Events

On the first of every month churches in San Miguel experience a spike in attendance as people enter the church to pray for the month ahead.  Churches contain a box labeled food, shelter and clothing with separate holes for offerings.  Normally located on the side …

On January first in the church El Llanito, in Dolores Hidalgo, is a large festival for the indigenous of Guanajuato giving thanks for the miracles attributes to a 16th century image of Christ. On the 28th of December Otomis and Chichmecas depart Commonfort and Celeya to arrive in San Miguel in the afternoon to dance outside …

Candelaria, groundhog day in the United States, is celebrated the 40th day after Christ’s birth, the day Jesus was presented in the temple.  Baby dolls of Jesus, called Santo Ninos, are taken to the church to be blesses and kissed by the priest.   Every family has at …

On February third in the church in front of the Parroquia, you can receive a special blessing on your throat to protect you from colds and flus.  The blessing of the throat is performed with two consecrated candles held in a cross and pressed to your …

Despite being the second most widely celebrated holiday in the world (First being New Year’s) it is not widely celebrated in San Miguel de Allende.  It is referred to as Día de Amistád or Day of Friendship. Valentine (or Valentina for a girl) is a popular name …

When walking through the Jardín on the weekend and days leading up to Ash Wednesday, stay alert. Vendors will be surrounding the square selling big baskets of cascarones, dyed eggs  filled with confetti, glitter and/or cornstarch. These are perfectly designed for breaking over the heads of …

Look for native dancers in front of the Parroquia from dawn until dusk the first Friday of March, a tradition spanning over 400 years. The dancers are venerating El Señor de la Conquista, a 1575 statue of Christ housed in the Parroquia that was carried by …

Saint John of God (Juan de Dios) was a Portuguese-born soldier turned health-care worker at 42 following a nervous breakdown.  The order he formed in Spain, the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, continues today dedicated to the care of the poor sick and those suffering from mental …

Mexicans use March 17th  to honor the San Patricios. These Irish immigrants to the U.S. were drafted into the army and sent to fight in the Mexican-American War (1846-48). Dismayed at fighting fellow Catholics and suffering from mistreatment by their Protestant commanders, hundreds of the Irish …

March 19th is St. Joseph’s Day. San José, the husband of the Virgin Mary, is one of the patron saints of San Miguel and the patron saint of the Catholic church. Today is marked by a late afternoon parade featuring many depictions of St. Joseph, fireworks and …

Beginning at midnight in a procession of thousands of people, this life-sized figure of the beaten and bloody Christ is carried from Atotonilco to San Miguel on the shoulders of the faithful. The statue is very old and molded from traditional Chichimeca materials—corn stalks, corn starch and …

The Tuesday before Holy Week is dedicated to the Divine Prisoner (Divino Preso) focusing on when Jesus was in prison awaiting Crucifixion.  To celebrate the clergy from Sana Escuela (the church next to the Parrochia) would have food prepared especially for the prisoners in San Miguel’s jail. …