Huaraches, step aside

Wednesday I wrote about Huaraches and how utilitarian and sturdy they are. 
I had just finished comida with my family and my sister-in-law, Susan, and I decided to go for a walk up and down a bunch of streets, gradually working our way over to the market.  In the window of this little shoe store on Calle Hidalgo in the historic center of San Miguel de Allende were some great looking shoes.  One pair in particular caught our eye, were these black patent, very stylish, high, high heels with a platform sole.  Not one to leave my camera at home, I could not resist.

Like the slogan on the old Wheat Chex cereal commercial, "Let Mickey try it"...  Well, "Let Susan try them."  With hardly any coaxing on my part, she did.  The soles were a killer bright red.  We thought they were super cool, but can you imagine wearing them today, especially around San Miguel with all the cobblestone streets and sidewalks?  Maybe back in our twenties!

Huaraches last a long time!

I was in the market in Patzcuaro recently and I was intrigued by the Huaraches, the Mexican sandal, that were for sale in the open market.  The production of leather goods came from the Old World through the Spaniards.  Mexico had no major hide-producing animals such as cattle, horses, donkeys, sheep or pigs.  They had deer and jaguars and those hides were often used for clothing, drums or war shields.
The variety and styles vary from village to village.  Some are made of crude leather where as others are made of fine, light weight cured leather strips and are intricately woven.  Many have soles made out of rubber from discarded car tires.

This gentleman had on a sturdy pair of huaraches.  He was one of the weavers we met when I took my Artisan & Architecture group over to the state of Michoacan. We were given a full tour of the Taller Mexicana which I wrote about on Monday.

I still have a pair of huaraches that I had bought ions ago in Puerto Vallarta.  I have them at my home in San Miguel de Allende and they only come out of the closet when I am going up to Carmelas for a pedicure.

Day three in San Miguel de Allende

It was day three of my Artisan & Architecture tour and I was standing in the foyer of Casa Luna B & B in San Miguel de Allende with the rest of my group waiting for the big van I had hired to pick us up to take us on the three day adventure over in Patzcuaro.  It was a little after 9:00 in the morning and the van was supposed to be there.  I was standing in the middle of the street with a bright pink shirt on with my friend Rick when we saw the van coming down the hill about a block and a half away.  We started waving our arms so the driver would see us.  Apparently he did not and he turned left and headed up towards the jardin (the main plaza).  Along comes a policeman on his motorcycle.  Rick stopped him and explained our dilemma of the lost driver and van.  Off he went and about ten minutes later, the policeman was escorting the driver back to the B & B.  I can just imagine what the driver thought when the policeman was chasing after him.  Well, we thanked the policeman, slipped him a tip and he then helped stop traffic as we loaded our luggage into the cargo area and climbed up into the van.  Only in San Miguel and what a way to start the day off.

Our first stop was at the Taller La Mexicana. We had a tour of the whole facility and how the entire process is done.  The rebozos are woven on big pedal looms using fine cotton and acrilan threads. 

This man is preparing the threads that make up the warp.  There are employees that specialize in just one area: weaving, fringe work, embroidery or tying the threads for the dying process.  It was like going back in time, these looms and equipment have seen years and years of use.

The owner, Juan Martin, was writing up an order for Betsy as his father looked on.  Pat in the background was still contemplating how many rebozos to buy.

Judy was trying to figure out which rebozo cost what as the two Nancys and Eileen looked on.  Once the rebozo is woven, the decorative fringe work is done by hand and some are more elaborate than others.  Everyone was just giddy with all their purchases, I know I was.

As we headed towards Morelia, we were all comparing notes on who bought what. 

We had comida at a wonderful restaurant that is decorated with Saint Antonios and they were all hanging upside down.  I have been told that you do that when a lady is looking for a husband.

Our next stop was in Tupataro at the Templo de Santiago Apostle, often referred to as the "Sistine Chapel of the Americas."

The gilded retablo was spectacular with the statues of Saint James the Apostle on his horse. 

The wooded ceiling consists of 47 painted panels illustrating the "Life and Passion of Christ."  The caretaker of the church greeted us and explained the various features in the church.  We walked around the tidy plaza in front of the church and then we headed to Patzcuaro where we will make our home base for the next three days.

After checking into the hotel and resting up a bit, we went to Rick's home for dinner that Rick and I had catered by a local restaurant.  There was folk art everywhere.  I wonder if I could do a version of the TV show "Horders" at his house.  I should talk, I am addicted to collecting folk art too, but Rick's collections is truly over the top!  When we arrived, we were served drinks on the front patio and guacamole and chips.

Rick was telling us about his collection and other great stories of his relationsships with so many artisans in the area.   Many we will meet.  After a margarita or two, we sat down to a beautifully set table for dinner.

We started with Tarascan soup (typical in this region and similar to Tortilla soup).  Our entree was a perfectly roasted stuffed chili poblano in a flavorful, light red sauce with a side of Mexican rice.  Dessert was one of my favorites, flan.

I am going to sound like a broken record, but is was another great day.  And Wednesday I will have new adventures in store for my group.



Day two in San Miguel de Allende

It was another beautiful blue sky day in San Miguel de Allende on day two of my Artisan & Architecture tour.  Wednesday I wrote about the first part of the day where we visited one of the top homes in town and visited Frank Garner's gallery.  We walked up to the jardin (San Miguel de Allende's main plaza).  Being Sunday, it was a busy place.  Some of the ladies bought the hand made dolls for gifts from this older lady above.  After an hour of sightseeing, visiting La Parroquia church, some shopping, getting pesos from the ATM, we headed up the street to La Esquina, the Mexican Folk Toy Museum.  The museum houses the collection of Angelica Tijerina with over 1,000 one-of-a-kind toys from the last fifty years.

Picture taking is not allowed in the museum but I did get a good one up on their mirador, (roof top patio).  Marge, Cindy, Debra and Gail were great sports to pose for me.  I love the cut out areas for the hands.

There I am in the middle with the orange Mexican blouse on.  The Tijerina's also distile Mescal and they were kind enough to have two varieties for us to sample.

After a shot or two of Mescal, we settled in for lunch (comida) at La Posadita up on their third floor mirador.

The views are spectacular from La Posadita.  Our table overlooked the back side of La Parroquia church that it right on the jardin.  Talk about a gorgeous day!

After comida we strolled down the block to Donna and Tom Dickson's gallery at Pila Seca 1.  Donna is on the right talking to some of the group about her work.  She mostly works in watercolors where here husband works in oils.

 Beth ended up buying one of Donna's watercolors.

Off down the street we went to Rick Hall's fabulous folk art store, Zocalo, at Calle Hernandez Macias 110.   Rick has been a collector for many years and he has the best collection of museum quality folk art in the area.

We were greeted by his staff along with refreshing Lemonadas.  Rick's collection ranges from the ceramic pinas (pineapples) from the state of Michoacan, paper mache from the Linares family, a variety of masks, clay catrinas, Santa Rosa candles,  Tree of Life pieces of all sizes... the collection is huge.
After a full day, everyone went back to the B & B for a little rest before we ventured out again for dinner.  What a great day we had!

My walking tour in San Miguel de Allende

This is day two of my Artisan & Architecture tour.  After a wonderful evening the night before, we finished breakfast at Casa Luna and I headed out with my group for a walking tour of San Miguel de Allende. It was not my usual guided walking tour that I do for my San Miguel tour but one that included visiting some amazing homes and meeting some of my favorite artists at their studios in town.  Our first stop was the Hyder home which is a museum in itself.  Above is the kitchen which I find so colorful and check out all the copper pots.

One of the many sitting rooms in the Hyder home.  This property has 13,864 sq. ft. of living space, ten bedrooms and eleven bathrooms!  And it is right in the middle of the historic center of San Migul.

 The pool was really inviting, I easily could have dove in.  The Hyder's have been coming down to San Miguel since 1959.

 The view of the Monjas church was spectacular.

Some of the my group up on one of the miradors (roof top patios).  When my family first came to San Miguel de Allende, over 35 years ago, the countryside behind my group was bare.  There were no houses, no buildings, nada.

 After a full hour of touring the Hyder home, we set off up Calle Canal and then down Calle Zacateros to Frank Garner's gallery.

Everyone loved Frank's paintings and one of the ladies bought a beautiful scene of San Miguel that Frank had just recently painted.

Here is Frank along with Eileen.  A graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design, Frank captures the pure essence of Mexico from the colorful marketplaces, a procession in front of the church in Atotonilco to dramatic landscapes.  He is certainly is one of the top artists in town.  Check his gallery out at Calle Zacateros 75 and tell him Robin sent you in.
The day is not over yet.  Check out my blog on Friday to see what we did next.

The First night in San Miguel de Allende

I just recently completed my special tour, Artisans & Architecture.  What a great week we had exploring San Miguel de Allende and Patzcuaro and some of surrounding villages in the state of Michoacan.  Everyone in my group arrived on a Saturday afternoon and once they settled into their room at Casa Luna B & B, they walked a short block and a half over to my house for guacamole & chips, spicy peanuts and wine.

We were all up on my mirador (roof top patio) enjoying the beautiful weather and the outstanding views of the Parroquia church and the Monjas church.  Rick, Bonnie and Debra were chatting up a storm.

Everyone was busy getting acquainted.  

After a while, we walked over to one of my favorite restaurants, Casa Blanca, for dinner.  We started by ordering margaritas and then the hors d'oeuvres arrived; rollitos (fried flour tortilla rolls stuffed with cheese and tomatoes) and deliciously flavored sauteed mushrooms.

Beth and her daughter, Betsy, were contemplating on what to order for their entree and dessert.

Yvonne and Debra were giving their order to Luis.  I ordered my favorites; a bowl of cream of spinach soup, chicken crepes and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

After a truly delicious dinner, we strolled back through the jardin and I had my group sit on the half wall that wraps around the jardin.  This gentleman in the middle of all the ladies was not part of my group, but he sure was a good sport.  I was joking with him when I told him the ladies on each side of him were single. 

One of the songs I requested was Perdido (the lost child).  One or two trumpets will position themselves away from the group and will play when the others stop.  It is such a beautiful song.

And of course, to end the evening, they played Los Caminos de Guanajuato.  It was a perfect evening and what a way to jump start the week!

Artisans & Archticture in San Miguel de Allende

I just came back from San Miguel de Allende from one of my special tours, Artisans & Architecture.  It was a great adventure with a fabulous group of people.  We had some special days in San Miguel de Allende, Patzcuaro and the surrounding areas.  Below is a book of some of my photography that I had especially published for this tour.  I wrapped the books in brightly colored tissue paper and it was one of the items I had in every one's gift bag that was waiting for them upon their arrival at Casa Luna B & B. 
Take a peek at my book and see just some of the sights we encountered.  This last tour was such a success that I am planning on leading another Artisans & Architecture tour in February 2012.  I already a few people signed up.  If you would like to join me, you may contact me at robindsg@aol.com.
I hope you enjoy my book.  I certainly had fun making it!

Artisans & Architecture by Robin Mullen

Make Your Own Book