The news of the Sanmiguelada, running of the bulls in San Miguel, is late because of my disgust for the entire event. The promoters of this free for all are rethinking about doing it again next year. Last year 20,000 people came...mainly between the ages of 17 to 25, all intent on getting roaring drunk and using the streets as their very own bathrooms! This year an estimated 50,000 of the above came and the police, ambulances and a security force of 325 local and state police officers were overwhelmed. For the first time someone fired a gun into the crowd and two men were hit and taken to the hospital, fights broke out here and there and one of the bulls broke it's leg and had to be destroyed. This was not San Miguel at it's finest and most of us that live here either left town or stayed home.

The following weekend was a wonderful time to be in San Miguel, and as a grocery store owner near my house said, "This holiday is for the people of San Miguel, last week was for the "gamberros", i.e. hooligans. The first weekend in October is San Miguel's birthday and it begins on Saturday morning at 4:00 a.m. with the "Alborado", two hours of non-stop fireworks. The entire town gets up to go to the jardin to witness this event. Because he is our patron saint there is a great fiesta with more nightly fireworks and two parades. This year there were a number of different groups from all over Mexico. I loved the group from Tlaxcala...it features men and women in costume and you can't tell the difference as they're all wearing masks. The masks are beautifully carved of wood and have moving eyes so they can be very flirtatious. They're all dancing with open umbrellas and this year were accompanied by women, not wearing masks, in their late teens all wearing identical very fashion forward lime green dresses and high heels. As anyone that has been to San Miguel knows most of our streets are cobblestone so one can only imagine what it must have been like to walk the two mile parade route in heels, on cobblestones, dancing at the same time with great big smiles for everyone along the parade route! I admired those women tremendously.

There were also a number of "Conchero" dancers, so called because they blow on conch shells during their dance. They have amazingly beautiful costumes of gold, silver and blue lame fabric that has been embroidered with sequins depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Mexican eagle, images of Christ and sometimes tigers and snakes. Their headdresses are made of pheasant feathers plus parrot and other types of feathers that tower over them. Their costumes remind me of Brazilian samba groups but the Conchero's are very religious and their dancing, which honors the cardinal points, is not about a party. The rhythm is provided by a huge drum, usually made out of an oil drum, and is lifted on either side by two men while one man walks behind keeping the beat. I was rather dismayed to see one group this year walking behind a cuatro-moto, or four wheel off road vehicle, that the drum was mounted on. I guess it is progress but took away some of the "mystery" of the dancers.

Today is a day to warm the heart of a "Midwesterner", which I am. It is a misty, gloomy day and the town is very quiet even though it's the Virgin of Salud's feast day. She is one of my favorite virgins in San Miguel and is prayed to for reasons of health. This particular virgin wears a vestment that looks like a cross between Glenda the Good Witch and Barbie going to the prom. She is quite beautiful and has been dressed for the occasion in a new soft lilac dress with glitter. At the moment there is a celebration going on in front of the church with food booths and one of those "bouncing castles" for the children. Next to all this the "alfinique" or Dia de Los Muertos sugar market has begun to open. Lots of sugar skulls and skeletons not to mention chickens, sheep, shoes and other objects all made from sugar and egg whites. We're gearing up for my favorite part of the year and I'll be going to Patzcuaro with a tour for the craft market over Dia de Los Muertos...wish you could come with.