La Muerte- Dulce y Amargo

The sweet and sinister are all for sale in San Miguel markets 
as the Day of the Dead / Hallowe'en approaches...

Sugar Skulls for Day of The Dead altars

The Dark Side

Surreality Check

Went to Mexico City this past weekend to attend the Affordable Art Fair and spent Saturday walking the unbelievably crowded streets downtown. A surreal adventure...

Here are some pics:

On every street corner costumed characters from
superheroes to Homer Simpson, as well as these guys
will let you photograph them for a mere 10 pesos.
The wild dog puppet was truly frightening.

This building, typical of many others in Mexico City,
has obviously seen far better times.

Yes, it's Frida. In drag.
Outside the Sears building, of course.

A piece by Leonora Carrington in an outdoor
exhibit of her surreal animal scuptures.

Waffles

Finally! Waffles and Doritos in one convenient location. What took so long?

 

 

 

 

Mark-

Jaral de Berrio

Ex Hacienda Jaral de Berrio

Granaries

 View from the kitchen

A few days ago our new best friend Rich and his wonder dog Bunjee invited us on a journey to visit Jaral de Berrio, a 15th century ex hacienda in San Felipe Torres Mochas, about an hour and a half from San Miguel. We left at dawn and arrived early enough in the morning to avoid the rising heat, where we discovered a rambling complex of ruined buildings and conical granaries surrounding an empty square plaza, fronted by the hacienda itself.

According to the caretaker, who opened the gates for us 

(after much calling out and banging on doors), Jaral de Berrio was the most important hacienda of its time and one of the largest land owners in the world. It was the first place to produce tequila in Mexico with permission from Spain, and plans to revive production of mescal and tequila are evident in the stacks of oak barrels lining the courtyard, as well as the shiny new distilling equipment located in the outbuildings next to the main hacienda. 

Hopes are to renovate the buildings with profits from the sales of mescal, which have been in disrepair since they were abandoned several hundred years ago and left to the caretaking of the local community egido, which (according to the caretaker) proceeded to strip it of all valuables and let the rest deteriorate. 

Thick walls and doorways leading to more rooms

For now, however, one is free to explore the place as is, and we wander through numerous rooms, each one decorated in elaborate wallpaper, peeling paint and fading murals.

Carved wooden doors hang crooked from rusting hinges, a caracol wooden stairway spirals into darkness, steps worn into soft grooves from centuries of use. We tiptoe warily on worn tiled and wooden parquet floors that suddenly open up into ragged gashes with views of the rooms below. There are no rules or cautionary signs here to keep you from the apparent dangers of the unstable supports. This is Mexico, after all, and as usual, your safety is in your own hands.

Pigeons inhabiting empty rooms

These days the rooms are inhabited by pigeons, bats and swallows. Papery wasps' nests adorn the rafters and the pungent stench of bat guano emanates from dark corners. Tumbleweeds congregate in the hallways, and they say that the ghost of the Count's daughter wanders through the abandoned rooms, perhaps in search of a forgotten past when the silos were filled with grains and the ballrooms with dancing counts and countesses.

Detail of an interior mural

By mid day a brown haze appears on the horizon as a hot wind picks up and swirls the eternal dust through the broken windows. It's time to leave, but not before the guard offers us a tiny ceramic jarrita of Jaral de Berrio mescal to send us on our way into the dusty streets.

-Posted by Susan

***

Mexican Cultural Sight

I've been extremely busy trying to get a micro-brewery up and running here in San Miguel but on occasion I take the time to look up from my work and notice the interesting cultural sights that appear everywhere in Mexico.

A cultural landmark

This homemade electrical panel was fascinating to me for some reason and I particularly liked how it appears that the tree is the only thing utilizing all the available outlets. Whoever took the time to make this panel and risked their life to illegally install it must be proud, I know I felt that way when I stopped to admire it on my way home one day.

Click on the 'Like' button if you think this is awesome.

Pages from Susan's Art Journal

Here's a peek from some of my art journal pages from San Miguel this year. 

Folk Art at Casa de la Cuesta

Weeping Saint

Morning in San Miguel

Streets of San Miguel

-posted by Susan

Where's Marky?

No doubt you have been wondering what I have done with my other half, or at least why he has not been contributing to Gringado lately.

Well, so have I.

It turns out it's a whole different experience coming to Mexico for the winter than coming here to make a living and call it home.

Especially so for Mark, who is rather stressed out and obsessive at the best of times. These days, even more than usual, it's ALL about the beer. For the past several weeks I have been waking up to complaints about the awful water quality, the lack of funding, agonizing about the name and logo, and going to bed to the the moans and groans of a man on the edge of madness.

But yesterday he sold his first case of beer, and today they ordered another. 

Finally, home brewed cerveza comes to San Miguel. 

The logo, designed by yours truly

Unpacking the  brewery in a suitcase

The first cases of Dos Aves Cerveza

Well, now that the ball is rolling, lets hope he comes back to us, Gringado readers. Meanwhile, you can read more about the Cerveceria Dos Aves on Mark's other blog, Beer Diary... at www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.com

Cheers!

-Susan

Bird Paintings

Happy new year to all!

Here is a peek of my exhibit of Bird Paintings at Camino Silvestre.

-Susan