While I was still in diapers my then teen aged sisters rushed to the drive-in theater to see Hayley Mills’ latest comedy about two girls in an all-girls Catholic school run by nuns called The Trouble with Angels. Oddly, the cast included actresses that went on …
Lupita Reyes Arrives!
Who is Lupita Reyes? A tele-nova vixen? A Banda beauty? Latest best-selling sensation to hit the Writer’s Conference? Actually the appropriate question is what, not who, for Lupita Reyes is a euphemism for the holiday season spanning from the day for the Virgin of Guadalupe (Lupita) through Three …
In the Name of…
For my parents choosing baby names was made fairly easy by the Church. Their first daughter was born in a Marian year (a year the Pope devotes to Mary) so she, like most of the girls in her Catholic school classes, was named Mary. The …
Powerful Nap
Once having used staple saint names Michael, Mary, Margaret, Marie, Patrick and most of the apostles on my siblings, my parents’ middle aged surprise (me!) got named for the most powerful saint, Joseph. To the more text bound countries north of here, St. Joseph is little mentioned …
Dragon Tortas
You find yourself at the local Corpus Christi festival, or one of many others in Valle De Maiz and elsewhere in town, when suddenly a dancing dragon appears. Well, this dragon is not like Puff, the Magic Dragon, but a kind of dragon-ish creature. Often with …
Femininity of Faith
Spirituality in SMA is marked by a strong, feminine temperament. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the Divine was seen as the meeting of the masculine and feminine. Amongst the indigenous the intersection of the two was represented by a cross. Early missionaries used …
Cloistered in San Miguel
Ever consider simply walking away from the world to join a cloistered community and no longer have to deal with the world at large? Is it a selfish act, or an attempt to align the world with the Divine through prayer and actions? Surprisingly San …
Circular Approach to Spirituality
“Circle in the sand Round and round Rising of the moon as the sun goes down” Oddly, the sentiments expressed in the chorus of a late 1980’s pop hit by Belinda Carlisle precisely expresses the circular nature of faith in San Miguel de Allende (SMA). To Europeans, …
Gal Well Worth 200 Pesos
One of the most significant figures of Mexican history wasn’t a conqueror or a ruler, but a 17th century nun known for her charm, beauty, and wit. Also for being a self-educated genius who composed poems that were the most important body of poetic work …
Retablos – Attitudes of Gratitude
When my children were young evening prayers settled on their litanies of what good things happened for them that day. It was followed by my asking “Why say thank you?” and their rote response of “Because more good things come your way.” Saying thank you …