Wanna Live in Michoacán?

 

I have recently helped a friend of mine put together a couple of websites for some properties she has for sale.

Her main property is in Patzcuaro.

http://www.patzcuaro-real-estate.com

 

 

And her beach property on the Michoacán coast.

http://www.caleta-real-estate.com/

Have a look if you might be interested, or pass it on to anyone you think might.

Thanks!

Art Vs Graffiti–Muros en Blanco

Perhaps the flowers in the Jacaranda Tree are feeling a little jealous!

We just had an event close to our home here in San Miguel de Allende. You can find more about then on their facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/murosenblanco.distritodearte.7

Here is how it was described in an email that informed me of the event.

Friday, March 22 and Saturday March 23, Colonia Guadalupe will host 22 artists (7 local and 15 visiting from around Mexico) to paint 13 walls on 3 streets! (Maria Felix, Margarito Ledesma, Julian Carrillo)  The future will bring internationally known artists from all over Latin America.  We will have the best-of-the-best Guadalupe street vendors and a high-energy, festive atmosphere.  Watching a mural come to life from beginning to the finish is a fascinating process!! 

This a wonderful alternative to tagging , these murals are OUTSTANDING! If you get a change to check it out it is in Colinia Quadalupe. Well worth the trip when you are in town.

It is also very close to our favorite new restaurant. I think you may have seen Shannon’s post on it recently.
I will be meeting  a friend there Friday in order to have nother look. If you beat me to Hanses, please leave a porkchop for me!

Rich colors!

Equipped with a large number of colors, and sometime a “gas mask” sort of unit, the 30 artist when to work.
I took pictures for a number of days in order to record the progress on the pieces.
I how posted 3 of my favorite pictures, but if want to see more, I have also made a video of the pictures you can check out on the bottom of the page.

Perhaps this is the corn goddess!

Please feel free to share the video and the post, I would love to get this great project the attention it deserves.


Street Art Festival - San Miguel from Todd McIntosh on Vimeo.


Share the post, share the video, lets get a buzz going!

Viagra and Valentines

 

We are in the season of love… and marketing

Very much like it was north of the border, here Valentines day involves love and romance, and also a time to advertise things aimed at the lovely couples looking to add a special something to the day. Generally these items fall into three categories. Flowers, jewelry or a romantic evening of fine food and wine at the restaurant of your choice.

Here in San Miguel the advertising I have been seeing the most of is the romantic dinner variety, with packages for starry eyed couples running from $100 pesos to $850 peso per person. So far, not too different from north of the border except it is perhaps a little more economical.

Now, what are the differences between the Valentines days I have had in Canada, and the ones in Mexico. In Mexico Vanetines day is usually called  "Día del Amor y la Amistad" which translates as “Day of love and friendship”. This I find this quite charming.

 

Sildenafil ,That is Viagra Don’t You Know!

This year I noticed another difference I hadn't noticed before. While passing a Farmacia Similares ,a generic pharmacy, I noticed a Valentines promotion. On February 14th only, you buy 3 Viagra, you will get one for free! The added bonus is that down here, you don’t even need a prescription! After I finished laughing, I had to get a picture of it to share with you. Sadly the young lady behind the counter declined to pose beside the ad.

So, tell me,  what are you up to for your Valentines day? (no pun intended)

 

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The BIG Birthday Bash

Caballero with Flag

This week started with one of the biggest birthday parties in town. 244 years ago, Ignacio Allende, namesake of the town and one of the leaders of the revolution was born. This requires a major parade topped off with fireworks at the end of the evening.

Ready for the Charreada!

In Mexico I have found that parades have 4 required parts

1. Large numbers of school kids , preferable with drums, often with bugles!
2. Flags.
3. Well dressed horses with well dressed riders.
4. Marching, marching and more marching.

Sadly , by the time I got to the parade and into position I had missed the marching kids. Usually each group of kids have their own flag representing their school or group. I wasn’t sad to miss their version of “battle of the bands” as each group of drums and horns plays a different piece within feet of the next group.

Send in the Cavalry!  (Or the Rurales actually)

This time there were even more horses than usual with the addition of the Rurales, which is a part time militia that I wasn’t familiar with until seeing them in the parade.

Guess what , more marching!

Ghillie suit or cousin IT from the Adams Family???

I had good luck getting advantageous view points to get some good pictures of the parade. Being tall helps, but being lucky helped also.

Starbuck’s unintended climbing wall

Kids love parades but tend to be much shorter that I , but they did not let that get in their way. A little initiative and some thankfully strong bolts gave more than a few kids a clear view of the show. This was a not uncommon sight throughout the parade route.

Castillo in progress

After the parade,  the building of the Castillos begins, the giant fireworks displays that are used to finish off the festivities.  I guess these were to be the candles on the birthday cake so to speak. I made sure to bundle up against the evening chill, and get a good viewpoint. The fireworks did not disappoint!

Happy Birthday Ignacio!