San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico / November 2014 –

I was in a hurry to get from my lodging pad in San Miguel de Allende to the Jardin (center of town), when I stumbled across this amazing sight. I often took this short cut through the square where Allende’s statue is mounted, riding his horse along with his symbolic sword in the air. But the timing was amazing and the sky – simply magical. You can see Venus burning brightly high above the two church towers.

I took the photo using my handy monopod. It was a challenge to leave out the clutter of people and things below the statue’s mounting block but I succeeded. The domed cathedral tower in the background is that of San Francisco.

According to Wikipedia, Ignacio Jose de Allende was born on January 21, 1769 and died June 26, 1811. He was a captain in the Spanish army stationed in Mexico but became a sympathizer of the Mexican Revolution. He attended a secret meeting with other Mexicans where the idea of an independent ‘New Spain’ was born.

Allende was in on several of these independence movement meetings and fought alongside Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in the early stages. He even succeeded Hidalgo in the leadership of the rebellion but was eventually captured by the Spanish. They ultimately executed him by firing squad, for treason. As legend has it, he was then decapitated and his head taken to Alhondiga de Granaditas, where it was displayed inside a cage as it hung from a building. Naturally, he became a hero and a legend, and his name graces the city of San Miguel de Allende.

This particular statue is quite large and looms tall. It is very hard to photograph during the day without including a lot of pigeons sitting on various sections of it. I have walked through this square numerous times and have yet to see the sky in the way that I captured it here that magical evening.