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San Miguel de Allende -- Today is Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:45 at our loyal server in the USAThere are a thousand and one descriptions of San Miguel de Allende written over the past decades. Here's one writer's short take:
San Miguel's reputation as an arts center was established by the founding of the Allende Institute. One of its American founders, Stirling Dickson, came to Mexico as a tourist in the 1930s and fell in love with the city. A painter and engraver, he helped inaugurate the institute in 1950 and was its director until 1987. The lovely building housing the school once was owned by the wealthy Canal familiy. Fountains, arcades and courtyards gardens grace the grounds of the campus, which has extensive classroom space, two are galleries, a theter and a library.
Students from throughout the Americas take advantage of the art and language classes offered, and the institute also functions as a campus abroad for several American and Canadian art schools. The Centro Cultural Bellas Artes, is also known as the Centro Cultural el Nigromante (its official name) and the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez. It is a branch of the wellknown Instituto de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. The impressive building, which dates from the mid-18th century, was once the Convento de la Concepcion and features an immense, tree-shaded courtyard. It offers music, dance and visual arts classes; a bulletin board lists lectures and concerts given both here and elsewhere in the city. Several murals are also exhibited, including one by David Alfaro Siqueirs.
San Miquel is known for the variety and quality of its regionally produced handycrafts. Metalwork -- masks, trays, lanterns, picture frames and decorative objects made of tin, copper, brass, bronze and wrought iron -- and the design of local silversmiths are particularly worth seeking out. Also available are pottery, weaving, sculpture, straw items, hand-loomed cambaya cloth (a material frequently used to make skirts), and folk and traditional art.
The colonial furniture is some of the finest produced in Mexico. Open-air Mercado Ignacio Ramirez, the city market, fills the plaza in front of the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, and spreads onto the surrounding streets. Livestock and fresh preduce share space with inexpensive everyday items and souvenirs at the cheaper end of the price scale. The Mercado de Artesanias consists of vendor stalls in an alley. Pricier boutiques are scatted throughout the downtown area. Art galleries are concentrated around the main plaza, and exhibit openings are big social events. Two that showcase both regional and national talents are Galeria San Miguel and Galeria Atena. | The following excerpt is by the legendary Stirling Dickinson, who is probably the most important Gringo to ever make an impact on the development of San Miguel de Allende. From Brandeburgh Press, November 1969.
In 1542, the missionary Fray Juan de San Miguel established a tiny settlement known as San Miguel Viejo. It was a frontier outpost constantly threatened by hostile Indians. Spanish soldiers and families of Spanish settlers came and the new hamlet was moved to the slope of Moctezuma Hill where fresh springs provided water. Soon, a royal charter was created for the town known as San Miguel El Grande. For more than two and one half centuries, San Miguel thrived under the repressive but orderly rule of Spain, as it was a link on the silver route to Mexico City. In 1810 revolution flared, led by Captain Ignacio Allende of San Miguel and Father Miguel Hidalgo of the nearby town of Dolores. For eleven years the revolution was fought. Finally, after a Mexican victory over the Spanish, the town was renamed San Miguel de Allende, honoring Don Ignacio Allende, its greatest son and martyr to freedom.
Travel writers have often called San Miguel "the prettiest town in Mexico". That remark has become a cliche. Yet, like all cliches, it has basis in fact. San Miguel is the most charming of all Mexican towns. Today, its chief fame is as an art center and home to hundreds of foreign residents, not artistic themselves, but attracted by the atmosphere the arts create. Most of these residents are fiercely partisan about their community, quickly pointing out that although many tourists visit, its real life goes on quietly but busily behind the unrevealing walls of its homes and gardens. A stranger who harps on the defects of living here is likely to be met with a cold stare and a classic retort. "Of course, San Miguel is not perfect -- it is merely heaven."
| Another interesting perspective from Mexonline
Located 60 kilometers north of Queretaro, the colonial gem of San Miguel de Allende, population 80,000, is situated on a hillside facing the Laja River and the distant Guanajuato Mountains. Declared a national monument in 1926, San Miguel is a picturesque city of arched colonial mansions, flower-filled patios, and winding, terraced cobblestone streets. It is particularly beautiful in March, when flowering jacaranda trees are in bloom. Roof top views and gardens of this colonial city It is Mexico's most celebrated artists' community, and has been luring artistically-inclined Mexicans and foreigners (about 3,500 Americans and Canadians) for decades.
Instituto Allende, founded in 1951, is an intellectual center and arts academy of renown. There are also many other institutes focusing on arts, literature, and language. Despite this Anglo invasion, San Miguel is very Mexican village. The city boasts a thriving cultural and entertainment scene. Many events (plays, lectures, art classes) are in English.
The renowned San Miguel Music Festival (featuring Mexican and international artists) happens each December. A city with six patron saints and dozens of churches, San Miguel hosts a full calendar of religious festivals throughout the year. The town's biggest bash is San Miguel Arcángel, a celebration honoring the town's chief patron saint. The event includes a running of bulls through city streets, traditional dancers, and lots of merriment. It is held each September 29th.
El Jardin, the city's main plaza (zocalo) is a great starting spot. You can't miss the city's landmark, La Parroquia, the pink, gothic church on the main plaza. La Parroquia on the main plaza is as recognizable an icon for San Miguel as the Eiffel Tower is for Paris. It is one of a few features that distinguish San Miguel from the state's other colonial city attraction, Guanajuato.
For shopping, the city boasts some of Mexico's best craft shops and fine art boutiques. Variety of merchandise is exceptional, as is the workmanship. Its dining scene is top notch. Nouvelle Mexican cuisine, plus a diverse assortment of international dining options have given San Miguel a reputation for having the best "small town" dining in Mexico.
Most of San Miguel's sightseeing highlights are clustered around the compact downtown area. This is a wonderful city for aimless wandering along its narrow cobbled lanes. One of the best city views is from the town's Mirador, located on a hill to the southeast of the city center. At the foot of the hill is El Chorro, which spouts a natural spring where the city's women come to do laundry. Further along is Parque Juárez, a shady green belt with ponds, fountains, and benches. If you are looking for an authentic Mexican town with international flair, centuries old history, and a relaxing almost peaceful feeling, San Miguel de Allende is the vacation (or retirement spot) for you. | November 21, 2006
Greetings:
Your VIP Club welcomes ROMANOS RESTAURANT BAR into the club.
Romanos, Hernandez Macias #93, 152-7454. Romanos has become a San Miguel landmark
restaurant. Now under new ownership, Dave and Patrice Brucia offer the same hearty
menu with good-sized portions as beforehand while adding some new entries. Romanos
is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. VIP Club members may take 10% off
their bill. Romanos does not take credit cards.
VIP Club member Beatriz provides Tango lessons at her studio,
located at Zacateros 21. She offers members a 10% discount when paying for a
month's worth of lessons.
VIP Club member Ross MacDonald wants members to know that
beginning November 24 the San Miguel Fitness Center and MacDonalds Casa de La
Salud are having their first annual membership drive with many discounts and
price reductions for the gym, vitamins, chocolates etc. Ross also will soon have
a new website under San Miguel Fitness that will provide discount coupons, a
medical referral service and other valuable and diverse services to sanmiguelenses.
Do know that the San Miguel Fitness Centers offers 20% off to VIP Club members.
VIP Club participating boutique and fashion center, "Goldies" has
moved off Canal and is now located at Zacateros #19, in the old Clan Destino
location. Hours are daily: 10:00-am-6pm, 154-7521.
Maru Riba, owner of VIP Club participating restaurant
La Princesa, on Recreo, would like members to know La Pricesa has a new chef,
Angel Flores, who comes with sterling credentials earned at Camino Real Hotel
in Mexico City and while in Cancun. La Princesa
now offers a new and diverse menu with many various specialties.
Silvia, of L'invito fame, has opened another local pizzeria
with wood burning oven located on the corner of Calzada de la Luz and Calzada
de la Aurora. Her other location is Ancha de San Antonio,
32B. Both are open everyday providing home delivery. Call 154-6228 or
154-1000.
Members do know, if you are in business or an artist,
who might be having an event or even a garage sale, Your Club will be more than
glad to post your event in our newsflashes. Yet do know, if your event is time
sensitive, we can not guarantee we can send your notice out right away because
we only send out newsflashes that are germane to new club business, so get your
notice to us early. Do know that the VIP Club website is being viewed more and
more by our robust membership <www.vipsanmiguel.com>.
Your Club's site's advertising rates are very reasonable.
Brrrrrr . . . everybody is talking about the weather.
All will use more propane. Remember Your Club's discount from Noel Gas. So far
the reports are good with many members saving big time on their propane bill.
One member, who has three properties, says they paid or their VIP membership
just with the savings. Also, with the weather getting colder, the poor out in
the campo lack warm clothing. Both Biblioteca Publica and our local post of the
American Legion have drives to collect coats and sweaters to give to the less
fortunate. Why not look in your closet and permit your older garb to warm the
needy.
Your Club wants to wish our American membership a Happy Thanksgiving.
It goes without saying how much we all have to be thankful for here in San Miguel.
A belated Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian members.
Thank you for the good turn out and VIP Club members
who attended my reading at the Authors Sala on November 10, and special thanks
to Susan Page and the steering committee who were thoughtful enough to invite
me to read excerpts from my work, it warmed my heart.
Please include, member Arden O'Rourke, in your
prayers and good thoughts. Arden, a fine lady, was involved in a horrific auto
crash with an 18 wheeler up at the border. Presently she is in a coma in San
Antonio, Texas, and she's in trouble. A silver lining might be that, as of today,
it has been reported she has moved her arms and legs and periodically
has opened her eyes before slipping back in unconsciousness. Get back with us,
Arden!
Members and friends, please don't sleep with open flame
heaters operating in bedrooms or you just might not wake up!!!
RIP: Elfie Guillen.
Thank you for your continuous and loyal support.
Your San Miguel VIP Club
| If you read guidebooks or travel articles about México, you will read
that Mexicans are wonderfully accommodating, friendly, warm, and generous to
strangers. You will be given the impression these people are the “Salt
of the Earth” and maybe even virtually Saints. You will be told things
like, “Mexicans are helpful to a fault” and “they will be so
patient with you trying to learn Spanish.” While this might be true, I
have, of late, begun to doubt the multitude of clichés that pour forth
from all the guidebook and article sources about Mexico.
About 18 months into our expatriation experiment, my wife and I began to wonder
what was going on in the heartland of Mexico. The clichés we had read
in our pre-expat research were, frankly, beginning to fall apart. The longer
we lived here, the more we were beginning to see things that the guidebooks gushed
about Mexican’s congeniality weren’t necessarily true. Something
wasn’t adding up.
Guanajuato is about as much in the middle of the country as it gets. It is
truly the heartland of Mexico. Here life is uber-provincial. The dictionary defines
provincial as, “a person of local or restricted interests or outlook; a
person lacking urban polish or refinement.” I began hearing this uber-provincial
stuff more and more as the years went by. I heard this from not only American,
German, and Canadian expatriates but also from Mexicans who grew up in other
parts of Mexico and who, for one reason or another, ended up in Guanajuato.
Certain things begin to happen to us that caused us to begin asking questions.
After all, we were still very fresh and green expats who didn’t know much.
But we began to ask about this or that once things started happening.
I guess it was the first time I was knocked into the street by a Mexican and
subsequently hit by a bus that caused me to wonder what was going on. The second
time was really what got me to wondering. I was pushed off the sidewalk not once
but twice into the path of an oncoming bus and was struck. Not once did anyone
stop to see if I was all right. The pushers never bothered to utter one word
to me. My wife has also been pushed and shoved off sidewalks. I have a 70-year-old
American gringa pal who was pushed into the path of a taxi and was nailed.
One just has to ask what is happening in Guanajuato, Mexico.
I wish I could tell you.
What I began to see long ago was that the Guanajuatenses on the street are
practically running to get somewhere but never arrive on time for anything. Although
all of Latin American (and Italy) is famous for how they regard time differently
than the rest of the world, this has slowly been changing in the more metropolitan
areas of Mexico. More and more, Mexicans are beginning to forsake their traditional
understanding of what it means to be on time for anything. Not so in Guanajuato.
It is just as traditional here as it has been for centuries. Some say the heartland
of Mexico is “stuck in the past.”
But, what you have are Guanajuatenses running at the speed of light and, I
can assure you, to get nowhere fast. They are absolutely not trying to get somewhere
on time. It is a cultural affectation here in Guanajuato. They will never, ever
arrive on time for anything. This is a total mystery in and of itself. Why are
they running? They never arrive on time for anything so what’s the rush?
So, you may logically ask, why are they running down the sidewalk knocking
gringos into the gutter? I wish I could tell you, but I can’t.
I have asked Mexicans because I have the facility in the language to do so.
Most of those I have questioned are not from Guanajuato originally. They are
here for a job, marriage, or whatever, and have been transplanted from other
regions of Mexico.
To my amazement, these Guanajuato transplants have told me that they view
the people of Guanajuato as some of the rudest, most ill educated, and most ill
reared Mexicans in the country. I have gotten emails from Mexicans and as well
as been told in face-to-face interviews that they regard Guanajuatenses Mexicans
as anti-social. This is amazing. These are Mexicans from other regions talking
about their fellow Mexicans. It very much reminds me of those from the Midwest
and western parts of America talking about New York.
Now, I have to take the word of those who tell me this since the only place
I’ve ever lived in this country is Guanajuato. But, I am beginning to take
their word to heart and believe what they say, hook, line, and sinker. Our experience
bears out what our Extra-Guanajuatenses have told us.
Once, I got an email from a Mexican lady in Puerto Vallarta. She had read
some of my articles and columns but poo-poo’ed me as a crazy gringo. Then,
she and another Mexican girlfriend came traveling through Guanajuato. She said
she couldn’t wait to email me and tell me how many times she was shoved
off the sidewalk and pushed away from the cashier’s counter in stores.
Just this morning, my wife was in line to buy some very delicious tamales.
She placed her order and paid the guy. Before the seller could get out of his
mouth, “One moment while I get your food” a Mexican lady, one of
our congenial, warm, and kind Guanajuatenses, elbowed my wife out of line and
cut in front of her. The seller had to be someone from some other part of Mexico
because he noticed what happened and told this woman to get in line.
A month ago, some college student who thought it was appropriate to lay hands
on me and shove me a good one shoved me out of the way in a pharmacy! I wish
I could tell you that these are all isolated incidents but I would be lying.
The guy pushed me as though I was a piece of furniture that was in his way.
The mystery is how Mexicans are supposed to be such kind, generous, and accommodating
people to foreigners while in Guanajuato, you are just liable to be pushed into
the path of an oncoming bus going at the speed of light. How…how…how
is this so?
The other day, we were exiting the post office when we saw one Mexican do
something to another Mexican. This kid, in his early twenties, walked by a lady
who had set her heavy bolsa (a large shopping bag) on the sidewalk while waiting
for a cab. This young man kicked the bolsa into the street. It seemed unintentional.
He looked briefly and then walked off. The lady took off after him. While she
was trying to corral him, a bus came by and squashed her bolsa and all its contents
to smithereens.
My wife once had to catch an elderly lady who was shoved off a 12-inch-high
sidewalk by two girls who seemed not to care a wit that they almost killed one
of their fellow countrywomen.
Something else that goes on in stores all over the city—another mystery--is
something that would get Guanajuatenses killed in America. When you go to meat
counter or any place with a counter, Guanajuatenses will shove you out of the
way to bark their orders to the hired help, even though the employee was already
waiting on you. Don’t miss the picture here. There you are. You’ve
just given your order to the butcher for a kilo of hotdogs when some Señora
puts her hands on you (or elbows you) and knocks you into the middle of next
week so she can be at the front of the line.
This goes on all the time, without fail, day and night—and there’s
nothing you can do about it!
NOTHING!
Why they do it I cannot tell you. We have asked and are told that the people
of Guanajuato are “malcriados” and “maleducadas” …this
means ill-raised and badly-educated.
I think the mystery is how did they earn the warm and inviting reputation
that you read in all the guidebooks? They certainly could not have meant the
heartland of Mexico, especially not Guanajuato!
Perhaps it’s the other regions about which the guidebooks have been
talking.
I do not know!
by Douglas Bower
Article Source: EzineArticles.com | |
