Festivals & Events, September 8, 2006

Excerpted from “The Best of San Miguel de Allende”© by Joseph Harmes. Reprinted with permission. See more at www.thebestofsanmigueldeallende.com 


September 8: Festividad de la Virgen de Loreto (Feast of the Virgin of Loreto). The day pays homage to the nativity of the Virgin Mary, or the spot where the mother of God was born (actually, her house was moved to the basilica in Loreto, now is among the most famous shrines of Italy). La Santa Casa de Loreto, a replica of the famous Holy House, was constructed by Manuel Tomás de la Canal (inside El Oratorio de San Felipe Neri) to honor the Virgin of Loreto, the wealthy family’s patroness. One of the town’s patron saints, too.


September 13: Homenaje a los Niños Héroes de Chapultepec (Commemoration of the Deaths of the Boy Heroes of Chapultepec). Civic events honor the six heroic cadets who, having defended themselves as long as they could against US troops in Mexico City on September 13, 1847, wrapped themselves in Mexican flags and leapt to their deaths instead of surrendering.

September 15: When their plots to overthrow the Spanish were discovered, the middle-class Creole (Mexican-born Spaniard) conspirators of Querétaro, San Miguel el Grande and Dolores decided to take up arms. The fiesta in El Centro begins in early evening. At 11pm, a runner with a torch (commemorating a messenger from Querétaro) arrives and a version of Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s “Cry for Independence” read from the balcony of the Allende house. No exact version exists of the speech Father Hidalgo delivered from the atrium (or the front door, no one knows) of the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows parish church) about 25 miles away. Rallied by Hidalgo, the insurgents marched to the Santuario in Atotonilco, where they took a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe and adopted it as their standard before advancing on San Miguel el Grande. The first municipal government autonomous of Spain was declared here. On September 16, the first Spanish prisoners were taken and incarcerated at 
the Colegio San Francisco de Sales (where Allende and the Aldama brothers had been educated). The celebration continues throughout the night and into the next day. 

September 16 (Legal Holiday): Día de la Independencia de México (Mexican Independence Day). Fireworks, parades, Conchero dancers, a rodeo and bullfights are just a few of the activities.

Third or Fourth Weekend of September (a moveable event): The Sanmiguelada often is called a “running of the bulls” but bears only a faint resemblance to the Pampolonada in Spain. The four streets bordering El Jardín become a makeshift corral inside which bulls are released and hundreds of young men (dressed in the traditional white shirts and red bandanas) try to taunt them into a chase. Like a NASCAR race, much of it is tedious and boring until an accident happens. Dozens of participants (usually very intoxicated) are transported to hospitals. A fatality is not infrequent. The walls surrounding El Jardín are lined by around 9am. The event itself never begins on time (allegedly 11am), so plan on plenty of waiting. If you are short, chances are you won’t see any of the action. The weekend attracts an estimated 20,000 teenagers and 20-somethings from throughout Mexico to an atmosphere resembling Spring Break: two nights and two days of public intoxication and urination. Parking near El Centro becomes impossible.