OUT AND ABOUT IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE
I rejoined the yoga group for the afternoon and the evening. We met at Casa la Cuesta, the home and bed and breakfast of an USAan advertising executive, Bill LaVasseur, who got addicted on Mexican masks 35 years ago, retired wealthy and early, and has been since obsessed with Mexican masks, so much so that he is now a world authority on Mexican masks. His bed and breakfast, worth the $250 nightly rate if you can spare it, is wonderfully decorated with Mexican objects some of which I have photographed here.
Next door is a mask museum with no photographs allowed. Mexican masks have always played a central part in the major Mexican life stages and special days during the year. They were there before the Spaniards conquered Mexico in the early 1500’s and were later incorporated by the Dominican friars into Christian worship. For the real story read his book Another Face of Mexico. He gave a good overview of the history and uses of Mexican masks and they we looked through his museum of hundreds of masks, something certainly worth seeing in San Miguel de Allende.
Then we walked down the hill into town and caught taxis across town to the same hotel where we saw a jazz concert a week ago for another concert of pieces by Django Rhinehart and Ella Fitzgerald presented by two guitar players, a bass player and a young woman with a marvelous Ella Fitzgerald voice. I am including a video of the second half of the concert here.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 