The Guardians of Time – Atencion San Miguel | English Version

By Adriana Mendez

Part 1

Tan-táann… Táaaaannnn. Táaaaannnn. Táaaaannnn. Táaaaannnn. Táaaaannnn. Táaaaannnn. And so the bells of the San Rafael clock began to ring. Shades of orange appeared in the sky, the beauty enhanced by fleecy clouds. The spectacle of light on the domes of the Parroquia church changed as the sun went down. The minutes flew by, but I wanted time to stop so my friend Tito and I could admire for a bit longer the gift we receive every afternoon, if we take the time to observe. As I listened to the melody of the bells, I remembered Michael, an expat friend, asking, “Why do the bells never stop ringing in the center of San Miguel? What do the bells mean?”

I would have loved to have my grandmother, María, with me so she could explain. I know that some bells have to do with the time of day, and others with calls to mass, but I wasn’t sure and felt a bit ashamed of my ignorance. The doubt hung around for a few weeks. The afternoon Tito and I were enjoying the sun and talking at a table on the terrace of La Única, so I decided to investigate. Luckily, Tito knew Daniel, the custodian of the clock in the Parroquia of San Miguel Arcángel. I called him and we arranged to meet the next day.

We met in the atrium. I saw him coming from a distance and knew it had to be him: he is a strong, dark-haired man of about 40. He stood out from the rest of the people in the atrium because his attitude conveyed confidence and he seemed to take up a lot of space. We made eye contact, and I headed towards him. He gave me a beautiful smile, we talked for a few minutes, and then we headed toward the tower.From a set of keys, Daniel selected one to open the door. He invited me to enter the square construction, with stone walls at least one meter thick, and I don’t know how many meters high. Many. “How many turns did you give the lock?” I asked him. “Six,” he told me.