Manto de Luna

Manto de Luna at a glance.

The name of our home Manto de Luna means cloak of the moon and this eclectic colonial artist's house is nestled at the top of a hill overlooking the city center of San Miguel de Allende. A romantic private deck off the master bedroom and rooftop terrace opens up to sweeping vistas of the Parroquia, San Miguel's main cathedral that will take your breath away and this snapshot is of the view from our house. Sip a glass of wine and watch the fireworks or the birds migrating from the botanical gardens.

Relax in the sun beside a Moorish inspired fountain or read books in the two shaded lounge chairs surrounded by blazing purple bougainvilleas in our garden. The secluded patio on the other side of the dining area has an outdoor table and umbrella to dine al fresco. The living room has a gas fireplace, cozy furniture, stereo, cable television and high speed wireless internet.

The spacious master bedroom has a king size bed, dressing area, and secluded deck perfect for morning coffee. There is an antique wooden desk that looks out to the mountains and a large tiled bathroom with a separate shower and bathtub.

The guest room also has a king sized bed, private bathroom with shower and whimsical folk art. Downstairs in the den is an additional single bed with a writing desk and window that looks out to the garden. The fully stocked kitchen has everything you need to prepare gourmet food at home. There is a bottled water dispenser in the kitchen and the house has ample fresh drinking water. Our maid Concha cleans twice a week and our local property manager Gwen is very responsive and available to help should any need arise. There is a washer and dryer in the basement.

Follow the winding cobblestone streets for a 10 minute walk down to the main zocalo past 17th century buildings in this magnificent UNESCO World Heritage city. It is also just 10 minutes to the botanical garden where you can hike among succulents and cacti swarming with birds and butterflies. Just blocks away is a fascinating mask museum and the bustling Mercado Ignacio Ramirez. It's a 3 minute walk to the Santo Domingo swimming and spinning club and you can take a cab to visit the nearby hot springs and swim in bovedas and caves. Atascadero is a historic neighborhood filled with gorgeous homes adjacent to the city center and was home to Sterling Dickinson, the director of art-conscious San Miguel de Allende's biggest art school.

Our colorful home is uniquely filled with original paintings, prints, ceramic pottery and folk art. We are both artists with a young son and Rafael is an accomplished painter who has created United States Postal Stamps, award winning children's books and an official campaign poster as one of the Artists for Obama. You can view his work by typing Rafael Lopez into your browser.

We created a house book filled with insider suggestions of activities listing our favorite restaurants & cafes, live music and activities, guidebooks to San Miguel de Allende. Renters who have stayed at our home have returned year after year bringing their family and friends. It is the ideal spot to explore our magical mountain city of colorful gardens, intimate cafes and shady courtyards.

Semana Santa Processions: Santo Entierro

This past Semana Santa [Holy Week] we attended the procession of Christ in the Tomb or Santo Entierro. It requires over 1500 townspeople who carry santos and other religious objects through the cobblestone streets. This sacred event takes over two hours and is a silent walk with men and women dressed in black. It starts with men who carry huge woven baskets of chamomile flowers that they spread along the path of the procession. A single drumbeat starts this march from the Oratorio Church with the crucified Christ carried on the shoulders of men. We shot this video in Easter Week of 2009 and in part one you see the Roman soldiers led by a remarkable actor whose measured steps are accompanied by a haunting flute that brings the crowd to complete silence. Precious young girls in white carry small santos of angels as well as objects symbolizing the crucifixion such as a cock, the rope and chain, spear, cross, ladder, spone, robe of Christ and a pitcher with bowl. This is followed by large angels carried by mourning women dressed in black. The santero carver is Don Genero Almanza and the expressions on the faces of these angels create great emotion in the viewer.

As the procession continues each angel carries a religious object such as the crown of thorns, the whip or a golden chalice. On both sides of the procession are men and women holding approximately 500 faroles or candle holders. When the angels have passed you see a golden canopy draped over the tomb of Christ. It weighs one ton and is carried by 36 men at a time who trade off with other groups of men with precision exchanges. The figure of Christ was carved by santero maker Salvador Vargas Sandoval and it is followed by a children's choir and priests. The song they sing is called Cristus Factus Est and was written by José Corea one hundred years ago. As darkness fills the streets the faroles burn brightly and the figure of the Virgen de la Soledad in her long black velvet cape appears. She holds a lace hankerchief with crystal tears on her cheeks. This particular statue was imported from Europe in the 19th century but Guadalupe Hernandez created her stunning ensemble. The final santos are of Saint John, Mary Magdalene, Mary Clophus, Joseph of Arinathea and Nicodemus. The smell of fresh flowers and herbs fill the air and the tomb of Christ goes up the hill to the Oratorio where it began.
It is difficult to describe the emotion you feel when watching this procession as people are silent and the magnificent backdrop of brightly colored 16th and 17th century buildings transports you to another time. I've always found it fascinating that even nature cooperates as the jacaranda trees and wildflowers bloom precisely at this time dotting the hillsides and streets with the rich purple hues of Semana Santa.

An excellent book to purchase with detailed writing on all the Holy week events in San Miguel and incredible photos is called Tears from the Crown of Thorns by Charlotte Bell. In her book she calls Mexico a barely discovered jewel with its intriguing and complicated culture, rich history and enormous natural beauty.