Gringas? or Gringas?

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Rogelio

Taco truck outside the Biblioteca, San Miguel

Our favorite puesto de tacos (taco truck), is parked every evening at 8 outside the Biblioteca here in San Miguel. We eat here regularly, and to the amazement of many of our gringo friends are still alive. But the favorite thing to enjoy here isn’t tacos but gringas, either al pastor (pork with cheese) or campechenas (mixed pork, steak, sausage, and cheese) which are served on a wheat toritilla, which is white rather than brown and accounts for the name, as gringas (the female version of gringo) of course are also pale and not brown like the Mexicans.

Posted in Everyday, Food, San Miguel de Allende | Comments Off on Gringas? or Gringas?

Helio Alves and the Brazilian Collective Jazz Trio

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Rogelio

Helio Alves of the Brazilian Jazz Trio

This year’s San Miguel Jazz Festival was kicked off last night at the Peralta Theater with a wonderful performance by Helio Alves and the Brazilian Collective Jazz Trio. For those of you who are not familiar with this brilliant pianist and composer, Alves was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1966 and moved to Boston to study at Berkeley College of Music, eventually moving to New York City in 1993. In addition to his many other recordings, Alves was the pianist on Grammy-winning releases by Yo-Yo Ma (Obrigado Brazil, 2003) and Paquito D’Rivera (Brazilian Dreams, 2002). He has more information, and you can immediately listen to some of his music, just by clicking on the Helio Alves website.

Posted in Everyday | Comments Off on Helio Alves and the Brazilian Collective Jazz Trio

Mojigangas

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Rogelio

Mojigangas in the Jardin, San Miguel de Allende

A frequent sight in San Miguel are the Mojigangas or Locos as they are more commonly known. These twelve-foot high giant sized puppets cavort and dance in the Jardin or down the streets during parades. While found elsewhere in Mexico, San Miguel is famous as the home of some of the best, created either by the local Valle del Maiz group lead by Don Leopoldo Estrada (Don Polo) or by Hermes Arroyo. It is believed that these figures of cardboard, paper and cloth were brought to Mexico by the Spanish around 1600 and were used to lighten things up a bit during the sometimes grueling religious pilgrimages.

Posted in Everyday, Photography, San Miguel de Allende | Comments Off on Mojigangas

The Schoolchildren of San Miguel

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Rogelio

School Project and Great Graphics, San Miguel

This morning in the Jardin, we came across a wonderful exhibit of local school projects including this Cadena Alimenticia (Food Chain) diagram. The imagery is wonderful. While looking at this, other schoolchildren were performing (the Can-Can of all things) on a large temporary stage with hundreds of passers-by, tourists, and proud parents, looking on. Something which always impresses in Mexico is how attentive, happy, and engaged the children are, all proudly wearing school uniform although this is a costly investment for many of them. It is also a testament to the idea of the town square, which in Mexico is a very active public space constantly in use by the entire community whether school kids playing football in the evening, the frequent outdoor religous ceremonies, and the inevitable Mariachi and other more formal bands and orchestras that perform on the weekends.

Posted in Architecture & Design, Everyday | Comments Off on The Schoolchildren of San Miguel

Organ Pipe Cactus Flower

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Rogelio

Organ Pipe Cactus Flower

The arrival of spring here in San Miguel has resulted in an eruption of color, and not to be outdone, the many cacti on our roof have followed suit. The organ pipe cacti, the tall straight kind which are sometimes used for growing very effective fences, start off with sticky bright brown buds, much loved by some large wasps which visit them constantly, followed by their brief opening into these lovely little flowers which appear for a day or two.

Posted in Everyday, San Miguel de Allende | Comments Off on Organ Pipe Cactus Flower

Lucha LIbre

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Rogelio

A luchador at the antiguo Gigante in San Miguel

Lucha Libre (meaning free fighting), or Mexican Wrestling, appeared at the old Gigante in SMA this last weekend. These events are inventive, intentionaly comical, and enormous fun to watch and hear- the crowd goes nuts cheering and booing. Of course the other fascinating aspect are the masks and costumes, this luchador displaying somewhat minimalist gear compared to some of his over-the-top colleagues.

Posted in Everyday, San Miguel de Allende | Comments Off on Lucha LIbre

Paranoia – Alive and Well in San Miguel

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Rogelio

Condensation trail over San Miguel

You may not realize this, but that thing in the sky is not the decaying condensation trail of a passing airliner, but “Mysterious” chemicals being sprayed by covert government forces (nationality unspecified) for (reason unspecified). Our local online notice board “The Civil List”, features scads of panicked posts from cringing gringos about these “Chemtrails” every time these harbingers of doom appear. Replies from folks who actually know what they are talking about, like airline pilots, only seem to further agitate the conspiracy theorists, who get ample encouragement from whacko websites providing irrefutable evidence that “they” are out to get us. Well, must get back to the underground bunker. The light on the left by the way is not lens flare from the Sun but is from a departing flying saucer which has just beamed up a load of nuns from the Oratorio.

Posted in Everyday, San Miguel de Allende | Comments Off on Paranoia – Alive and Well in San Miguel

After the Eggs, Feathers

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Rogelio

Concha dancers in the Jardin, San Miguel de Allende

Each year, on the first friday of March, several groups of befeathered Concha dancers perform from dawn to dusk and beyond in the Jardin in San Miguel. This is one festival event it is difficult to miss. Just follow the sound of the drums.

Posted in Everyday, San Miguel de Allende | Comments Off on After the Eggs, Feathers

Hummer House

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Rogelio

Humming bird nest hanging from a doorway in Queretéro, Mexico

Humming birds build their nests on hanging foliage, in this case a Virgina Creeper, hanging below a doorway in our freinds Niels’ and Claudia’s house in Queretéro. The inner lining was filched from a nearby stuffed toy, and it hangs so low that you need to duck to pass under it each time as you go back and forth. It doesn’t seem to bother the hummer however.

Posted in Everyday | Comments Off on Hummer House

Egg Bonking 2012

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Rogelio

Egg Bonking in the Jardin, San Miguel de Allende, 2012

Once again, for a couple of days before Lent, the young folk in San Miguel go nuts smashing confetti or ash-filled colored eggs, known as cascarones, on the heads of each other and of innocent bystanders. Sitting on the low walls surrounding the Jardin, having spent an entire year eating nothing but omelettes, the overweight and cholesterol-infused cascarone vendors will sell you a bagfull for 20 pesos. If you want to know all the gory details, have a look at this video about Cascarones.

Posted in Everyday, Photography, San Miguel de Allende | Comments Off on Egg Bonking 2012