We had a wonderful second day in San Miguel de Allende. We were in the hunt for local markets. Along the way, we stopped at the Biblioteca Publica, where we enjoyed conversation with a
local man who had returned to San Miguel to retire, after a career as a professor at a university in northern California. He suggested several places to visit, drawing maps for us. We found
the fruit and vegetable market, as well as the artisan market. Both were wonderful
and teaming with local people buying for their families.
Our next stop was an old textile factory converted to artist studios and galleries, called Fabrica Aurora. We enjoyed seeing photos from early 1900's to the factory close in 1991. The factory had been the largest employer in town, until 1991, when its jobs moved to China. Fabrica Aurora is a beautifully renovated space with talented artists. We spent time with a woodworker, born in San Miguel with an American mother and Mexican dad. His work was thoughtful and beautiful.
The professor had suggested we visit Bellas Artes. It was an amazingly beautiful space with a center courtyard surrounded by two story porches, and murals from the 1940's painted along long hallways. While I was taking photos, Papa started a conversation with a man from Tennessee, visiting with his uncle, also from Tennessee, who has had a home in San Miguel for many years. The uncle is an immigration attorney in his late 70's, with long relationships with people from the area. We had a wonderful conversation, from the Everly Brothers to a law school friend from
my hometown in Kentucky to current politics.
my hometown in Kentucky to current politics.
Our next stop was an ice cream cart and then a visit to Museo de Allende, with history of Ignacio Allende, who had built the hacienda on the square in San Miguel in the late 1700's. We walked through the Banamex building earlier in the day, another hacienda on the square, built
by the Canal family, in the early 1800's. Both hacienda's were quite ornate.
After lunch and a siesta, we went back to the Jardin for more homemade ice cream and to listen to mariachi music. We were struck by how local families were out for walks in the park, stopping to listen to music and have an ice cream. We've seen similar "regular" evening activities in Spain and Portugal, in South America, and a few other places. We aren't aware of similar "regular" evening activities in America, where it seems most families turn on the tv after dinner. We had a good day!
