TWO STUDIOS. TWO COUNTRIES. A DREAM REALIZED.
On February 23, 2018, my husband and I signed our names "on the bottom" line, and became homeowners in the city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to "own a little piece of Mexico where I could store the piece of my heart" that I always seem to leave behind. Well, it FINALLY happened, and I was terrified! What? I got what I wished for? I truly was in shock for many months to come! Many sleepless nights have followed...
We returned for six weeks in May & June, to make sure kitchen and general renovations were going well at the new CASA. Well, it's a good thing we were there, and I'll leave it at THAT! We did finally end up with a beautiful kitchen. The tiles for the kitchen backsplash were chosen by David and me at the talavera factory in Dolores Hidalgo–where the very first cries or "los gritos" (Grito de Dolores-Cry of Dolores) were heard from Father Hidalgo and the Mexican "insurgentes" who called for independence from Spain in the early 1800s. David proceeded to construct a most beautiful backsplash, by the way!
San Miguel de Allende is in the HEART of Mexico and the state of Guanajuato, in the geographic center of the country. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site just a few short years ago, and its proud history dates back to the Mexican War for Independence and earlier. The "insurgentes"–local people like you and me, wishing for a better life–marched from Dolores Hidalgo to San Miguel, and asked for the blessing–and much needed help–from Colonel Allende, a very powerful, local resident. Unfortunately, Father Hidalgo and Colonel Allende would soon "lose their heads", literally, but they gave birth to the successful campaign for independence! Actually, San Miguel de Allende was first established in the 1500s, and "el chorro", a local freshwater spring, gradually attracted more and more residents to the area.
Only a 3-hour drive from Mexico City, San Miguel sits in the Bahio region of rolling hills and high desert, with views of mountain ranges off in the distance. And, it's only 90 minutes from the gorgeous "Spanish-Colonial" old-world city of Guanajuato, where one can get lost for days exploring very narrow streets connected to sorbet-colored buildings. There are so many reasons to love this area of Mexico! The entire region has many old silver mines–which made Spanish royalty and the Catholic Church of Spain very RICH indeed! LOTS of money floated this area for hundreds of years, but never trickled down to the common people...hmmm, sound familiar??
I'll keep you posted on the PROGRESS on the renovations in my NEW studio at the casa! I'll be returning in October to keep this moving along. I'd love to be TEACHING from this studio in Winter/Spring of 2019! Let me know if you are interested in visiting San Miguel and taking a customized art class for you or your group. SPREAD THE WORD!
COPYRIGHT 2018 Lisa JonesMoore