I suppose because Boca de la Cañada is a little out of the way we had never explored the area. Robert de Gast in The Churches and Chapels of San Miguel de Allende lists two capillas in the community but it took our friend and intrepid hiker, Rick Wendling, to suggest that we paint this capilla which he had seen on his last hike.
Capilla Boca de la Cañada L. Topinka
Community members suggested two names for the capilla….Capilla de Boca de la Cañada and Capilla de Santa Cruz. It is an old (perhaps 300+ years) but well-maintained capilla with a large fenced atrium and two small calvarios. A side building has been added recently but the basic structure is the classic small capilla with one bell tower and two interior rooms. We think the statue atop the bell tower is Saint Michael the Archangel.
In my painting to the right, you can see the traces of red paint on parts of the bell tower that in some places seemed to resemble tridents.
Painted from photo L. Whynman
Plein Aire L. Whynman
Linda’s paintings nicely place the capilla in its garden-like setting complete with potted plants
As she often does, she has repainted the scene and likes both so here they are.
On the drive out, we passed the remains of an old dam and going back this charming burro family.
Burro family L. Whynman
This community is, as the name suggests, at the “mouth of the canyon”. The canyon referred to is Cañada de la Virgen where there is an organic cattle ranch on a large ex-hacienda as well as an important archaeological site both known as Cañada de la Virgen. Many tourists visit this particular rancho as it is the location of Coyote Canyon´s popular horseback riding adventures and in the summer, a children´s camp.
Boca de la Cañada: elevation 1870 meters; population 296; and dwellings 52. Longitud (dec): -100.870833 Latitud (dec): 20.847778