San Miguel FAQ

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The painting of a tiny Thai jungle village set against snow-tipped blue mountains in our casita has gained a full moon.

The moon wasn’t there yesterday.

And it was not there when Rose Alcantara acquired the painting on the island of Koh Samui, off Thailand, many many years ago. (She doesn’t want to think of how many.) ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Upon reflection: Once in a blue moon. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: It is popular and entirely appropriate in San Miguel de Allende to say “You never know what’s behind a closed door.”

Entrances on San Miguel streets give you no hint at all as to what lies behind them.

The most humble of doors can open onto a garden of Eden, a fairyland, a small village, a rabbit warren of homes, a vast and empty park, a stately hacienda, ancient ruins, a private town square surrounded by stately homes, ageless and towering trees, private roads – well, whatever imagination and money can conjure. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Behind closed doors: Oh, what a relief it is! More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Four doctors walk into a room. For the next 90 minutes, they give a free medical consultation to the scores of people assembled.

No, this is not the start of a joke with a lame punchline.

In fact, if there is a punchline, it would be that the doctors shared valuable information that could save your life. Not funny, just very very helpful. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Four SMA doctors walk through a door … More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The Night-Blooming Cereus is putting on quite a show in our Colonia San Antonio courtyard tonight.

One night only, folks. By morning these beauties will be withered old crones, bereft of the intoxicating scent currently filling our home.

Rose spotted the — what shall we call it? — the chrysalis of the Cereus earlier this afternoon. Raul our gardener was just as excited to see them — there are two. We missed the blooming of several of the cactus flowers earlier. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: The Queen of the Night makes a stunning appearance, her reign so tragically short. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Parque Juarez, with its countless shades of green, sometimes surprises.

This one was a stunner, to me. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: And there is it … bloom! More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: In San Miguel de Allende, we call this the rainy season.

Many days, the clouds will roll in during the afternoon and by 5 p.m. or so, there will be rain, thunder, and lightning.

It is happening right now as I write about it. A little early in the day, 1:30 p.m. but nobody ever complains about the rain. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Flowers. Just flowers — but from San Miguel de Allende, Cape Cod, and Newport. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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If you've never read Mr. Hawkins, today is a good day to start. If you've ever enjoyed his writing you don't want to miss today's piece. No excerpt can do it justice, but here's the first line ...



Robert J. Hawkins wrote: So I sit here in the garden, in the early summer light ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: In the Garden. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: You want to hear about how my IT wizard supercharged my streaming media speed so that I can actually watch a movie uninterrupted (sometimes) off my FireStick?

Nah. Me neither. ...

Wait. Wait. I’ve got a cat picture. You wanna cat picture?

Oh, sure you do. How about a cat and cacti in the same photo?

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Waddup? Nuttin, you? Nada. So, howzabout a cat and cacti picture then? Cool. And some dancing girls. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Of course, there were fireworks to finish off the celebration of Saint Anthony in Colonia San Antonio.

And they were beauts.

Worth climbing up to the upper deck to watch. So worth it. Enough said. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Best fireworks ever (in pictures and videos). More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: That’s true. I only saw half the Crazies parade this morning in San Miguel de Allende.

The upper half.

Even at 6-foot-2 I wasn’t tall enough, or close enough to watch the Dia de Los Locos parade with such an unobstructed view. Man, there were a lot of people out there, and they got to the curb long before I did. What’s fair is fair. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Crazies galore: Watching half the Locos parade … until the very end. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: I thought the day began at 5:30 a.m. with a massively loud fusillade of fireworks from the Parroquia de San Antonio grounds, about a block away from my home in Colonia San Antonio. That’s what sent me upright in my bed and nearly over the side.

The explosions kept up every 10 minutes or so for the next couple of hours.

My friend Bob Cooksey, who lives directly across the street from the church, says the celebration began an hour earlier with a 30-piece marching band heading out from the church grounds and down the street in front of his home. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Saturday night fever: The drums beat, the tribes dance, the final procession to Parroquia de San Antonio is a stunner. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The fireworks began late last night from the Parroquia de San Antonio d Padua grounds. The ongoing celebration of the Feast of Saint Anthony seems to be building strength as the day draws closer.

The music was more lively, the singing was louder, and the roars from a happy crowd were freighted with joy. Every night, the people gather at the church as the evening’s procession draws near. Different processions from different parts of San Miguel de Allende have been taking place since June 3. They will continue until June 18.

On June 19 the city will experience what is called the Convite de Locos, a massive parade of as many as 8,000 costumed participants — maybe fewer with new restrictions in place — flowing down the Ancha, starting at Salida a Celaya, to Canal, Hernandez Macias, Insurgentes, to San Francisco and toward the city center in front of the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel. The parade begins around 10-10:30 p.m., after Mass at the San Antonio church. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: The jewel of Colonia San Antonio. More #MusingsMagicSMA.
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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: This thing about San Miguel de Allende is you just never know when a parade might break out.

Like this morning.

I was on my way to Pilates. (I know this woman who rocks at teaching floor Pilates. …) As I turned off Calle San Antonio and headed down Calle Allende there was a distinct change in the atmosphere. People of the parental type were hanging on the corners near the church and all looking down the street. ...

More, including lots of great pics, at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: In Colonia San Antonio: Los pequeños locos make my day. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: When I first heard that the Instituto Allende and I were born in the same year I had some mixed feelings.

I mean this venerated arts center on the Ancha de San Antonio in San Miguel de Allende looks ancient. Old stone and mortar. Buildings and walls that go back centuries. An architectural graybeard.

And me, well, I’m … I’m … well, never mind. ...

Summer 2022 course list at Instituto Allende:

Click here for larger image of the schedule.

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: A world away, next door: Instituto Allende’s garden campus of tranquility inspires creativity. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Every evening until June 19, there are different groups parading through San Miguel de Allende (shortly after 6 p.m.) and ending up at the Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua in Colonia San Antonio.

These are little parades and processions but colorful, a mix of religious and locos imagery, with fun and traditional costuming, and each night promises to be different. The photos here are from two different evenings this week.

It is all in celebration of namesake Saint Anthony, and a run-up to the giant Dia De Los Locos Parade on Sunday, June 19. (Think of these little parades as pieces of that giant puzzle — The Day of the Crazies.) ...


Click here for larger image of the schedule.

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Dance, dance, dance in the streets for San Antonio. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: I have a subscription to The New Yorker, the print edition. It is the one magazine that I like holding in my hands while reading.

Circling unfamiliar, fanciful, and inventive words is part of my reading habit. Circling whole paragraphs. Underlining brilliant turns of phrase. Highlighting exciting writing. This magazine feeds that habit well. The writing is occasionally above my fighting weight, and I appreciate that.

Every time I read The New Yorker, I come away feeling a little smarter, a little more informed, and definitely motivated to keep writing. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Welcome to my very first ever New Yorker subscription existential crisis. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Moppit the Philosopher Dog is pretty insistent that I take her for a walk, no more than 10 minutes after she finishes her 5 p.m. dinner. She is a creature of habit. Moppit starts a huff-snorting sound around my ankles if I’m not reaching for the leash, the kind of sound a woman makes when the husband comes home late smelling of booze and perfume and mumbles “biznish shmeeting.”

lately, it has been in the high 80s around 5 p.m. here in San Miguel de Allende, so I try to reason with her.

But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Friday in the Park with Moppit. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The popular Colonia San Antonio art walk, MyStudio/MiEstudio, will be back bigger and better than ever this year, July 16 and 17, from noon to 5 p.m. on both days.

Like so many events, the tour of neighborhood studios and galleries went on hiatus during the Covid lockdown. It returned last October as a down-sized two-day pop-up art show at the Institutio Allende, Ancha #22, attracting about 30 artists.

This year, MyStudio/MiEstudio returns to the neighborhood streets and organizers are expecting the biggest show yet – more artists, more studios, more galleries, more sponsorship opportunities, more restaurants, and cafes. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: My Studio/Mi Estudio neighborhood art walk returns to Colonia San Antonio, July 16 and 17. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The best days to walk around Centro in San Miguel de Allende have got to be Thursday through Saturday.

Thursdays seem to be when the girls celebrating their quinceañeras come to the Parroquia to pose in their lavish 15th birthday gowns. A charming sight to see. Tiaras on their head, sneakers beneath a billowed and sparkling gown. A furrowed brow as the photographer aligns the perfect shot erupts into a brilliant smile on command.

The young woman pictured here stands in the middle of Calle Aldama for a classic image with Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel in the background. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Weddings and quinceañeras once again fill San Miguel de Allende with beauty, music, laughter, and dancing. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: A late afternoon photoshoot in Centro. The retinue of loyal subjects ushers the princess down Cuna de Allende, beside the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel in San Miguel de Allende. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: It takes a village to raise a princess. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The sound penetrated a deep sleep and scattered dreams. A car radio? The cantina on the corner? A passing boom box?

No, no, and no.

It was the real deal. At midnight a mariachi band was poised in a half-circle in front of our neighbor’s door serenading her in song here in Colonia San Antonio, San Miguel de Allende. ...

More, including video, at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Midnight serenade in Colonia San Antonio. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: It seems cruel to talk about Spring and plants and flowers at the end of January, but here we are.

In a week or so, we celebrate the 40th day after the birth of Christ, the day on which the Mother Mary took her child to the temple.

In tandem with this religious celebration, many gardeners, growers, plant suppliers, and others gather in a San Miguel park for a week and turn it into a veritable Garden of Eden. Hundreds of people flock to the park to buy flowers, cacti, bushes, fruit trees, herbs, ornamentals, vines, ground covers even giant earthen pats to contain them all. If it grows, it goes. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Parque Juarez transforms into a colorful Garden of Eden for the 66th annual Candelaria. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: To the man whom I almost knocked over rounding the corner of Nemesio Diez and De Los Suspiros, thank you for reviving my interest in a novel that I put down many decades ago but never forgot its influence.

Early Tuesday evening, Moppit and I were walking on Nemesio Diez, past the public parking lot at the corner, heading for home at a brisk pace. Brisk for an old man and a dog with very short legs.

As we reached the corner of Suspiros, a man walking at about the same pace nearly collided with us. Or we nearly collided with him. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: What Hermann Hesse taught me. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: So sue me. I’m a sucker for a good parade.

Well, these days, I’ll take any parade — or a procession. You know, the kind we used to bump into on what felt like a daily basis back in the good old pre-Covid days.

Parades say “This is who we are. This is what we believe. This is the best of us, otherwise, why bother having a parade?” And, oh, we’ve had some wonderful parades in San Miguel de Allende.

Haven’t we? ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: I love a parade … and a circus, and a rodeo, and a county fair, and a horse race … but mostly a parade. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Went to Ben Gall’s first official San Miguel Salon on Sunday night at his home, Casa Sentosa de las Serpientes, in Colonia Lindavista. Ben has been building toward this day for many months.

Actually, for years when you consider that he designed and built his house so that he could hold intimate concerts in his courtyard. There is a raised patio that serves as a stage and seating for as many as 50 people in the courtyard and 20 more on the roof of his casita.

Ben and his wife, Margaret, like the idea of bringing friends and music together in a non-bar, non-commercial setting. Ben’s pretty adamant that the focus be on the music, not the too-loudly vocalized current medical condition of your pet lamborpoodle. “The San Miguel Salon is a ‘listening room,'” writes Ben, “which means you should avoid loud conversations and frequent walking around while the musicians are playing.” If you really have to talk, Ben has made space for that inside his home. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: San Miguel Salon debut is all about the music. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: If first impressions are all that important, facing the entrance to the brand new Hacmans restaurant in the even-newer Hotel Amatte (Amatte Wellnest Community) – which has yet to open – is a daunting one: 71 gleaming white stairs leading seemingly up to the sky.

Yes, count them: seventy-one.

Of course, there is a glass-box elevator off to the side, but what’s the fun in that? ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Restaurant preview: Climbing a stairway to heaven. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Here’s a short stroll through Centro in San Miguel de Allende on Wednesday night and Christmas Eve. It is always magical this time of year.

We’re taking our traditional stroll tonight, Christmas Eve, to witness the final Posada procession and take in the lights, the sounds, the people gathering about the community tree.

We wish you all the happiest of Christmases and wonderful new experiences and joys in 2022. ,,,

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays to one and all — join our Christmas Eve stroll. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: One minute a bunch of San Miguel youngsters are rounding the bases and heading for home in a lively baseball game against their parents. Moments later, they are rounding the same bases in single file, carrying a creche on a platform and singing the traditional songs of the Posada.

And shortly after that, the kids were back swinging a bat — only this time at a candy-filled pinata.

In between the Posada and the pinata?

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Ballpark Posada celebration is a home run for San Miguel kids, parents & ex-pats alike. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Sometime between Thursday night when I left San Miguel de Allende and Saturday night when I returned, the life-size crèche popped up in the Jardin Principal, just across from Parroquia San Miguel Arc Angel.

Just in time, too. The plaza will be the final stop on the nine-night journey of Joseph and Mary in search of a place to rest and give birth to the baby Jesus, Dec. 16-24. Eight other communities in San Miguel have each, in turn, held a Posada which ends with pageantry, music, gifts, food, pinatas, celebration, and veneration.

According to our newspaper, Atencion, each Posada is tied to a specific theme- humility, fortitude, detachment, charity, trust, justice, purity, joy, and generosity. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Crèche course. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Ok, you won’t listen to me or your brother or your doctor. Then try listening to a few icons of Mexican culture, like Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, and Emiliano Zapata. During 2021, the artist Enrique Díaz has harnessed iconography and linoleum engraving art to deliver the ultimate survival message. ...

Meanwhile, check out the exhibit by Enrique Díaz and listen to his art. Be like Che. Be like Frida. Be like Emiliano.

Wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated. The rest of us are counting on you. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: At Bellas Artes, listen to Frida, Che, and Emiliano: Wash up, wear a mask, vaccinate. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Monday afternoon, the children are in full-dress on the plaza of Parroquia San Antonio de Padua, in Colonia San Antonio for the traditional Pastorela. They have been rehearsing on the same patio most afternoons. They would sit in a circle and run through their parts with several ladies who show great gentleness, humor, and patience.

The Pastorela pageant recounts the adventures of the shepherds as they head to Bethlehem to worship the newly born baby Jesus on Christmas Day. ...

Another wonderful tradition, Las Posadas, will be celebrated in Mexico on Dec. 16-24 and follows the journey of Jesus and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem. ...

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Christmas in the times of Pastorela and Posadas. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: One thing San Miguel de Allende does well is dress up for the holidays.

Not just San Miguel. Every village, town, and city in the country brings out a million white lights, an enormous community tree, a life-size Nativity scene, and an infectious cheeriness that makes you glad to be living in Mexico.

Which I happen to do.

So here is a small collection of what is ahead in December.

...

One final sad message:

Sad news for all of San Miguel.

At this time of year, we’ve come to look out for the incredible pink Volkswagen bedecked with holiday-themed stuffed dolls, knick-knacks, and whatnots that toddled around town, putting a smile on the grumpiest of faces.

Christmas music would blare from the sound system, and a waving hand attached to a white-bearded elf with an infectuous smile would jut and sway from the driver’s music.

That man, the genius behind the joys of so many, Colin Harnett, passed away this week at home after a costly hospitalization. Colin was such a springboard to happy hearts — not just his extraordinarily decorated Volkswagon but his unfailingly warm and welcoming personality. You just felt that he WANTED to meet you, every time you met. ...

If you can help his widow defray some of those costs, consider donating to her account, donations that will be used for medical bills.

Banamex #5256 7834 1766 2799

c/o Martha Moncada

Safe travels to your next great ride, Colin.

More at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: In San Miguel de Allende, don we now our holiday apparel — and a fond farewell to Mr. Holiday, Colin Harnett. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The Pro Musica Youth Orchestra is back after a 20-month hiatus because of the pandemic and the tragic loss of the orchestra’s founder and Pro Musica vice president, Tim Hazel, who passed away Feb.3 from stomach cancer.

An exciting new youth music director and conductor but a familiar figure for Pro Musica fans, Robert Mari, has assumed the podium and the popular orchestra has been in rehearsal for more than a month.

To celebrate the return of the orchestra, Pro Musica has set its first concert for Sunday 12 December 2021 at 3 pm. This will take place outdoors with socially distanced seating in the delightful gardens of the Arts School of the Instituto Allende on Ancha de San Antonio. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: San Miguel’s Pro Musica Youth Orchestra is back, with a holiday concert in a new setting. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The Christmas origin story has taken a real beating on television in recent years.

The film factories don’t follow a script. The have a playbook. There are fixed characters, types. There are predictable situations. There are tried and true bromides. There are fixed plays. And there are utterly predictable endings in which the “true meaning” of Christmas is disgorged just before credits roll.

And the sudden appearance of the much-anticipated snowfall at the end is a complete surprise to everyone but the audience. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Movie review: “A Boy Called Christmas” lives up to his name & a holiday film classic is born. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Rabbi Daniel Huebner lof Chabad San Miguel de Allende lights the first candle on the community menorah on Sunday evening in Parque Juarez. A lit candle will be added on each of the following seven nights for the Chanukah celebration.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Happy Chanukah, my friends. Or Hanukkah.

Sunday night was the first night of Chanukah — the Festival of Lights — and the lighting of the first candle of the menorah. The Chanukah celebration is observed for eight nights and days, with a new candle being lit each evening.

I know all this because I was walking Moppit in Parque Juarez when I happened upon members of Chabad San Miguel de Allende lighting the community menorah in the park’s gazebo.

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: A menorah with a message is lit for the first night of Chanukah in Parque Juarez. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins, U.S.M.C. medical corpsman in World War II.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: The machine-gun fire came out of nowhere, the way it is supposed to in war.

Or so it seemed to the Marines who were caught in an open field next to a presumably abandoned farmhouse. Incorrectly presumed empty, as it turned out.

The carelessness cost the platoon one soldier. He lay on the ground about 10 yards away from the stone wall behind which his comrades took refuge. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Semper Fi, Dad. Semper, Fi. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: I love this Bug.

It’s like something out of a Disney/Pixar movie where a once-beloved and cuddled family Bug grows old as the family grows up and is eventually abandoned in the Shed of Lost Car Souls where it withers, rusts, and decays for decades until the troubled teenage grandson discovers the car and with loving assistance from grandpa restores the Bug, restores his own self-confidence, and restores grandpa’s long-lost memories as he regales his grandson with tales of family road trips and adventures in this very same car — and in the end, grandpa and grandson trundle down the road in their magnificently restored Bug on the Mexican road trip of their lives.

Or, maybe not. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: An art project grows in San Miguel de Allende. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Traffic finally emptied on the Ancha at 8 p.m. Monday and down the broad street, and out from the Rosewood resort, streamed hundreds of Catrinas, Catrinos, ghouls, skeletons, and even an underworld creature or two.

And they came on fast — as if all the pent-up energy from last year’s cancelled parade was unleashed atop this year’s and resulted in a headlong rush to the finish.

The crowd where Nemiseo Diaz meets the Ancha was so thick and eager that costumed paraders had to run a tight gauntlet, elbowing their way to the merger point. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: On Dia de Los Muertos, even the dead love a good parade. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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This wedding couple, or someone very much like them, shows up on the El Cardo roundabout every year at this time. Always of comfort to see.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: You meet the strangest characters on the streets of San Miguel de Allende at this time of year.

Bigger than life, a bit on the emaciated side, and not that responsive to a cheery hello. Their appearance marks the run-up to Dia de los Muertos — Day of the Dead — although I’m seeing that more and more in the plural, Days of the Dead, as just one day no longer seems enough. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Population boom around San Miguel — especially spooky couples — means Dia de Los Muertos is nearly here. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Maríela López González and her first mural in San Miguel de Allende, titled “El nacimiento del Sol y la Luna”.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: You set out to get a quiet cup of coffee in the morning and by noon you are sitting down with two incredibly talented artists, discussing their work, their dreams, their ambitions.

That, my friends, is the magic of San Miguel de Allende.

That cup of coffee turned out to be not so quiet as I ended up at an outdoor cafe table with some of my Golosos pals — Efrain, Robert, Ben, Scott, and Colin. They’d been booted out of their regular haunt — guilty of possession of a couple of yipping dogs. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Step out for a cup of coffee in San Miguel and you could easily walk right into the dreams of others — if you believe in the magic. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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This is how we sometimes feel the first time we head out into the public square after quarantining at home for 18 months. These two are currently hanging out in Parque Juarez, through Dia de Muertos.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: She’s right, you know, my new friend from the housewarming party the other night: I haven’t written on the blog in a long time.

I owe you all an apology, if, indeed, you actually missed me.

If not, then, hi! Welcome (back) to my blog.

You know how these things happen — someone starts a blog and it goes great for a while, then a pandemic strikes, and life as we know it is suspended. So the writer begins writing interior monologues, surreal short stories, overly long recollections about that dream from last night, and, in the worst of cases, poetry. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: You up for some photos of San Miguel while I think of something new to blog about? More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Plus: The 10 Commandments For Successfully Shooting City Market.
Also, how Prince Valiant’s graphic art layout can help tell your story.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Congratulations, San Miguel Facebookeers! You are creating a new photography genre — City Market Art. Your orgasmic uploading of scores of images from the newly opened high-end supermarket “experience” has been a visual feast worthy of the artfully displayed departments of bread, fish, wine, vegetables, chocolates, and meats.

This is commercial exhibitionism at its finest.

Because you are all so good — and prolific — I am proud to announce the first-ever open invitational online gallery of the year’s best City Market images. I will create a gallery page for your very best images and keep posting new ones through the end of the year. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Opening soon: City Market Photo Galleria – Art for mart’s sake. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: As far as hurricanes go, Earl wasn’t a great hurricane. Certainly, it wasn’t the worst, hardly the worst of the seven hurricanes of 2016.

But it was our hurricane.

Most hurricanes that year sounded like the cool kids in high school — Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Fiona. And then, “Oh, look. It’s Earl. Quick, spread out so he doesn’t come sit at our table.”

Earl might have started as an under-achiever but he was the first full fledged hurricane to reach the western Caribbean in four years. Earl plodded slowly through Belize and the lower Yucatan, making a mess for sure but after a dip in the Gulf of Mexico, he turned into a mean and wet bastard of a tropical storm that killed at least 45 people in Mexico from mudslides. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Happy anniversary, Earl. You did your worst and it is just a fading memory five years on. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Sometimes you just have to get out there and walk. Anywhere will do. Just walk.

Most mornings, that’s me walking Moppit, struggling for control over the master/pet dynamic with a willful and intelligent opponent.

I want to go left, she wants to go right. We both freeze in our tracks and engage in a game of blink, staring into each other’s eyes with fiercely competitive stares. It is Moppit who decides when she’s had enough of this walking nonsense and communicates her desire by sitting firmly on her tush. It is Moppit who sets the pace, decides what needs to be sniffed or peed upon. For my every step forward, she executes a complex zigzag pattern worthy of her genetic heritage. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: A little Sunday morning walk to the Presa clears your head, raises your spirits, and revives your senses. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: When I walk the cobblestone streets of San Miguel de Allende, usually early mornings with Moppit the philosopher dog, I find things.

It is not that I am scouring between the cracks and crannies. It is just that cobblestones can be treacherous and if you are not attentive to your footsteps, well, you can fall.

There is a joke about the number of ex-pats who walk around this hilly town with canes — but I forget how it goes.

Cobblestone streets are the tide pools of very old cities. They tend to trap small and delicate things in the spaces between rocks, much the same way that tide pools trap small fish, snails, squid and pirates’s treasure. Especially after it rains. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Poor souls, lost their marbles on the cobblestone streets of San Miguel de Allende. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: It pays to walk the dog on a Sunday morning, even if you don’t feel like it.

Today, Moppit and I arrived at the Ancha around 8:30 a.m. to see a police car blocking the normally busy thoroughfare.

In the distance I could hear a familiar sound — the frentic beat of trance-dance music so beloved by killer clowns, life-size Disney characters and scarry looking mass-murderers (in costume only).

Yes! The popular Dias de los Locos Parade is back! ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Crazy, man! The Dia de los Locos returns to San Miguel de Allende — smaller but just as lively — and crazy as ever. See the photos! More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Sure sign that tourism is back — hot-air balloons dot the early morning sky in Colonia San Antonio, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: So here we are now at 6,200 feet enjoying incredibly mild weather yearlong, a severe drought and growing water shortage, unrestrained development, and a once-exuberant city that has almost withered away under the relentless grind of Covid restrictions.

Signs of life are returning to San Miguel de Allende.

Hot air balloons are once again visible most mornings around 7 a.m. There are traffic jams on weekends. A beautifully refurbished basketball court in the heart of the city’s most beautiful garden, Parque Juarez, opened last week for the first time in more than a year. Fireworks are returning to the night sky and the weddings that inspire them are returning to the streets. No parades, no pageantry, no processions — these are the things we once encountered weekly as we strolled around town. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Where you been, bro? It has been a year, yeah? More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Interesting question raised by a former newspaper colleague and a Poynter institute column: “Should journalists play a role in identifying rioters?”

That’s the headline and based on it alone, the answer is, of course. Media goes after the facts and a big chunk of the facts from last week’s Washington riot answers the question: Who the hell were these people?

The more-specific and thornier question is: “Should the media turn over unpublished documentation, especially photographs, to law enforcement upon request?” ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Social media-loving D.C. rioters are finding there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Electric Jesus.

Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Confinement. Isolation. Sequestration. Lock down. Quarantine.

Of all the words to describe this peculiar existence we are in today, I have the most trouble with “quarantine.” I simply can not recall this word when describing how we are living these days.

It is blocked from my memory. Unlike the actual quarantine which we live minute by minute in our homes.

Ah well, I’m not here to summarize 2020 — nor analyze. I can offer no grand insights, survival tip, recipes, bromides, earned wisdom, nor life lessons. ...

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: These are a few of my favorite things, Part II: Finishing off 2020 with dignity and grace. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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Robert J. Hawkins wrote: Merry Christmas from beautiful San Miguel de Allende, a city that is no more beautiful than on Christmas Eve.

The city has been decorated for weeks but we waited until this evening to walk through historic Centro. A perfect night for it — the temperature dropped suddenly, the wind picked up slightly, and there were ever so few people out and about.

This is just a brisk tour through the center of this magical city. I took some photos while Rose handed out tangerines and caps that she’d knitted to a few people. Moppit just sniffed the curbs and wondered why we kept stopping to take in the beauty of it all.

Continue at Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More: Starry and bright: All is quiet on Christmas Eve in San Miguel de Allende. More #MusingsMagicSMA.

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