Festival of San Miguel 2012

The festival of San Miguel begins in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow so I thought I would publish the schedule of events which varies little from year to year. Along with it, slideshows of years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

Click on the photo below to view the 2007 Slideshow

Click on the photo below to view the 2008 Slideshow

SATURDAY
3 am: Meeting of the dnacers & Mojigangas, corner of San Francisco/Nunez & procession to Jardin
4 am: Alborada – fireworks in the Jardin
7 am: Mananitas – happy birthday to San Miguel at the Parroquia
8-11am: Dancers in the Jardin & Plaza Civica
11 am: Mass to honor San Miguel Arcangel, Parroquia
12 noon – horseback riders from the ranchos parade from the train station to the Parroquia.
1pm: Voladores of Papantal in the Jardin
2pm: Blowing up the paper mache monos in the Jardin, 2pm (Parade down Calle San Francisco before)
5pm: Big Parade! Mojigangas, Xuchiles, dancers from all over Mexico (Calzada Estacion to Jardin)
7pm: dancers in Jardin
8pm: voladores
9pm: Rockets and fireworks

Click on the photo below to view the 2009 Slideshow

SUNDAY
7-9am: Dancers in the Jardin
11am: Another big parade through the downtown starting on Zacateros near Calle Nuevo
1pm: tribute to San Juan de San Miguel, the city founder
3pm: 7pm Voladores
9pm: The BIG fireworks

Click on the photo below to view the 2011 Festival Slideshow:

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New Church Announcement

They came by at 6am this morning, rockets and all. The procession wound through town, past all the other churches for a blessing, then returned to our street about 1pm.

The new church in our neighborhood opened its doors today and this is the formal announcement, followed by the man with the black collection box.  If you open your door to watch, you are expected to make a donation.

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The Blessing of San Miguel

Pilgrimage of San Miguel to the Parroquia to be blessed for the upcoming town celebration – The Festival of San Miguel 

This Weekend’s Festivities:
Midnight Friday:  Procession of the estrellas to the Parroquia for las mañanitas
4 a.m Saturday:  The Alborada and fireworks in the Jardin
2 p.m Saturday: Parade of los monos to the Jardin to be blown up
5 p.m Saturday:  The procession of the Xúchiles and dancers
9:30 – 10 p.m Saturday night: Castillo fireworks in the Jardin
11 a.m. Sunday: The big parade of dancers up Zacateros, around town and to the Jardin
9:30 – 10 p.m Saturday night: Castillo fireworks in the Jardin

Throughout the day the Voladores perform in front of the Parroquia

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Living in the Neighborhoods

I won’t say that wonderful events don’t happen downtown, because they do. But when things happen out in the neighborhoods they have a character all their own, an organic feel to them – like everyone just chipped in whatever they had that day and said let’s throw a party.
And they do.

It was the birthday of San Felipe this weekend – the WHOLE weekend, from Friday afternoon until 11pm tonight and they didn’t miss a trick. Carnival rides with six different kinds of loud music going all at once. Sirens go non-stop from about noon until it closes.

There’s loco music, bandas, religious processions and masses. Half of the homes in the neighborhood sell some kind of food, sweet, bread, tacos, and ice cream.

Little boys and old men set up tables of games and charge you to play. Mixed in with all it all are tables with people  selling groceries, fruit, toilet paper, chips and plastic containers.

People come from all over to play games, ride the rides, eat, dance, pray, carry the saints around the neighborhood singing.  They are outside all day and night talking to each other and sometimes you’ll find the tired ones  against a wall on the street sleeping.

The neighborhood locos get dressed up and dance all day.

2011 Fiesta, Locos in the Colonia San Felipe from Suzanne da Rosa on Vimeo.

How can one resist buying one of these?
Works of art for only 40 pesos, the size of a pizza.

Or taking the neighborhood kids for a ride on one of these?
Here’s a little movie for the kids – sounds and all –
loco dance music and a banda in the background,
each ride has it’s own music and they are all going at once.
No one seems to mind. (video to come)

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Pilgrimage from Atotonilco to San Miguel

Two sunday’s before Easter, Sr. de la Columna, the Virgin of Dolores and San Juan are removed from their places in the santuario,
wrapped in silk scarves, covered, then carried in an all night pilgrimage to San Miguel for the upcoming Semana Santa celebrations and processions.

Last Saturday night, my friend Elvia, her son and daughter Roberto and Karen and I
accompanied the statues from the church courtyard to San Miguel along with about 20,000 other pilgrims.

2011 Pilgrimage from Atotonilco to San Miguel de Allende from Suzanne da Rosa on Vimeo.

Beto and Elvia

We arrived in the plaza at about 11:30 and waited for the ‘Imagenes’ to appear. At midnight, the bells rang, banners and luminarias were brought forth and the three Imagenes, carried on litters, came out of the church.

Atotonilco, the saints lowered while mass is said

A short mass was projected over a loud speaker and the procession began following the route through el Cotijo, to the capilla on the  highway for a 3am mass, proceeding to a small pueblo whose people had decorated the entry with a carpet of flowers and sawdust images with arches of palm and large paper flowers.

The participants were varied – elderly men and women, very very old people being held up between two family members, babies carried in arms and strollers, teenagers, adults, groups of men in white hats leading song, women who walked the entire route, 8 hours, all night, in bare feet.

Midnight in the plaza at Atotonilco

Karen and Gisela, 3 am across from the chapel

After the rosay the procession wound it’s way, accompanied by singing to the top of Avenida Independencia where we were greeted with fireworks, and a mile of decorated street. People poured in from everywhere to watch the unveiling and procession to the San Juan de Dios Church at dawn.

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Follow up to Virgin of Guadalupe

Slow but sure, I am catching up on my video footage.  December 12, the celebration for the Virgen de Guadalupe.  The celebrations started a few blocks down from our house where several new altars were built this year and a pilgrimage began on foot and in trucks, making their way to the San Antonio church where they met up with thousands of other pilgrims.

2010 Virgin Guadalupe Day from Suzanne da Rosa on Vimeo.

The scene at the San Antonio church was impressive with the bell ringers going wild, rockets going off and a line up of pilgrims that wrapped around the church plaza, down the street and spilling onto the Ancha de San Antonio, stopping traffic.  All along the way, people were singing, praying, arriving on horseback from the ranchos, each individual, family or community carrying a flag, a photo, a statue, even a folding table with the image of the virgin and setting their toddlers, dressed up as Juan Diego in front of the images to be photographed.

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Mega Bombas!

They call them Mega Bombas
And there’s a bunch on this video –
Along with the firing of the canons,
The men battling,
Exploding sledgehammers, and a few photos.

For the complete story,
Go to the Sledgehammer Fireworks post

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