A Day In “El Campo”

 

I’ve been MIA for a while as far as my blog goes. Sometimes life just seems to get away from me. On Saturday afternoon though, I had a wonderful experience that I’d like to share. A new friend invited us to a “team sorting”. Basically cow-cutting with young bulls, it is a competition where everyone pays to enter and the winners get the spoils.

The event was held at a ranch near Atotonilco, a pueblo about 14 kilometers from San Miguel. Although I have been to San Miguel de Allende many times over the years and have now lived here for close to two years, I have never actually made it out to Atotonilco. Situated between San Miguel and Dolores Hidalgo, the tiny pueblo of Atotonilco is actually a pilgrimage site.

Atotonilco is a word coming from the Nahuatl  language meaning “in hot water”, and it refers to the many hot mineral springs in the area. One such spring is the spa, or “balneario”, La Gruta, which has been covered with an artificial cave and is situated at the entrance to the community of Atotonilco.

I had actually been to La Gruta, but not into the town itself, which has it’s own interesting story. Atotonilco has a very small population but a very large legacy and is formally known as the Santuario de Atotonilco, a World Heritage Site since 2008. The Sanctuary, officially called the “Santuario de Dios y de la Patria” (Sanctuary of God and Country), but is better known as the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco.

 

Exterior Façade of the Sanctuary

 

The Sanctuary complex was built in the 18th century by Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro who was preaching at missions in Dorlores Hidalgo. As the story goes, during  a visit to Atotonilco, he was napping under a mesquite tree where the sanctuary is now located, and Jesus, carrying a cross and wearing a crown of thorns came to him in a dream and told him that it was he wished an edifice to be built here as a place for penance and prayer.

 

 

 

And what an edifice it was! Often called the “Sistine Chapel of Mexico”, the Mexican Baroque mural work created by Antonio Martinez de Pocasangre over a period of thirty years is an artistic marvel.

 

Sanctuary photographs by Wikipedia

 

The complex was built as a pilgrimage and procession site and is still used for this purpose today. The doctrines of Saint Ignatius of Loyola are clearly reflected in the architecture and design of the sanctuary as a place of penance. It all began in 1765 with Father Neri directing 25 people in the spiritual exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. This included mortification of the flesh through flagellation and fasting.

Today during Holy Week, approximately 5,000 people (about 4 times the population of Atotonilco) visit the “Casa de Ejercicios”  to perform these forms of penance while wearing crowns of thorns. This is only one of 33 weeks out of the year when visitors, mostly from central and northern Mexico, visit the sanctuary.

An image of Jesus, beaten and tied to a column, called  El Señor de la Columna, resides in the Sanctuary and every year since 1812 this icon is carried in a procession, 14 kilometers through the streets to San Miguel de Allende. Originally the image had been requested because of an epidemic that was plaguing San Miguel, so now each year on the Saturday prior to Holy Week, the statue makes it way to San Miguel where it remains until the following Thursday when it is returned to Atotonilco.

 

 

 

 

But enough of the history lesson and on to the “team sorting”. Chuck, the generous owner of the ranch had set up a covered area with tables and chairs for spectators right beside the corals. Needless to say it was a dusty day! Not to worry, there were beer and soft drinks available for 10 pesos and hard drinks for 20 pesos and then a little later in the competition pizza arrived from our favourite pizza establishment, Pizza Pig.

 

 

Whole families were there and it seemed that both men and women competed equally in the competition. Incredibly beautiful horses were everywhere, a real treat for a horsewoman such as myself. How I wished I was able to try the sorting! Maybe next year, if I am walking, perhaps I will be able to ride again.

 

 

The young man in the picture above was competing, and may actually have been on the winning team. I am assuming that he rode with his father and they worked together in perfect synchronization. The one in the photo below is a future competitor, but was certainly already at home in the saddle. Notice the spurs!

 

 

This was really the first community event that I had attended since moving to San Miguel. It was lovely how gringos and Mexicans mixed and had such fun together. That sort of thing was a much more common occurrence for us in Patzcuaro and I was pleased to be included here.

 

A cowgirl after my own heart!

 

Another young cowgirl in the making

 

Number 4 was my favourite

 

I wanted to take him home. Isn’t he pretty?

 

Soaking Up Some Culture & History

 

This past weekend Todd and I went to Guanajuato City. I am completely fascinated by the colonial cities of central Mexico, and this one was on our short list of places where we thought we might like to live when we moved here. The plan, at the time, was to spend a little time in Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Patzcuaro and then decide where we wanted to settle down. We came first to Patzcuaro, and as it turned out, never left. As a matter of fact, 4 days after we had rented a house in Corazon de Durazno we bought a lot.

I think Zacatecas, while beautiful, was a little off the beaten path for us, but every time I return to Guanajuato City, I sort of wonder what happened. I am certainly not lamenting my years spent in Patzcuaro, they were truly wonderful. Still, Guanajuato maintains a certain draw for me. We stayed in a hotel right on the Jardín de la Unión, the main plaza in El Centro.

 

 

Jardín de la Unión

 

Guanajuato City is incredibly picturesque, a valley surrounded by very steep hills, like a bowl whose sides are covered with brightly coloured buildings. Spectacular 17th, 18th and 19th century architecture abounds in the town’s historical center and students of architecture can be seen scurrying from place to place with long tubes full of plans. Being a university town, it has a wonderful feeling of youth and excitement.

 

 

University of Guanajuato

 

The University was originally a Jesuit school for children called the Hospice of the Holy Trinity, established in 1732. The founding was sponsored by Josefa Teresa de Busto y Moya, who was the sister of the Marquis of San Clemente, and was therefore able to obtain permission from the Spanish Crown to build the school.

In time this learning establishment began to offer high school level and professional courses, and underwent many changes, and many names, over the course of the next 200 years. By 1831, it had been named the College of the Immaculate Conception, and under government supervision, it was offering such programs as mining, architecture, painting and sculpture.

In 1867 yet another name change dubbed the university the National College of Guanajuato and over the next several years it developed a series of technical and research programs. Then in 1945 it was awarded university status and became the University of Guanajuato, and finally was granted autonomy by the state legislature in 1994. Now after 281 years and many contributions in the fields of art, science and technology it is one of the most respected learning facilities in the country.

Right next door to the university is the Temple of the Company of Jesus, also known as the Oratorio de San Felipe. Another striking example of Colonial architecture, it was built in 1746 by José Joaquín Sardaneta y Legazpi. It was finished in 1767, which unfortunately was the same year that the Jesuits were tossed out of New Spain, and the new church stood empty until 1804 when they were allowed to return. In the 19th century a giant cupola of three levels was added by architect Vicente Heredia. Inside the church 180 paintings by Miguel Cabrera, who also designed the main alter, were found and have been recently restored. Some of these can be viewed in various places around the church complex and a gallery area has been added to display the rest.

 

Oratorio de San Felipe

 

The Juarez Theater

 

Another of my favourite buildings is the Juarez Theater. Somehow I managed not to get a photo during my stay, so the one above is courtesy of Wikipedia. Guanajuato is famous for it’s Festival Cervantino, the Cervantes Festival and the Juarez Theater is one of the main venues for the many events associated with the celebration.

The Theater began construction in 1872 and finished in 1903. It opened with a performance of the opera Aida, and I am told that President Porfirio Diaz was in attendance. The architecture is Neoclassical in design and above the entryway nine sculptures of the Muses of Greek mythology crown the building.

 

 

 

I took the photo above across the street from the university. There are photo ops everywhere you turn in Guanajuato and although photography is not really my strong suit, I can appreciate how this city is a photographer’s dream.

This spot is not far from the Museo Casa Diego Rivera, The Diego Rivera Museum which, being a major fan, I just had to see. I crawled (literally) up all four and a half flights of stairs, dragging my walker and it was worth every step. Founded in 1975 the museum is in the house where Diego Rivera was born. The main floor is preserved as it was when Rivera was a child and the floors above contain an amazingly comprehensive collection of his work. Most of the paintings are from the collection of Marte R. Gomez and there are close to 100 of his original works.

What I found most interesting were some seldom seen pieces from his formative years, even pencil sketches. There was a complete cross section though, of nudes, landscapes, portraits (including self-portraits), still life and allegories. One room holds a full length mural with a numbered outline below so you can see exactly what, and who is in the painting.

 

 

 

 

Old or young, rich or poor, Guanajuato has something to offer everyone. In addition to the main campus the University of Guanajuato has nine others around the State. Today they are serving some 30,000 students and the influx of young people in the city gives it a wonderful atmosphere of fun and exuberance. As we strolled through the streets we got an upbeat and positive feeling that was incongruent with the shroud of history that also lays over the city.

Guanajuato City was the site of one of the first, and most famous battles of the War of Independence. The Alhóndiga de Granaditas, the grainery, is a very large building covering an entire city block. Now a museum, it was once the site of a fierce battle between the insurgents and the loyalist troops on September 28th 1810, a date observed to this day with celebrations and re-enactments.

Guanajuato played a huge role in the rich history of Mexico and today it is educating young people who will shape it’s future.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

joy

/joi/
Noun

1. A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
2. A thing that causes joy.

Synonyms
delight - gladness - pleasure - mirth – rejoicing
 
 

JOY

We have just returned from another week of camp with the girls of La Esperanza Orphanage. Every year, on the Monday following Easter Sunday 30 or so girls from Mexico City descend on the tiny pueblo of Umecuaro, Michoacán, México to enjoy 6 days in the countryside. For the last 5 years my husband Todd and I, and some of our friends, have joined them there. I know that I am often a little long-winded, ( a little? ) but today I am going to let my pictures do most of the talking. I am, as usual, somewhat overwhelmed by the end of camp week.

Our friend Connie generously hosts the camps at her property on the lake in Umecuaro. There are 2 large trojes, a cabin in the design of the P'urhépecha Indians of Michoacán, Connie’s lovely troje style home, a gazebo and plenty of space for tents, dogs, kids and horses. With the lake right across the street, the girls can go kayaking, swimming or fishing. There are areas for bike riding, and trails for hiking, horseback riding and nature walks abound.

JOY

The girls lead a very structured life at La Esperanza. Necessarily so. The 2 madres, nuns, who run the orphanage recently celebrated their 50th anniversary there. They are now in their 80’s and although they have huge hearts filled with love, they have to administrate an orphanage with with close to 40 girls, so structure is a must.

Madre Roble, Supplier of Joy

For this reason at Camp Connie we try to give the girls a holiday, as unstructured as possible. We have plenty of volunteers so that the girls can pretty much do what they want when they want to do it. Sometimes that just means hanging in a hammock, playing a game of cards or chatting on the lawn overlooking the lake.

The Ice Cream Man, Bringer of Joy

 

JOY

My Joy

Although we offer the kids hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, swimming, horseback riding and craft making, we decided to do something more this year. I set up a makeshift makeup studio on the patio of the largest troje, Todd set up a mobile photo studio in a field behind the house and the Camp Connie Portrait Studio was born.

The Joy of Makeup

Karen

Yessi

Patty

Camp Connie

I experienced such joy this week that it would be impossible to put it into words. I think that the pictures probably express it more aptly than I am able.
If anyone would like to know more about Connie’s organization, One Pueblo, please look at the following link.
www.onepueblo.org

Serendipity

 

A few weeks ago San Miguel de Allende held it’s annual Writer’s Conference. San Miguel has hosted this event for several years and it is well attended by people from all over Mexico as well as the US and Canada. I am told that the speakers were all extremely good and that the lectures and workshops were helpful and informative.

However, although I will likely attend next year, the conference is not the reason that I am writing this post. It is merely the event that began a series of happenstances. One of my favorite blogs is Writing From Merida, written by Joanna Van der Gracht de Rosado who attends the writer’s conference. This year when she mentioned on her blog that she would be in San Miguel, I told her that I would love to meet her if she had any time free from the conference. To my delight she contacted me and we were able to meet.

 

 

Joanna was able to find time to join me for dinner twice during the conference so we had a chance to get to know each other a little better. I knew from her blog that Joanna had grown up in North Vancouver, British Columbia, as did I, and that our childhoods had been very similar.

Over martinis at El Pegaso we reminisced about our lives in North Vancouver and discovered that we had both attended Delbrooke Senior High one year apart, had most of the same teachers and knew some of the same kids. As children we had both gone swimming in the pool at Princess Park, across the street from the house where I grew up, and may even have played together.

 

 

Life is indeed a curious thing. I discovered that, also like myself, Joanna enjoys drawing and painting. We talked about watercolour pencils, which were entirely new to me. What a great concept! For some reason I have done very little painting since moving to Mexico. I guess my new life here was all-consuming for some time. Everything was new and interesting and I found I had little time for past hobbies.

Since my accident I have not picked up a paintbrush at all. This is sort of surprising as I am not terribly mobile and certainly have more time on my hands these days. My husband Todd was with Joanna and I for our last dinner together at El Pegaso and I guess he saw that the talk of the watercolour pencils had sparked and interest in me that had been laying dormant for some time.

 

 

About a week later he came home with a set of pencils and some watercolour paper. My brushes and painting supplies found their way out of storage and I began to experiment with this new medium. As it turned out the pencils that Todd had bought were Derwent Inktense. They are a water soluble ink pencil. Somewhat different than watercolour and much more vibrant.

This was a whole new ballgame. I went on line to find out how to use this new mystery and not only found someone demonstrating my new pencils, but a plethora of art classes. I have taken classes before and quickly learned the basics but somehow, no matter what I tried, may painting always seemed a little tight. I have always loved watercolour and aspired to paint like Paul Cézanne, but have never managed to achieve that loose, free quality that he, and so many other watercolour artists bring to their work.

 

 

 

 

Above is some of my past work. Over the last few weeks I have been experimenting with different tools and different styles.

 

 

 

I think it is pretty clear that I am never going to be a great artist, but I think I am beginning to see some of the fluidity that has been missing from my work. I don’t know if I will ever really get there, but the journey is great and it’s nice to be painting again.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

 

Since moving to Mexico there are very few things that I miss from my former life in Canada. I love the lifestyle, the people and the culture here. But there is one thing they do not have. The Neighbourhood Pub.

There are restaurants, bars, nightclubs and old fashioned saloons. But there are no Neighbourhood Pubs. The closest thing I have found here is the bar at Hank’s Louisiana Grill. They play great old music, have 2 for 1 drinks every day from 5:00 PM to 8:00PM and a wonderful staff that always greets us with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. A huge polished wood bar, in authentic British pub style, dominates the room.

You have to get to Hank’s early if you want to get a table as it will be standing room only by 5:30. I will always continue to go to Hank’s, as a matter of fact we are meeting another local blogger friend there tonight for Taco Tuesday, when they offer crunchy Texmex style tacos for 20 pesos each.

Still……it is just not quite the same as the Neighbourhood Pubs of Vancouver. Near our home in North Van, there was the Pemberton Station, the Rusty Gull, Sailor Hagar’s and the Maplewood Inn to name a few.

 

The Rusty Gull

 

The bartender knew what our beverage of choice would be and it often made it to the table before we did. There was lots of seating so you could almost always expect to get a table. The atmosphere was easy going and convivial. You could shoot a game of pool, play darts, challenge a friend to a game of cribbage or just relax and enjoy the live music that was usually offered in the evenings.

 

Sailor Hagar’s

 

For a wonderful ( and fattening ) lunch, pub fare usually included Shepard's Pie, Steak and Kidney Pie and Cornish Pasties among other tasty and hip-enhancing meals. You could also often get a huge steaming bowl of clam chowder at many of these venues, which was one of my personal favorites. 

Enter Hansen’s Bar and Grill. To San Miguel that is. If I could actually stroll, it would be a short stroll from our house. It is not in “El Centro”. It is not a trendy tourist spot. Although I’m sure the tourists will enjoy it if they find it. It is located at #12 Calzada de la Aurora a few blocks past the Fabrica La Aurora, going towards El Centro.

 

 

Okay, it’s not exactly like a North Vancouver Neighbourhood Pub. It’s in a small Mexican city, in a small Mexican colonia with Mexican staff. Absolutely great Mexican staff! You can get a bucket of 6 beer for 80 pesos, about 6 1/2 or 7 Canadian dollars. The 3 partners are charming and personable and all of the staff are friendly and helpful. Right now they are only open Thursday through Saturday but I hope that they will get enough business to expand that, should they wish to do so.

 

Hansen’s Bar

 

 

The menu is small but very well thought out. They offer sandwiches, roast beef, Ruben, turkey or chicken breast, Italian sausage and Ratatouille. You can choose from chapata, multigrain or rye breads and a side of French fries (which I think are the best in town), potato salad or coleslaw. And then there is the pickle. It is the best pickle I have ever eaten.

There are also salads, minestrone soup, soup of the day, garlic bread and desserts. But the absolute best thing on the menu is the chicken liver pate. It is served up with what must be a baseball size ice cream scoop and comes with garlic toast slices.

That, however, is just the menu. Each day they also have a dinner special. Thursday is a pork chop. You may not think that this is very exciting but wait until you see it! It is at least 2 inches thick ( I am not exaggerating ), cooked through perfectly and still juicy. Last Thursday I had it served with linguini in a light fresh tomato sauce with fresh parmesan. I ate my dinner there, made a sandwich the following day, Todd made 2 sandwiches the following day for dinner and I finished off the pasta. Did I mention that this was 98 pesos?

It was all so good that we went back on Saturday for Prime Rib. Really…Prime Rib.

 

 

 

Now I’m not a Prime Rib fan, but Todd assures me that it was some of the best that he has ever had. I had Tortilla Soup and that incredible Chicken Liver Pate.

 

 

Sorry, I ate half of it before it occurred to me to take a picture. I was hungry. And the soup was wonderful. Just the right amount of spice. Friday is Osso Bucco night which I have yet to try, but I most definitely will.

The restaurant has a small intimate feel but is actually quite large, as there is the main floor, the bar area, a sort of terrace above the bar and another room upstairs, which I have not seen as stairs are not my strong suit these days. Hansen’s motto is “Our specialty is making people who recommend us look good”. Indeed they do.

All in all, Hansen’s Bar and Grill is a welcome addition to our neighbourhood, and sort of fills a small void in our otherwise near perfect lives here in Mexico.

A Gallery of Graffiti

 

 

There is Graffiti…..

 

Several months ago as I was driving into town for something, I noticed a young man painting on a wall in our neighbourhood. I didn’t holler out the window at him, to “stop that”, I didn’t call the police and I didn’t even just drive away and ignore him. I stopped to watch.

 

And Then There is Graffiti

 

He was painting the “graffiti” in the photo above. Amazingly it is still there, untouched. The other more traditional graffiti artists have left it unsullied. Actually it turns out that this fellow is not only talented but quite prolific. His work is starting to pop up all over the neighbourhood.

 

Black Beauty

 

The horse in the photo above appeared a couple of months after the first painting, just around the corner from our house. I love it. You can see the cement on the wall around the horse. This is where other, more traditional graffiti, had been covered up. The city is actually pretty good about coming out and painting, or cementing, over regular graffiti but unfortunately it is usually back within a few days. Not here though. It seems that this new artist commands a certain amount of respect.

 

El Lagarto Verde

 

The next to arrive was this beautiful green lagarto, lizard. He looks like he is about to jump off the wall!

 

 

The newest additions joined the neighbourhood about two weeks ago. Just a couple of blocks from out house, alongside the arroyo, a brick arch straddles the road. On the far side the lizard stands guard, while on this side, the flower lady releases birds on one side  of the road and a Catrina, burdened with bird cages, graces the other.

 

 

I think that this is such a wonderful mode of self-expression. I hope that I will have the opportunity to meet the artist again so that I can thank him for brightening up our neighbourhood.

Many of our local graffiti artists are capable of this kind of street art. We discovered this last December when a gigantic Christmas tree was erected in El Jardin, our main town plaza. Under the tree were huge boxes, representing Christmas presents, painted by some our local street talent. It was all done with spray cans and was really quite impressive.

 

Christmas Graffiti

 

 

This latest painting, in the above photo, has only been there a couple of days. It is around the corner from the original paintings and I don’t know if it is the same artist or not. There is a definite difference in the style of this painting from the others.

We clearly have some artistic talent here in San Miguel. If more of it could be focused on enhancing public property rather than defacing it, our beautiful city could be more beautiful still.