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Wanted to share a couple of photos from Hidalgo - thats where we bought our set of dishes last year - went there again this year. This year is the Bicenntenial of the Mexican Independence from Spain and Dolores Hidalgo is where it started. Thj priest Hidalgo called to the people to overthrow the Spanish from the steps of this church. Last year when we were here the front of it was being cleaned and restored.

This year the interior is being fixed up. There are three altars the main one

And two side altars - a hand carved wood one - looking close we could see the marks of the tools used to carve it

And a gold one

That is all gold leaf - not paint
In fact down both sides of the church are hand painted decorations and tall columns - all have gold leaf on them
Here is one section that is in process of being gold leafed - they are working from top to bottom - but are waiting for another shipment of gold leaf - so far on THIS section alone they have used 2000 packages of 3 x3 (or 4 x 4) squares of gold leaf - very expensive restoration.

The whole town is being repaired and repainted and repaved - saw these guys working on the street

They are using hand cut rocks

then trimming them again by hand

The cement is mixed in a wheel barrel- put in the form and then the pavers put in.

This is what the design looks like when it is done -

Hidalgo is also know for it strange flavors of ice cream - one of the vendors - didn't try any - mole, avacato, beer, whisky to name a few

Went to the place we bought the dishes last year just to look around - saw this Day of Dead sink - can you imagine washing your face in this in the morning - ugh

And caught a picture of this old woman 0 she was about 4 foot 5 if that - saw her later begging

thoughts that go through my head....
wonder how they clean the gold leaf
are they going to put cement between the bricks?
cannot imagine brushing my teeth at a sink decorated as "day of the dead"
Thanks for the pics Carol, Mexico still amazes me.

As usual great pictures and the stories to go with them. Ava, the gold leaf probably never needs cleaning. Gold doesn't tarnish. A light dusting is all it would need.

WOW, what a beautiful church. I keep asking if Bill would be willing to lead a few of us in a caravan to Mexico. You guys know Mexico so well. I'd be the first to sign up. Bill could be totally in charge of a bunch of women.

That town is getting a total revamp. How beautiful the church is, and elaborate. It would be fun to drive on that new street! Thanks for sharing.

I love tagging along with you on your travels!

It amazes me how intricate the details are on those churches!! Nothing like that done anymore. I can't even imagine how much painstaking time and patience it took to do all that carving, etc!! Just awesome! The goldleaf would take so much time getting into all those little details! That is also a lot of work on those streets doing each brick by hand! Lots of work but worth it in the end with such a beautiful road!

Wondering if they're getting "stimulus dollars" to do all that work in Hidalgo? Great pictures....love the little old lady.

so pretty thanks for sharing with us
sheila