Not the street sign I was expecting in San Miguel.
A New York Minute
in Mexico
San Miguel Fashionista
Don't miss the matching bow in the hair....
Bad Hair Day
This door art is just across the street Andre's on Hernandez Macias. It was probably there before Andre moved his salon across the street, but you have to wonder about how the universe works. And by the way, if you have curly hair, Andre is the guy you want to see.
No Graffitti here....
One of my favorite restaurants here is an outdoor cafe with a mesquite fired grill. The food is simple, unpretentious and wonderful. But best of all is the folk art tableaux hanging on the rest room walls.
Repurposed Electronics
In South Boston, parking spaces are protected with lawn chairs, traffic cones and sometimes one's life. Here in San Miguel, the Sony repair shop has found a great way to use what is no doubt a very dead monitor. It sits out in the street, keeping anyone from parking in front of the shop, while also providing free advertising. I bet the folks in the marketing department never imagined that use for what was once a state of the art device....
Teatro Juarez
in Mexico
This ornate theater was almost 100 years in its construction. The steps and portico serve as a community
gathering space and impromtu performance space for jugglers, singers, and musicians.
If you look carefully you will that one of the statues on top representing the arts looks very much like
our Statue of Liberty.
Here is the traditional view:
And the artsy fartsy view:
Travelling to Guanjuato
in Mexico
Buses with big comfy seats, HD TV and Movies, internet and free snacks. Oh did I mention the clean antimassacars placed on each seat before each trip. This is the way to travel, for a little more than half of what the same distance would cost at home, on a much less classy ride.
Took a break from watching The Darkest Hour - a stupid guy movie about aliens in Moscow. Not a great story, but the dialogue was so simple I could understand most of it in Spanish.. And when the bang bang
shoot em up got too boring, there were high desert scenes like this
Carved deep out of a mountain valley, one enters and leaves the city by tunnels.
Callejons and Colorful Corners
in Mexico
The thing that makes Guanjuato such a fun place to wander around in are the juxtapositions of colors and narrow angles. Much of the city is carved out of canyon walls so the wide calle in the flat areas, become spare pathways, often in deep shadow, but still filled with color.
Caught by the Backlight
On an early morning errand that required a walk across town, a determined morning glory caught my eye.
It had climbed up a rickety fence around a trash strew vacant lot. There were only a few blossoms left, but the dried remains lit by the climbing sun added a little grace to forlorn scene.
Flora or Fauna?
in Nature
As the sun descends, it create a warm glow and shadow box theater in a rooftop garden.
The Original Toothpick
in Nature
Acacia trees, originally from East Africa, do well here in the high desert of San Miguel and its environs. Every part of the tree can be used. It's gum is used by both wild animals and candy manufacturers, it can be used for firewood and charcoal, and its thorns are nature's original toothpick. These live next to the green fields of Rancho La Trinidad.
Oasis
Just outside of town, down a dusty road lined with trees hiding layers of gray grit, is an oasis of green - Rancho La Trinidad. Here rows of organically grown chard, lettuce, fennel, brocoli bask in rich soil and late afternoon watering. What a relief to smell the aromoa of green things growing and air with moisture, if only for a few moments.
In addition to all those familiar greens, there is a sun shaded hoop house where nopal paddles are lined up in tidy rows like good little soldiers, busily growing juicy babies for Saturday's market.
Holy Roller
in Mexico
Did you notice the pick up truck in this tableau?
The Bike Man
in Mexico
The squealing sound of a fan belt that needs tightening is a frequent player in the symphony of street noise here. It seemed odd to me that it was such a common problem until one day I watched a taxi with bald tires trying to get some traction on bald stones...duh... That is the source of the squealing noise.
The street surface is equally hard on bicycles and the bike stall in the market is a busy place.
