HOME AND DECORATION

House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton December 28, 2007 San Miguel de Allende

House & Garden Tour
Sun, Dec 30, Noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 150 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starting at 9am

We end 2007 with a delightful tour. The antique-filled first house is on an open hilltop. Our second house belongs to a National Geographic photographer and you will be enthralled by his outstanding work. The third house is a unique modern example of Mexican colonial architecture.

First house 

Our first house was merely an empty lot when it was purchased. The owners integrated their plans with those of local architect Gabor Goded to create a wide-open, light-filled hilltop home full of antiques and paintings; soft, sensual colors; and tasteful embellishments. The arresting curved stairs topped by a beautiful bóveda (arched) ceiling lead to the upstairs living quarters, with fantastic views toward Dolores Hidalgo, the mountains and the lake.

French doors on all sides allow light and access to gardens filled with bougainvillea, geraniums, herb gardens, fruit trees and palms. The home is formed with soft curves and arches. One alluring feature is the amount of cantera used for columns, countertops, fireplaces, shelves and fountains. All the rooms are open and spacious; the cozy living room opens to the dazzling kitchen, which then leads into the elegant dining room. The master suite contains a sitting/library/office area, bedroom and separate his-and-hers baths and dressing rooms. Lower level flooring 
is stained cemento pulido (polished cement), giving the house a dramatic, warm look. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a sizeable wine cellar and a large game room with billiard table, dartboard, old radio and built-to-order bookcase. The coach in the entranceway was made by hand over 75 years ago.

Second house

For years sanmiguelenses have been fascinated by the dazzling wall surrounding this exquisite home and for years the land behind lay fallow and vacant, containing only a hint of previous construction. The Azteca family (some of whom still live next door) were famous stonecutters in San Miguel, and this wall at one point ran all the way to Calle Orizaba. It is in itself a work of art. Ricardo Rocco, the only Mexican-American to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, previously owned the property. The home is filled with dazzling photographs, some taken by one of the owners and others taken by friends. His personal passion is creating tintype prints of his works. The old stone stairwell leading to the roof is used mainly by their sons who romp happily in their “fort.” The romantic master bedroom was a tienda (small store) for several years. The view from the beautifully upholstered bed flows through to the elegant living room with its striking bóveda ceiling and delicately carved fireplace. The living room conta
ins treasures from their worldwide travels such as an ancient trunk from Tibet, an old saddlebag from Morocco and a palm reader’s sign from India. An outdoor ramada (entertainment area) faces the resplendent garden with its impressive fountain and carved cantera fireplace. The kitchen is a gourmand’s dream, light and spacious with a sizable tiled island in the center. A casita in the back was once a chapel. The original buttresses can be seen at its rear; thick walls denote its age. 

Third house

This gracious property integrates the charm of colonial architecture by combining two small eighteenth-century houses with all the comforts and amenities of modern living. Serious cooks will appreciate the professionally designed kitchen with its imported appliances, functional mesquite counters, handsome copper hood and convenient baking and pantry centers. Its wide island and adjacent seating area fireplace create a relaxed atmosphere. The formal dining room looks out on the patio’s fountain, also seen from the back rooms (office/guest bedroom) and from the outdoor sala with its colorful purple and yellow walls, warmed in winter by a cheerful wood-burning fireplace. The sunny living room features marble flooring, crown molding, beveled glass doors, generous fireplace and walls of shelves for the library, family photographs and music system. Upstairs is the romantic master suite with its bóveda ceiling and two guest bedrooms, each with its own terrace. One bath has a rounded shower topped by a glass roof and 
hanging chandelier. 

Poinsettias, the spirit of Christmas
By Sylvia Jessop

Barely recovered from the excesses of Thanksgiving-here comes Christmas, announcing its arrival with an explosion of poinsettias, the iconic blooms of the holiday season.

San Miguel is transforming itself into a blaze of color…rich reds, sunny yellows, tender pinks and delicate creams. The intense hues of these stunning flowers are everywhere. They are in macetas, spilling over doorsteps, flowing down staircases, clustered in windows and growing in gardens.

We may not have a “White Xmas,” but the profusion of these brilliant beauties evokes the heart beat of Yuletide like nothing else. Aztecs called these flowers “Cuetlaxochetl” They tapped the sap to make a drug to control fevers and extracted a red dye from the bracts (modified leaves).

In the seventeenth century, the Franciscan monks in Taxco held a procession to honor the nativity and gathered masses of wild growing poinsettias to decorate their statues and all the churches in the town.

The distinction of finding this flower and shipping the cuttings to South Carolina belongs to the first American ambassador to Mexico, Joel Robert Poinsett. A fervid botanist, he scoured the countryside of Mexico looking for specimens to take back to America. When he discovered a bright red shrub growing on the side of a road, he knew he had found something special and took cuttings back to the United States where they flourished. The flower was named after him; but its botanical name is Euphorbia Pulcherima, which means very beautiful. Nothing could be more appropriate.

As regular as clockwork, poinsettias bloom in the winter, just in time for Christmas. Could it be that this flower was programmed to bless the holy season?