Guanajuato to San Miguel: Mexico's pride

In the fall of 2005, I spent eleven days photographing in central Mexico's 400-year-old colonial cities of Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, culminating in the fascinating celebration of the Day of the Dead. In this article, I display 83 travel impressions of this pair of neighboring historic cities where Spain once mined for gold and silver, and Mexico launched it's long and painful quest for independence.

If you've viewed the previous articles of travel impressions I've posted on this site, you'll note ... (more)

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For the cemetery, with love
The gravesites and family altars of San Miguel are strewn with flowers,...

Day of The Dead crowds, San Miguel
The streets leading to the town's main cemetery are jammed with...

Expatriate Cemetery, San Miguel
With at least 5,000 expatriates living in San Miguel, a special...

The Day of The Dead, San Miguel Cemetery
Relatives of the dead cover virtually every grave in this vast cemetery with...

Service for the Dead, San Miguel
At the height of the Day of The Dead celebration, hundreds attend a special...

A festive field of death, San Miguel
Visiting a large Mexican cemetery on The Day of The Dead can be an...

A cloud of incense, San Miguel Cemetery
Pots of burning incense create clouds of smoke that mysteriously rise...

Twilight, Day of the Dead, San Miguel
A late afternoon sun backlights an enormous wreath rising over the flowers...

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article published 11/11/2005

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So much more on September 15
I loved the pictures of the day of the dead. For other amazing pictures in Mexico, make sure you visit on September 15th, which is Mexico's Independence Day. This is a huge holiday in Mexico. Be sure to go to downtown (el Centro), in Queretaro, Queretaro, for the most amazing costumes and dancing. Don't miss the aquaduct...what a piece of art! Also, make sure you get the story of its beginning. I am living in Mexico at the present time and I would choose September 15th as the most impressive holiday for foreigners.
— DebHartman, November 9, 2006

WOW
These photos are great, esp the deep colors & framing etc... I have not been to Quanajuato yet but sure want to soon, after seeing your photos.
— Lorraine Brecht, April 26, 2006

Thanks, Chor
Great to hear from you, Chor. What noise, indeed! I only see it at ISO 400, and with image stabilization, it seldom is necessary for me to go there. The folks on the dpreview discussion boards are often pixel peepers who look for grain in images magnified to 100 per cent file size. That's equivalent to looking for noise in a print that is 50" x 30" in size! I never worry about noise in pictures myself -- just as I never concerned my self with "grain" in my film days! There are even times with noise or grain can add a lot of atmospheric texture to a picture. Thank again for your kind words on these images, and enjoy your return to Mexico some day.
— Phil Douglis, December 1, 2005

Great photos! Great composition, subject, lighting, moods, etc. Now, I have to fly back to Mexico and re-take my shots!

What is also interesting is that there is a big "war" in the www.dpreview.com camera forum about the Panasonic FZ30 producing too much noise. As Phil has excellently demonstarted here, I'm thinking, "What noise?"
— Tan Chor Eng, November 28, 2005

You make me want to run out and start taking photos...your photos are beautiful and inspiring. Thanks for sharing with such loving details.
— Connie, November 11, 2005