Author: Joseph Toone

Gambol into the lobby of the Hotel Real de Minas, cross the courtyard of the Allende Institute or visit any antique store in town and you’re bound to view a painting of a 18th or 19th century nun wearing a crown of flowers.  Who is she?  What does she represent?  Is she …

In the past painters got their pigments from nature. For example, raising a family in the Low Country, indigo was the in demand blue dye raised on plantations.  Here in the San Miguel de Allende it was red cochineal, a cacti-dwelling bug that expanded scarlet’s appeal. This particular shade of red reached …

Following recent jumps in popularity as the Mexican Maria doll has floated around the world to international landmarks like the pyramids, Big Ben and the Sydney Opera house, Maria’s popularity continues to soar. This month both the Smithsonian and Unicef have sponsored the locally made Mexican Maria Doll Coloring book.  Each coloring book sale through Unicef provides vaccines …

Recently on a tour was an antiques collector that I asked “Out of all the vintage items she collected over a lifetime what was a unifying design element?” Without missing a beat she replied “Acanthus”. Acanthus is a flowering plant that does well here in …

A type of art seen all over town called painted wood, or polychrome, statues have entered the world stage as desired collectibles in museums and private collections.  Why?  What does that mean to the art scene in San Miguel de Allende? Up until the 16th century wood, terracotta and alabaster were …

Vultures are making a comeback in San Miguel de Allende.  Normally they stay in the nearby Picachos mountains but lately the Mexican Black Vulture been seen, eerily enough, in the cemetery. For example, just over the course of the weekend I spotted several on cemetery tours growing from just two vultures …