On Saturday, after visiting Al and Stew at their "rancho", Alejandro and I walked from our hotel to the center of San Miguel de Allende. The forecast called for an 80% chance of precipitation, even though the sun was shining. We grabbed our umbrellas and hoped that we would not get caught in a downpour as we did the previous night.
Heading down one of narrow streets toward the center of town
There are many picturesque buildings dating from the colonial era.
Notice the pipes on all the old buildings to drain the rainwater off of the roofs. They made walking through the town on a rainy night doubly miserable.
Bougainvillea in bloom along a side street
Many of the shops had (artificial) floral decorations at their doorways.
I don't know if that is something they have year-round, or if it is for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations.
Mexican flags were already hanging from many of the buildings.
It was dusk by the time we reached the center of town.
Notice the band of mariachi musicians coming down the street.
The heart of San Miguel, its main plaza, "Jardín Allende", is festive and alive with activity on a Saturday night.
This mariachi band was serenading a grandma on her birthday, and she was in tears.
On one side of the plaza is the Mayorazgo House, which was the palace of a fabulously wealthy silver mine owner in the colonial period. Today it is a museum.
The ornate door of the palace
San Miguel de Allende played an important role in Mexico's War for Independence. On a corner of the plaza is the home of Ignacio Allende, one of the leaders of the independence movement. In his honor, "de Allende" was added to the name of the town.
Today this house is also a museum.
San Miguel's city hall was the first in Mexico to fall into the hands of the insurgents.
Dominating the plaza is the iconic symbol of San Miguel de Allende... the parish church of St. Michael the Archangel. It is one of the most photographed churches in Mexico. The neo-Gothic facade was constructed in 1880 by Zeferino Gutiérrez, an indigenous bricklayer and self-taught architect. When he was asked to redesign the front of the parish church, he was inspired by postcards of Gothic cathedrals in Europe to create something unique in Mexico.
Our evening in San Miguel de Allende was delightful, and, in spite of the forecast, it did not rain... unlike the previous night when it poured even though the probability of rain was only 16%. I'm not believing weather forecasts anymore!
Great photos as always. I'm so glad you were able to experience the jardin and the activities on a Saturday night. Hopefully you both noticed that there is no grafitti on the buildings. It's due to a group of expats, about 20 years ago getting together to provide funds to pay for paint to eliminate any grafitti. The Municipality and the paint stores joined in to keep the area as beautiful as it is. Back then even murals were not possible but about 2013 they allowed some in certain areas of the town but not in centro.
ReplyDeleteYes, everything was clean and graffiti-free! Here in Mexico City, the graffiti seems to be mainly on buildings that are unoccupied. But sadly, I have also seen graffiti on top of some the mural paintings.
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