Rafael Guerra, Watch Repairman

Relojería Guerra is in historic Centro. There he receives and fixes watches and small table clocks. When he is asked to repair monumental clocks, or large wall and grandfather clocks, he goes to their location.

You can find Rafael Monday through Friday from 11am to 8pm, and Saturdays from 11am to 5pm on Mesones 37A, Centro. Phone 415 566 1063.

By Carolina de la Cajiga

Possessing maturity while young is a rare combination …

The Christmas season is Rafael Guerra’s favorite time of year. It’s a time when San Miguel is particularly full of foreign visitors, and his fame is so widespread that many of them bring their broken watches to him to repair rather than have them repaired in their home countries. Such is his fame.

Over the years, Rafael has established an international network to obtain spare parts, especially of renowned brands. And, if the parts no longer exist, his challenge increases because must recreate them—something he is passionate about. His greatest satisfaction and challenge are to resurrect watches and clocks others have determined to be beyond repair.

Rafael inherited the occupation of watch and clock repairman from his father—and him from his father. At eight, he began learning, though with no pleasure. He wanted to study technology—any except anything having to do with clocks or watches. If someone had told him then that in the future, he might have his own watch and clock repair school, he would not have believed it. As he matured, he recognized the advantage of being able to work independently and appreciated the teachings he had rejected earlier. Now he enjoys his profession tremendously and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

His dream is to pass on his extensive knowledge of how watches work and how to repair their intricate and sensitive mechanisms. He already has the setup and tools waiting for students passionate to learn the trade—students who appreciate the dedication, dexterity, and finesse required. At the moment, Rafael’s most outstanding pupil is his godson, Gerardo Alejandro, who has been training with him for seven years.  With emphasis, he exclaims, “It is important to teach not only the technical aspect but also ethics and professionalism, which are just as valuable. A fodongo (slob) with no love for his trade scares customers away. Knowledge is meant to be shared; in the grave it benefits no one.”

Rafael recognizes how valuable his wife’s help has been throughout the 27 years he has dedicated, in body and soul, to his work. In the beginning, she even helped him financially. Now she is in charge when he goes out to do repairs or to stock up on merchandise.

The clock in the tower next to the Parroquia is the biggest one he has repaired. In 2005, it broke down shortly before the Carrera de la Conspiración (the start of the Independence Day celebrations), which takes place every September 15 at precisely five o’clock in the afternoon with the first chime. The person in charge of the clock, Raúl Vázquez, in desperation asked Rafael for help. “¡Ay, chirrion! (expression of surprise and disbelieve). We both worked most of the night to avoid a historic disaster,” remarked Rafael. Other unusual restorations have been antique clocks, more than 200 years old, in haciendas and ranches. With no more spare parts available, Rafael has to figure out how to rebuild or create whatever is necessary to keep the clocks ticking.