Oh Mexico!! – OLD KNEES YOUNG HEARTS

Around Town

For the last six months, aside from a few trips away, we have been living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The town is delightful, the weather perfect. It’s historically an artist’s colony, so there are a ton of art galleries, arthouse cinemas, theatres and a world famous literature festival.

The town center is dominated by the Parroquia (Cathedral) where giant puppets and mariachi bands gather every evening to entertain tourists.

The town regularly has festivals with a riot of colour and music.

The festivals regularly celebrate the town's indigenous community.

San Miguel de Allende has had a significant presence of 'gringos' and artists since the Second World War, when US veteran artists came here to study art as a form of therapy after the trauma of the war. Today, there are lots of cultural events every day in English as well as Spanish - music, theatre, book launches, dance - the town is like an everlasting festival.

Many of the US vets studied under the famous Mexican muralist David Siqueiros who created this mural in the 1940s in honour of General Ignacio Allende, one of the leaders of the Mexican War of Independence and who the town is named after.

With Siqueiros's lead, muralism became an important feature of the town. The murals around the surrounding neighbourhoods like Guadeloupe and San Antonio are works of art...

...and without any graffiti tagging in sight.

We often visit the library to see concerts, plays and films, and sometimes just to admire its murals.

The Aurora La Fabrica containing hundreds of art galleries, is a magnet to all art lovers. It was a delight to see a gallery’s chess set with art figures based on Mexico’s history, and an even bigger delight to see our son admiring them.

The Mexican restaurants in town were amazing for the their cuisine and entertainment, plus we have been thrilled to be joined by family and friends.

And we spend many hours in Rustica, our favourite cafe. The food and staff are delightful and we are always welcomed with smiles and hugs.

Some say they would never step foot in Mexico because of the cartels. During our stay, there was a massive week-long battle between the cartels and the police, but that took place in cities far away from our town which has always felt like a bubble of tranquillity.

Home Sweet Home

We love the buzz of the centre, but for some peace and quiet, we opted to live in a gated very green complex just 30 minutes walk away.

We have a nice routine of going to the gym nearly every day...

...and enjoying a breakfast of molletes (tartines with refried beans) and coffee at our local bakery while completing the day's NYT Spelling Bee.

Very close to our home, the botanical gardens is a vast park full of different cacti.

The nopal (prickly pear cactus) is home to an insect call cochineal, which produces a red pigment, called carmine, that is used in the food and textile industry. It provides a good source of income for the Mexicans who harvest it.

The park has a huge lake which attracts gorgeous birdlife and, during Autumn, these huge spiders hung from trees throughout the park.

We got into the habit of going to the supermarket nearly every day for fresh fruit and salads.

We always find it fascinating how supermarkets around the world vary in their products and culture. In San Miguel, what surprised us most was their elegance, especially given the media trope that Mexico is dusty. We met a retired supermarket businessman who told us that supermarkets here are, hands down, the best on the planet for their displays, products ranges and service. Some are certainly better than anything we have seen in the UK and US.

The town's main market, open twice a week, is right next to our place, so we also love going there for produce...

...and took advantage of all the delicious street food served there.

We decided however to give a miss to the fried grasshopper snacks, called chapulines.

Volunteering

We volunteered at a charity once a week to help feed some of the desperately poor and vulnerable people living in or near San Miguel de Allende.

Our roles were mainly to setup tables and serve the food.

We were so thrilled to host a dear cousin who came with us on day trips and who even helped out at the charity.

Day of the Dead

As a festival, the Day of the Dead was on a level we have never experienced. What a thrill it was!

The costumes were incredible...

...and so inventive.

Even the horses dressed for the occasion.

We visited local schools to see how children celebrated the festival.

The idea of celebrating death as a part of life is clearly taught from a young age.

It was funny to see how even fruit salad was sprinkled with chilli pepper for the kids.

Nearly every house and shop was decorated with wild scenes.

Stalls sprang up, selling sugar skulls and sugar miniatures of food. Families bought their dear departed 's favourite meals and placed them on the altars of their loved ones.

Locals created altars all over town...

to honour their loved ones.

The most memorable and meaningful experience by far was witnessing the ceremonies taking place at a cemetery. It was really moving to see families huddled round gravestones singing songs to their dear departed, bringing them their favourite food and talking about their lives. So beautiful!

We did, however, endure a most embarrassing moment. Completely caught up in the atmosphere, we decided to follow a mariachi band…only once we reached their destination, however, did we realise that we were walking with mourners towards a plot for an actual burial! We were so embarrassed that we wanted a hole to swallow us up…at least we were in the right place for that.

Family Trips

When each of our sons visited us, one in December, the other in February, and a darling cousin too, it really made our trip feel complete. We took local trips and also went to Mexico City, Oaxaca and Playa del Carmen.

Mexico City has the second biggest collection of museums in the world (London takes top spot) and its Anthropology Museum is often rated among the world's best museums.

It was moving to visit Frida Kahlo's home and to see the bed from which she painted self-portraits when crippled, with the use of a mirror above her.

The National Folkloric Ballet is a joy to behold.

Also in Mexico City, we spent two hours in front of this one painting by Diego Rivera examining the history of the Mexico’s main characters since the time of the Conquistadors.

Near to the city are the Teotihuacan temples where we walked in the footsteps of Mexico’s ancient peoples.

More fascinating archaelogical sites near Oaxaca: this was a ball court where competitors had to bounce balls with their hips and elbows through hoops. In some locations, the winners were sacrificed to give strength to their Gods.

Oaxaca is the food capital of Mexico and what food it is!! Who knew that tomatoes, like the ones here, could be so exquisite?

We discovered new food flavours in inexpensive Michelin starred restaurants

We also adored Oaxaca for its alebrijes (spirit animals) and incredible murals all over town.

Crossing over to Yucatan, we visited a cenote – a freshwater pool, considered sacred by the Mayans, created from a meteorite impact 66 million years ago.

One of these ‘cuddling’ iguanas fell into the water inches away us. It was wild!

The icing on the cake was the chance to see our niece and go swimming with turtles.

Local trips were made to the hot springs,

the Atotonilco Sanctuary - an 18th Century Rococo church - covered entirely by frescoes...

and concerts including one by this band who came from Cuba just for the one gig.

And how proud we felt to see our son perform at some gigs in town!

We also took a trip to the nearby town of Guanajuato with our wonderful cousin.

The town is delightful with a stunning theatre and the childhood home / museum of Diego Rivera.

Like in San Miguel, there were charming squares and of course the ubiquitous giants.

Butterfly Migration

One of the best experiences of our lives!!! We had a dream of seeing the monarch butterfly migration ever since we saw the IMAX film Flowers in the Sky at Futuroscope in France in the early 1990s. And that dream came true when we visited El Rosario to see literally millions of monarch butterflies. Monarchs live for 6 weeks but a ‘special generation’ born before the North American winter sets in, live for 9 months, so that they can migrate to Mexico and survive. It’s a miraculous wonder of the world. And without a guidebook or memory, they migrate to the same trees in the same forest every year. A beautiful belief in Mexico is that they return as spirits of loved ones as they arrive just on time for the Day of the Dead. A recent 60 Minute episode by Anderson Cooper discussed the mystery of the monarch butterfly migration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrXzY4DP_c8

Monarchs blanket every tree which as a result appear to change colour.

The butterflies fly away from the trees once the sun comes out and warm their wings.

They love to take mud baths which provide a source of energy.

Our 4 day tour also included the 'pueblo magico' of Morelia where we wandered around lots of art galleries and ate what must be one of the best meals of our lives, in a restaurant called Diego.

Patzcuaro is another magical town.

Our trip was made all the more beautiful in the company of lovely friends.

Next

We will be heading back to London at the end of April. We plan to spend the spring and summer in Europe to do some volunteering (in Sweden) and meet up with family and friends. We will be back in San Miguel at the end of September…we are hooked!

writetojeffc https://www.oldkneesyounghearts.com

Butterflies in Basilicata

1 Comment. Leave new

Phyllis
March 28, 2026 11:09 pm

So thrilled you’re enchanted by Mexico like we are! Sounds like you were able, in those six months, to experience quite a lot.

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