Between Sacred and Profane, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: April 12-17, 2022

Lucha Libre masks

Semana Santa wasn't all documentary, religious photography. The state of Guanajuato is beautiful and varied. San Miguel de Allende has always been a favorite place for me to return to. So, these are some of the scenes that caught my eye during the week.

Tellez Delgado Gas Pump Marker

The price of gas in 1943 on this gas pump was around 8 cents of the US dollar per gallon (38.8 cents of the Mexican peso per liter).

Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel

The church dates from the late 17th century but the pinacle towers were designed and constructed in the late 19th century. The Jardin Principal is across from the Parroquia. 

The Jacarandas were in bloom and they were exquisite. Near here is where egrets were nesting in the treetops. 

Casa de la Cultura

 Scenes from Guanajuato

Steps leading up to the University of Guanajuato

Colorful flagellation whips

Blue-eyed dolls

A Guanajuato Street

At Michael's suggestion, Dan and I went to the Guadalupe neighborhood of San Miguel de Allende to see the colorful wall murals. Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was quite warm and few people were on the street so it ended up being photos of someone else's art. Next time ...

Our friend, Francoise, lives in SMA. We were lucky to meet up with her twice during our week in SMA. We met Francoise in 2007 on a Global Volunteers trip to nearby Queretaro. When she found out we were about to go to Georgia for a year, she gave us the name of a friend of hers who lived there. Arriving in Tbilisi we met Lali and enjoyed our visits. Near the end of our year in Georgia, Francoise visited Lali and us and we all took a vacation to the Svaneti region just a few days before the 5-day Russian-Georgian War began. Francoise is the founder of Amigos del Ballet Folklorico de San Miguel de Allende.

After one of the sacred processions, we were walking near the Jardin Principal with Michael when a pigeon crash landed on his shoulder. The bird stayed comfortably there for quite some time which was long enough for other people to notice. The next day when we were in Guanajuato, a young woman came up to him and asked if he was the guy with the bird in SMA. 

Michael Amici, photographer

Dan and I had a wonderful time in SMA during Semana Santa and Michael made it even better. We were his only two students during the week and I believe we both learned a lot.