Weekend in the Jardín
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Español
September 15, 2024
by Keith Miller, text and art
Is the Jardín San Miguel's living room? Somehow that cliché doesn't seem to fit anymore, if it ever did. A lot of things seen in San Miguel's central plaza certainly don't belong in anyone's home. Al fresco movie nights, concerts, political demonstrations, indigenous dance and full-on pyrotechnic displays; all of it goes down in the Jardín. But that's the Tourist Board side of things.
In fact, the best action is found in the day to day, or weekend to weekend, goings on: simply running into friends or grabbing a hamburger on a Saturday night with the mariachi bands tuning up in the background. And then, there is the unexpected. I once saw a young choral group from Europe commandeer the bandstand for an impromptu performance. For quieter moments you only have to show up anytime before 9 or 10 in the morning when the square is almost empty.
Corner of Hidalgo and San Francisco
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Vendedor de hamburguesas
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The Jardín has its older traditions as well. El Grito de Independencia is still proclaimed from a balcony of Casa Allende every Sept. 15th. But, sadly, some customs have faded away. El Paseo, a courtship perambulation around the square, (girls clockwise, boys counterclockwise) is gone. I remember seeing it in my early days here, and some old-timers have confirmed that it lasted right into the 1980's. Sanmiguelada or the running of the bulls is gone, too, cancelled in 2007. It had turned into a drunken spree. In 2006 about 50,000 mostly young people descended on San Miguel. I guess the city fathers weren't interested in seeing SMA turned into the Fort Lauderdale of the Bajio. And we can hope that they gave a thought to the poor bulls as well. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, It was a spectacle of the inebriated in pursuit of the confused. Anyway, this rowdy event had only been going on for 34 years, so it hardly constituted an ancient custom.
Quiosco de Musica
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We might speculate whether San Miguel is on the slippery slope of over-tourism. More prosperity leads to more fireworks and higher-end entertainment in front of La Parroquia. Despite the hoopla I still get a charge when walking through the early evening buzz of the Jardín; the air full of expectations of the night ahead. Usually I'm just heading for home, but still feeling very lucky to be living here.
Los Portales, El Jardín
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Keith Miller was born in Canada, but has spent most of his life abroad. At first travelling and working in Europe and S.E. Asia in the 1970's and 80's, he later settled in Mexico.
From the Gulf of Siam to the urban wilds of Manhattan his work explores a broad range of subjects reflecting a life of travel and observation. He recently crewed on a square-rigged sailing ship which crossed the Indian Ocean; recording the experience in another of his travel sketchbooks .
He has exhibited in in his native Canada as well as in the U.S., Mexico and the U.K. His paintings can be found in the collections of the United States Dept. of State and in a number of museums as well as private and corporate collections.
He's lived for the last 35 years in San Miguel de Allende where he now shares his home with a sometimes-faithful Schnauzer/Poodle mix.
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