Why I live in Mexico

I try to stick very closely to music in this blog, with occasional excursions into pop culture and philosophy. But let me depart for just a moment. Fifteen years ago I moved from Canada to Mexico, which some people might think a crazy idea. Mind you, there are eight or ten thousand other expatriates who live in the same town as I do, San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato.

Turns out that San Miguel has a very active cultural life. Right now and for the next two weeks is an excellent chamber music festival featuring international stars. I'm very much looking forward to Friday's concert by the Gryphon Trio when they will be playing one of my favorite chamber works, the Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 by Shostakovich.

But that's not why I'm putting up this post! I would like to steal a page from Ann Althouse and put up a photo I just took out my kitchen window:

Hibiscus flowers don't last very long, but there are always new ones coming along. This hibiscus is a small tree, about fifteen feet high.