During a couple of decades of visits to San
Miguel de Allende, my husband and I have witnessed so many festivals
and parades, from the flower-hatted Catrina skeletons who stalk the
streets on Day of the Dead in November to the neighborhood posadas during the
Christmas holidays.
The Spanish colonial-era, UNESCO World Heritage
city of San Miguel de Allende
(SMA), in the mountains a few hours northeast of Mexico City, is known
for spectacular, multi-day festivals that take place in September and
early October, when long weekends are full of fireworks, parades, mounted riders,
costumed children, Indian dancers, patriotic tableaus, religious ceremonies,
horseback processions, music and fireworks at all hours--no kidding, it's a
good thing that we're no longer buying film for our cameras or we'd be in
serious debt.
El Grito and Independence Day
As SMA is one of the birthplaces of Mexican
independence, the El Grito de la Independencia commemoration in September is a very big deal here. SMA
residents Ignacio Allende and Juan Aldama, and others, kick-started the 1810
revolt against the Spanish that ultimately resulted in booting out the
overlords. Elaborate banners with images of the conspirators arch over the main
streets of SMA and a parade and other events occur around the Ignacio Allende
House museum, the central plaza (el jardin) and the cathedral.
September 16 is Mexican Independence Day, a
national holiday, which is celebrated throughout the country and over three
days in SMA with pyrotechnics from dark through the early hours of
the mornings, and by military parades and ceremonies, band concerts and
thousands of locals and visitors dancing in the streets, waving flags and even
wearing them.
Fiestas de San Miguel de Allende
My all-time fav events are the "Fiestas de
San Miguel de Allende" in honor of the Arcangel St.
Michael, who
vanquished the devil when he dared to defy God. Days in advance of the
saint's feast day, September 29, Indian dance troupes begin streaming into
town from around the country, carrying stupendous, hand-made,
indigenous costumes, and sleeping mats
and personal gear; the town feeds them and puts them up in the schoolhouses. At
midnight before the feast day, they begin their slow alborada
(dawn) procession, dancing and drumming all the way, heading up the streets
to el jardin and the iconic, soaring, pink- and coral-hued
neo-Gothic cathedral, El Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel.
During the night, the hundreds of dancers in their
befeathered headdresses, masks, and painted bodies, and people carrying estrellas
(stars), arrive at the cathedral, whereupon a mighty explosion of castillo
fireworks and rockets is set off, and St. Michael gets his Las Mañanitas happy
birthday song; as dawn rises, the dancers and the crowds wander off for a few
hours, until they mass again for the main event--a procession through town,
back to the cathedral.
Based on ancient legends and traditions, the dance
troupes represent tribes of semi-nomadic
Chichimecas who
inhabited the area long before the Spanish conquest. One of their centuries-old
traditions is to construct elaborate xuchiles ––huge wooden
structures decorated with reeds and cucharilla cactus
fiber, corn paste, marigolds and other flowers. Interspersed with the dance
troupes, the xuchiles are carried from the outskirts of town to el
jardin, where they are hoisted upright and fastened to the fence in front
of the cathedral.
Outfitted, ironically, in Spanish-style armor, helmets
and swords, images of St. Michael are portrayed on floats in the parade by
young girls who are accompanied by gangs of sweet angels in pastel
clouds. Adding a carnival atmosphere, 10-foot-tall mojigangas––papier
mâché puppets that are created here––totter along between with the dancers.
A special mass is held for St. Michael, and
the famous
"Voladores of Papantal" fly, head first, from
the top of a dizzying 30 meter-tall
pole. Firecrackers, bottle rockets and more whirling, smoking, popping
fireworks blow off from time to time, and the amazing Indian dancers, who
continue their rhythmic gyrations around and around
el jardin, are by this time in an emotional frenzy. And, so are we
spectators!
For visitors, one of the most enjoyable aspects of
these cultural spectacles is sharing the sidewalks and the park benches with
the families who have come in from outlying ranches and villages. We're all in
awe of the color, the sound and the spirit of fiesta in San Miguel.
Day of the Dead––now, that's another story.
Book a Walking Tour of San Miguel de Allende
One of the most popular tour companies, Helene Kahn Tours, offers small
group walking and shopping tours around town, and takes guests by Jeep
Cherokee and Suburbans to Guanajuato, Pozos, Dolores Hidalgo and surrounding
towns and village.
For a general intro to the historic district of
SMA, for which you do not need to reserve in advance, you can just show up for the
daily Patronato Pro
Ninos walking
tours conducted by experienced English-speaking local guides; proceeds go to
the Children's Health Program.
Karen Misuraca is the author of several guidebooks, including Backroads of the California Wine Country; Backroads of the California Coast, and Fun with the Family Northern California. Check out Karen's new iPhone app, California Coast North.
