Starting the San Miguel Life

Thursday was the beginning of the familiar life in San Miguel.  Our children left for their further vacation adventures.  In the afternoon we meandered through town, picked up a few groceries, and found that there was a good movie to see at the 60 peso- 10 seat theatre on Correo.  For 60 pesos, currently about $3.60 US, you get a drink, popcorn and a movie.  We watched Jean de Florette, a French classic, starring a very young Gerard Depardieu. 

On Friday morning we walked through town and met our friend Denis for breakfast at a little café on the northeast border of the historic district.  Afterwards we headed off to the boys orphanage in town Mexiquito Santuario Hogar Guadalupano.  (To learn more about the orphanage go to: http://www.mexiquito.org.mx.) Our task was to look at the refrigerator situation and assess the computers.  

Twenty five boys live at this orphanage staffed by 5 nuns and a few other employees.  Ninety meals a day and their big restaurant style fridge is dead.  The cook has been making due with one small kitchen sized fridge, but it is a real problem. Denis, David and I, and any other willing friends we can find, are going to buy them a new commercial fridge.  Measuring, discussions of electrical work – new commercial fridges often run on 220 current, rearranging the kitchen and evaluating the state of the computer room took the better part of the morning.

The opportunity to help is endless.  There are boys who have received scholarships and other candidates for scholarships that need tutoring in English.  The nuns would like to improve their English.  Field trips and outings for the boys need assistance.  Several of the computers are sick, dying or dead and only one connects to the internet.  Little boys need people to push them on the swings… 

From the Orphanage we headed off to the mall area outside San Miguel to go to Office Depot to get some CD’s and speakers as phase one of a long computer project.  To find these items in town would require going to several different little shops and hoping they have what you need.  In the small store spaces in the historic district, an extraordinary array of products is available, but nonetheless, there is no one-stop shopping.  One place for CD’s, another for pens, another for scissors, an nowhere for speakers.   

 

 

The Truth Will Set You Free

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The University of Guanajuato now serves over 30,000 students in several campuses across the state.  But the original campus here in Guanajuato started as a Jesuit school.  According to our guide, the intention was to create a school that would be a hive of learning, which is reflected in the architecture and the bumblebees on the seal.  The latin inscription means: the truth will set you free.  There is an irreverant ditty in there somewhere. Perhaps I will figure it out before the Pope visits here in March 2012.


 

Scenes From Hildago Market in Guanajuato

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Here in San Miguel it is not unusual to see a woman in brightly colored  indigenous dress hawking hand made dolls, while talking on her cell phone.  In the Hidalgo Market in Guanajuato, I found this somewhat less discordant, but equally interesting  contrast-traditional hand made bags and baskets in a stall with a vendor more interested in his cyber electric guitar lessons than selling.

 

Land Art

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At Charco del Ingenio, Mexico’s largest botanical park right here in San Miguel, there was a terrible fire last spring.  Fortunately, there has been a great recovery by many of the plants, and our year round San Miguel friends tell us that the wildflowers after the wild fire were the most spectacular in many years.


Currently there is an an exhibit of “land art” in the park.  Andy Goldsworthy type art made of natural materials.  These photos are of a burned mesquite sculpture, acknowledging and remembering that fire.

 

La Cañada Pyramid

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Pyramid maintenance is an on going chore.

Canada de la Virgin is an archeological site 30 km from San Miguel.  It was opened to the public last year after many years of legal wrangling.  The German who owned the land that this complex of Otomi pyramids were ondid not want to give the public access.  But he lost and a nine kilometer long road was built in the traditional style of this area - roads built by hand with simple tools.  

I am happy to report that I was able to understand at least half of what our tour guide told us during the two hour tour.  This site was used for celestial observation and it was aligned to indicate equinoxes and rainy seasons.  There is the beginnings of what promises to become a very interesting garden laid out in a swirling pattern with each section filled with plants that represent the vast knowledge of plant life by indigenous people.  This is a place that will look very different after the spring rains turn the desert landscape green.

Giving the Devil His Due

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The devil is a major character in Mexico’s Christmas festivities.  This scene, which is taller than me, occupies a place of honor in the jardin- across from the traditional creche scene- the one with Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and the elephants….  

 

Lucifer is the star of the pastorela, a Latin American version of a medieval miracle play, traditionally performed at Christmas.  It involves shepherds on their way to see baby Jesus and devils and angels trying to direct things in often comedic ways.

Knowing this, makes the sight of children singing Christmas carols with devil horns a little less jarring.

 

 

Santa Heads South

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On the road from Leon to San Miguel, there are all sorts of roadside stands, selling everything from auto parts to fried chicken.  Nothing really sparked my interest, until herds of reindeer appeared along the roaside- creatures both large and small made from woven twigs and many with Christmas lights.  Laplands comes to Central Mexico.  And then on my first stroll about town with my camra, I found this version of frosty the snow man.