Pueblo Magico: An Exploration Of The Colourful Streets of San Miguel de Allende

Just a street away from the Belmond, step into a beautiful, 18th-century colonial building and into Sollano 16 for fine Spanish and South American antiques alongside delicate, local, handicrafts that showcase the skilled designers and creatives of the city. In the same complex is the famed The Restaurant, with its sun-kissed, Moroccan-style courtyard perfect for a late lunch or even an elegant dinner.

A pleasant surprise, a couple of streets past the soaring, neo-Gothic beauty of La Parroquia, is Doce 18 Concept House on Calleo Rolex. Inside the former Casa Cohen metals factory, a variety of experiences awaited us, from curated high-end boutiques to elegant florists, to coffee shops and g ourmet cuisines. The most curious is the intimat e six-seater Casa Dragones Tasting Room, the world’s tiniest tequila bar. Its black obsidian tiled interiors complement the tasting tequilas for a transportative experience, our tequila sommelier (or tequillier) set the scene in our minds, “bringing” us to the blue agave fields of Mexico so we could truly appreciate the small batch craftsmanship of the award-winning sipping tequila.

Walking through the narrow streets, be serenaded with Spanish love songs by mariachi bands. We even saw a man propose, wooing his woman as he played on his acoustic guitar. There were parades for the just married, and quinceñera (15th birthday) celebrations with bubbly young girls in beautiful dresses. All these magical moments we witnessed within such a perfect setting of a city.

We were told that the rooftop patio of Antonia Bistro was the best place to watch the sun go down and see La Parroquia’s spiraling towers dramatically light up. The food and the view, which did not disappoint, marked a perfect end to the day.

A short car ride north of the city to the Sanctuary of Atotonilco is well worth the trip. The exteriors are plain white and have an almost intimidating, fortress-like appearance. Yet, a step inside and I was met with the astounding “Sistine Chapel of Mexico.” The ceilings and walls are adorned with 18th century Mexican folk Baroque-style murals and frescoes by Miguel Antonio Martinez de Pocasangre, a well-known indigeneous muralist of the colonial period. Like everything else in this wonderful town stuck out of time and space, in a world of its own where every door leads to another world all together, nothing is as it seems.

As we drove towards Mexico City to catch our flight back to New York, the deep hues of the sunrise matched the ochre and sienna façades of the buildings in San Miguel de Allende. The colours seamlessly melt into each other, an oasis made out of the shades of the sky. It all seemed so surreal, the dramatic desert ride into the sunrise and the whole unique experience, a city that is an artwork in itself, the perfect mix of wonder and wanderlust.

Tradiciones Filipinas

Our guide said he had one last surprise for us before we left. It was behind one of the wooden front doors of a building that looked like any of the others; we stepped in and were transported back home.

In the heart of Mexico was Tradiciones Filipinas, a beautiful mural of nipa huts, farmers, and carabaos that drew upon local traditions that Romeo Tabuena remembered from his childhood in Iloilo City.

The showroom of the Filipino painter and printmaker Romeo Tabuena is managed by Galeria Nudo, featuring a handful of the late artists works, many with Filipino motifs. A long time resident of the city for four decades, he is celebrated as a local artist by the people of San Miguel de Allende.

“His art is a testament of his unceasing dedication and artistic fervour,” writes Galeria Nudo, “for depicting and representing the cultural essence of the Philippines.”