Picture This

Above is a picture of Traci standing at a corner near the house where we are living. The mural behind her is painted on the wall of the local “taller mechanico” (automotive mechanical shop). Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will type less today, and instead share some local art.

We are living in a neighborhood in San Miguel de Allende called Guadalupe. It’s a working class Mexican neighborhood sprinkled with a few ex-pats here and there. The sprinkle becomes a liberal dusting in the winter. The people are friendly and the streets bustle. There’s a  density of  tallers (workshops) and tiendas (small stores). A handful of small restaurants are here, and an organic market. A short walk away is the beautiful Fabrica Aurora. But for the most part it’s gravel and rough cobblestone streets with indiscriminate walls enclosing unseen homes. Owners intentionally do not disclose to the street what does or doesn’t lie behind. Here, the show IS the walls.

Over the last couple years art students and others have come on a weekend here and there to adorn the walls with murals. The results have made strolling through the neighborhood to shop for dinner like walking a gallery showing. Here are a few of my favorites on our daily walk.

The mural at the end of the building just a few weeks before was just the catepillar. In a few weeks it will probably be just the Monarch Butterfly.

The Monarch metamorphoses appears again, with a little festive Dia de la Muerta to the right.

A little different angle to show more mural and the context of where it’s painted. That door is the entrance to Gil’s tienda…..one of the busier little markets in Guadalupe.

A random monster facing the entrance to the local watch repair shop

The other side (and other entrance to) Gil’s tienda. Is it a bird, is it a ship? Yes…..and it’s beautiful.

The wall across from Via Organica, decorated for Dia de la Muerta.

Hope you enjoyed these.

Randy.