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| Here I am... in love with San Miguel |
I never thought I'd lack words to describe anything but when it comes to the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende, I've come up short on adjectives that can accurately describe this gem of a town. We rolled into San Miguel which is in the state of Guanajuato. Our guide Jesus ( no, not the son of God), but our chauffeur navigated the narrow, cobblestone roads like he made the roads himself. There are no stop lights in San Miguel and everyone simply yields to others if necessary. The roads were lined with houses in hues of red, blue, yellow and every other color possible. The doors alone on the buildings were works of art as they were hundreds of years old, gigantic and extremely ornate. Those doors were created in a labor of love. I could have taken thousands of photos of only doors in San Miguel because they were just /that/ beautiful.
Mexico is filled with cathedrals and San Miguel is no exception to the rule. I'm not Catholic nor am I bound to any religion but I can most definitely appreciate the incredibly strong faith that the Mexican people have and just how strong of a role it has in their culture. The cathedrals are obviously places of worship but they are also more than that. They are drop in centers ~ for lack of a better term ~ for people seeking solace and respite from whatever torments them, it offers a place to rejuvenate your soul and reignite your faith, no matter what your religious affiliation may be and lastly, it provides one a place to step back in time and appreciate the artistic abilities and skills that our ancestors had in order to complete such works of art. I sat in the pews of the cathedrals and absorbed the energy of thousands of people that graced the churches before me , imagining the joy, sorrow and inspiration that had taken place there for hundreds of years. It was moving and quite honestly, life changing.
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| In the center of San Miguel |
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| The ceiling at Santuario |
I spoke with our other San Miguel guide who just so happened to be named Jesus. We had a Jesus driving us and Jesus guiding us ~ curious, huh? Anyhoo, as we were in the town of Atotonilco, we visited Santuario de Atotonilco. It's a bazillion year old church ( okay, maybe not that old but it's super old). Here I sat again, with goose bumps and chills as I meandered throughout the church. I gazed at the art on the ceiling trying to piece together the stories of Christ as told in pictures. Our guide, Jesus talked to me about the importance of the angels in our lives. As a non-religious person, I was full of questions. " How do we know who our angels are?" "Who are all of these angels?" "What can they do for us?" Jesus looked at me with this quiet yet intensely strong faith in what he was about to say and said ( in Spanish), "Carmen, your angels are always here for you. If you don't call to them, they won't come. If you don't ask them for help, they can't help you." In that moment, the world around me faded and I was lost in Jesus's words and decided that what he was saying were most definitely the words I needed to hear. I sauntered over to a jewelery stand still intoxicated by the words Jesus had just shared with me and found myself gazing at a crystal rosary with angel wings encompassing hearts all over it. I had to have it ~ it called me ~ so I bought it and now, this non-Catholic has a rosary with angel wings on it and I love it. It's a beautiful reminder of the feeling I had in Atotonilco .
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| Santuario de Atotonilco |
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| My traveling family and Fernando Dias ( in the colorful shirt) |
San Miguel is as picturesque as any European city if not more so. The arts are abundant in San Miguel ranging from traditional Mexican art, indigenous art, modern art and everything in between. If you love Mexican art, you will want to come to San Miguel. That's all I have to say about that ~ go see for yourself. We meandered into La Aurora gallery in San Miguel which showcases local artists. It's an amazing gallery but be prepared to carry a wallet full of cashola because this art is not for the thrifty shoppers. We had the privilege of meeting a very humble artist by the name of Fernando Diaz. He does contemporary / abstract art and was gracious enough to sit down with us, offer up some wine and coffee and chit chat. Fernando was a philosophy / art student and that vibe comes through when you talk with him. He's a gentle spirit who lives his art ~ those are the best kinds of people. Again, I walked out of yet another San Miguel moment inspired and peaceful. . . which in my book, is the best way to be.
Like I said in the beginning of this blog post, I really do lack the words to describe San Miguel. At the end of every day, myself and my traveling partners sat quietly, sharing few words. When asked if we were all okay, everyone responded something like this, "Absolutely ~ just wondering if we're all in some sort of magical dream." San Miguel draws emotions out of you that you never knew you had. It calls to your soul and begs you to return.
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Casa de la Cuesta
San Miguel de Allende |
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