Spring 2022

What have I been taking photos of recently? Well…

A distinctly Mexican-Catholic event called Lord of the Conquest occurred in early March and is specific to San Miguel de Allende.

She was so adorable.

The city as seen from the lookout

Guard dog

The bullfighting ring.

The ring from the outside. This dates back to the 16th or 17th century.

San Miguel has a large number of jacaranda trees and my quest to find some that were not hidden behind walls took me to the Rosewood Hotel.

They have quite the facilities and grounds.

The Parroquia is the city’s icon.

This symbol hangs off of the end of every no parking sign in town.

A wild, nesting parrot.

I stumbled across a new restaurant and without knowing anything about me I was asked if I wished to return after closing to get photos with a clean environment; I find that this type of kindness is normal here.

Pastel view

Sunset spot

This is a window but it may as well have been a painting.

Very different in the evening

Quite the sunset

San Miguel de Allende was founded in 1542 by the Spanish, just 50 years after Columbus bumped into the hemisphere.

The herons are nesting here for a spell.

Another local festival is Señor de la Columna where religious icons are carried overnight from the nearby town of Atoltonilco arriving early to San Miguel where the streets are covered in amazing artwork made of colored sawdust.

Imagine this with bands playing and fireworks going off at 5:30 am.

The procession walked right over the art which was cleaned up immediately after and the roads reopened.

And Palm Sunday brought more celebrations.

Non-Profits

At the beginning of this year I volunteered to take photos for local non-profits which allows me to help out while learning new things about the city and to see places that I normally would not see.

El Sindicato is an organization that offers classes in theater, music, aerial dance, juggling and many other things.

This was a play of Don Quixote which, because of covid, occurred in an amphitheater next to a local reservoir.

Dulcinea in action. Don Quixote, less so.

Music class

Aerial dance class

Jazz band performance in the cafeteria

Another play

I’m also taking photos of the facilities like one of the dance studios above that has amazing natural light.

Another organization that I’m taking photos for is the public library.

The library courtyard where they also host speaking and music events.

A conference room is lined on all walls with incredible murals

The library also has a theater.

Another organization I’m helping out is Ser Mujer which on International Women’s Day had a red dress event (begun in Canada) to bring attention to missing and murdered women.

And I’ve also taken some photos for Pro Musica. The following event took place in someone’s backyard. It was quite the backyard.

This was an Andrew Lloyd Webber event. Lots of musicians travel here to perform.

And I’ll end with a jacaranda that looked to me like purple smoke coming out of this hotel.

Appreciate