Mexico
All the sidewalks in San Miguel are narrow and often share the space with telephone poles and other necessities of modern life. Often one has to walk in the road because there simply isn't room for a person to pass on either side of the pole. And when the street is hilly there is all kinds of non standard stone work for driveways and steps. Up the block from our house, is one of the most unique accomodations I have seen.
Shadows, plaids and adobe walls create a moment of artful randomness, as this elderly couple makes their way across the street in the early morning light.
In two day it will be Candelaria and Parque Juarez will be transformed into a grand open air flower market. In the early morning hours the transformation begins with endless wheelbarrels of stones, flowers and eathern pots being moved from every trucks parked along the perifery to inner paths along the now dry river bed. It is slow and hard work that ends in beauty....
Every morning in the Juan de Dios market, the strawberry vendor transforms an empty table top into
una pirámide de fresas, a pyramid of strawberries.
The corollary to you never know what is behind the closed doors of San Miguel is that what was there yesterday, could be very different tomorrow. With great regularity businnesses change locations, restaurants move and yesterday's clothing shop is today's yogurt store. I don't remember what was in the new upscale wine shop I passed yesterday, but I will not forget the truly Mexican kind of merchandising.
These beautiful stone pavers are an iconic part of the San Miguel charm. The volcanic rock of many colors makes for a narrow, often colorful variegated sidewalks. However, when it rains, they become slick and lethal. After every rain, I find myself walking ever so carefully - constantly reminding myself to attend to every footfall, lest I spend the remainder of my time here in an epic orthopedic adventure.
Students at universities in Mexico City deposit their soda can tabs in special bins on campus and these metal bits are woven into purses and sparkly evening wear.
Every day on my way to Language School, I passed these brightly colored brooms. They always made me smile and brightened my day, but colorful though they are, they don't make housework any brighter a chore.... but I will still take delight in their colors, when my world returns to New England's more muted palette.
Street food is an integral part of life in San Miguel. Carnitas, fruit drinks, ice cream, tacos, roasted corn. Food carts complete with seating pop up at lunch time, disappear and reappear again when the sun goes down.
The gringo version of course runs on oil, has a website and sometimes superman stops by.
The Jardin is the center of life in San Miguel. The Gazebo in the center is where Christmas creches and statues of Ingacio de Allende have their moment, and when it has passed young break dancers and older tango enthusiasts take the stage. Food carts line one and sometimes two sides along with the men selling balloons, balls and other treats young children love. The benches are filled with an ever changing cast of characters exchanging news, gossip or just enjoying the sun.
It is a scene so rich in color and story that it not easy to tune into the soundscape of this lively environment. But every now and then, I will take a seat in the shade and try. To free my ears to really listen and absorb the soundscape rhythms, my eyes can never leave the ipod solitaire game.
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To find my radio ears
my eyes must go on lockdown.
Confined to shifting patterns of
red and black
spades and hearts.
Looking like an aloof gringa
lost in my apple land,
the soundscape begins-
Guitar strumming fades
to the rise and fall of the newspaper seller's call.
Sweet humming of the Mariachi man lost in thought
unaware he his making music.
Staccato jack hammering fill the air,
then gives way to trumpet scales that resonate
with the laughter and conversation snippets in
Jardin idiomas: Spanish, English & Otomi.
Deflating balloon swan song
follows the squeaking cart wheels.
The "oye oye oye" cry of the toy seller
takes the next measure.
And on and on it goes
allegro, adagio scherzo coda.....
On the mountain road outside of Pozos,
the hills are filled with abandoned mining buildings.
Remnants of a silvery past,
now all tarnished,
dusty and dry.
The Promise of Purple
Outside of Pozos is a Lavendar Farm a project that brings income and stability to farmers and beauty to the landscape. We visited when there was just a hint of the April bloom to come.
Antonio, accompanied by young Eduardo, is one of farmers who make this piece of desert bloom.
These pictures are from the CASA celebration of International's Women's Day. It included a theater performance about healthy eating, information tables on health, nutrition, and reproductive rights and responsibilities.
CASA is a nonprofit organization that has been serving the poor, particularly adolescents, rural women and their families, through health, social service, education, and environmental outreach programs since 1981.
Established in San Miguel de Allende CASA's model of “Teaching others to teach” is a pedagogy that has enabled hundreds who, in turn, have affected the lives of thousands. Its innovative programs benefit, inspire and empower people throughout the Americas and all over the world.
To learn more about CASA and how you can help: http://www.casa.org.mx
Spring is coming to the desert...