaurant, on the corner, blocked my view from the Jardin. But you could feel a sort of energy building as the drums grew louder, bolder, more assured, more assertive, rhythmic.
Yes, definitely.
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In less time than it takes an evening downpour to pass through San Miguel de Allende, we had nearly 120 raincoats in the hands of the senior citizens who visit So Others May Eat for a hot lunch every Wednesday.
Sometimes good intentions and charitable hearts move that quickly.
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Dr. Grace Lim made a startling discovery on Wednesday as she delivered her weekly health talk to the 120 elderly guests at the So Others May Eat hot lunch program.
The day was gray, and the waterlogged clouds promised yet another badly needed downpour. In one of the wettest rainy seasons in memory, the doctor’s topic was staying dry, staying warm, staying healthy.
“How many of you own an umbrella?” asked Dr. Lim.
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In front of the Parroquia de San Miguel Arc Angel — all day Friday for the feast day of Señor de La Conquista — hundreds of brightly costumed dancers express the most joyous form of worship imaginable.
And exhausting.
Long before noon, it was hot out there. Really hot. I’ve never seen headdresses come off so quickly and water get consumed so rapidly as today. Can you blame them?
But always there were smiles.
So, what’s this all about?
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Hardly a Wednesday goes by that Frank Thoms and I don’t turn to each other and say, “Man, we are so lucky. We are so blessed.”
We come to that realization early and often.
We’re both volunteers at So Others May Eat, the hot lunch program in an obscure courtyard of the Parroquia de San Miguel de Arc Angel in San Miguel de Allende.
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The Jardin Principal, the towering Christmas tree, and the surrounding streets have been well-lit for the holidays since Dec. 6, That was the night of our first thunder-and-lightning drenching in weeks.
Timing is everything.
And the rains cooperated, stopping within minutes of the official Christmas tree lighting ceremony and the accompanying fireworks. (What would a tree lighting ceremony be without fireworks? Well, in San Miguel, what would any event be without fireworks?)
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The Day of the Dead has begun, in the most beautiful ways imaginable.
This morning dozens of people, young and old, arrived at the Jardin Principal to build large public oftendas, the altars that pay tribute to family, friends, classmates, motorcycle and Rotary club members — our loved ones who have passed away.
It is a beautiful and heartwarming thing to watch.
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We were mystified.
One minute, Dr. Grace Lim is delivering her weekly health talk on Wednesday to the nearly 120 guests of So Others May Eat in the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel courtyard.
“Many of you only have each other,” she reminds the elderly San Miguelians, all over the age of 65. “You need to watch out for each other.”
A frail elderly woman reaches up and asks for the microphone and Dr. Lim hands it to her.
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Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More 