Silence in San Miguel de Allende

There is little silence in my life now.  I know the sounds of silence (with apology to Simon and Garfunkel).  It's ten blocks from the Pacific Ocean hearing water slap rocks, and nothing else.  It's a snow fall in rural Montana and hearing white.  Silence is even Manhattan where the city's energy comes to a gentle hum, after a time.

Silence is as foreign to central Mexico as I am ~ a  freedom not fully appreciated until it's gone.

Visitor tip:  It is politically incorrect to whine about noise.  First of all, I'm told the church bells bring allegria (happiness) to my Mexican neighbors and friends.  They must be ecstatic as the bells chime for weddings, for funerals, to signal the time of day, to celebrate the Saints,  God, and Christ (not listed in order of importance).

The Truck Bearing the Image of the Saint That Will Lead Today's Procession

Aztec Dancers in the Plaza of the Neighborhood Church
Bell Towers in the Distance

Bells in my neighborhood are, in part, automated.  I am certain of it because no one is up in those bell towers at 2, 3 or 4 a.m.  I've checked personally from my upstairs window.

Then there are the bells hand-swung and rung by young men, who by now must be deaf God bless them.  And then,  there are the fireworks ~ fireworks unscheduled.  Fireworks, as explained by 
El Presidente Municipal Mauricio Trejo of San Miguel, are tied to religious events and are sacrosanct.  I respect that.

No, you cannot predict and thereby check into a Motel 6 on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende until the explosions and deafening bells stop.  You're asleep, finally, and the London Blitz arrives in your bedroom. The first time this happened I was certain that all the much advertised drug bad boys had come to my neighborhood and were shooting up the place with sub-machine guns.

No, this is the the Fun House ~ the huge plastic woman with the garisish lipstick and blond hair shrieking like she just saw Freddy Krueger in the hockey mask.  Think Santa Monica Pier in its heyday.  Wow,  that was one scary place.

Here we have lots of desfiles ~ festivals.  The makeup artist for every desfile is, I believe, flown in from   Manhattan, most recently employed to do the cast of CATS and here, secreted behind a screen so that we're to assume each perfectly painted cara (face) was hand-done by its owner.

Lovely young woman.  Ready for a Parade down Ancha de San Antonio in San Miguel de Allende

While I'm not getting a lot of sleep these days, it is a privilege to live in such a vibrant culture.  

Everything in life is a trade.  I traded UP coming here.