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 North America |
 San Miguel de Allende: Not just another sleepy Mexican village... |
 The outskirts of San Miguel de Allende look a lot like many poor towns scattered across Mexico with their dusty streets, adobe shops with tin roofs, lots of lazy dogs, and loose chickens, plus containers tossed into ditches alongside the road. Don't let this drive-through scene put you off because the view improves quickly as you travel toward the little gem of the historical town of San Miguel de Allende. Desert scrub and Agave cactus change into terracotta pots with colorful flowers; adobe shops are more substantial with views of artisans busily plying their various crafts, buses and cars now filling the streets, and cowboys riding horses or mules to town to buy supplies. Farther along, the busy streets narrow and change to cobble stones, the buildings now are Colonial Spanish with large wooden doors decorated with ornate hardware, lush flowers hang from window boxes and balconies, and the historic and picturesque town of San Miguel de Allende begins to reveal itself. |
 Located in the Central Highlands just north of Mexico City at an elevation of 5,900 feet, San Miguel de Allende maintains year round climate temperatures that are warm during the daytime and nights that may be cool enough for a sweater. The Mission of San Miguel, founded in 1542 by the Franciscan monk Juan de San Miguel, began as a central location for Franciscan Monks to convert the Chichimecan and Otomi Indians from their traditional gods and introduce them to the Christian God of the Franciscans. The Franciscan brothers taught the local Indians how to weave and grow a variety of crops. Their efforts became so successful that a thriving market grew up around the great estancias that traded in textiles and cattle. This busy and prosperous village was also home of the Inquisition in New Spain, but San Miguel, for another reason, made a significant change in the course of Mexican history. Ignacio Allende along with Father Miguel Hidalgo y Castillo from nearby Dolores Hidalgo planned and led the first uprising against Spain. It was a long and bitter war, but San Miguel won its independence from Spain and officially became a city in 1826. San Miguel honored its local hero by giving his name to the city he fought for--hence, San Miguel de Allende. In 1926, the Mexican government declared the city an historical monument. All the original colonial buildings were carefully restored, and no new buildings may be built in the old part of the city. Local policemen direct traffic--there are no electric traffic signals or neon signs allowed--and views of the sky are not marred by the crisscrossing of telephone or electrical wires overhead. |
 Foreigners began to discover this authentic and charming Mexican town around 1930. Word of mouth reached creative people and those who like to be around creative people, until a thriving artists and writers colony was born. In 1938, an art school called the Instituto Allende was founded in the old elegant country home of the Count of Canal. Its central courtyard, with massive stone fountain, roses, geraniums and the many colors of bougainvillea, echoes a tranquility that goes back to another time. It was the attraction of the institute that led to the growth of the town's foreign community, and now it is the most widely known art school in Latin America. Current student paintings are hung around the courtyard on corridor walls and in little side rooms. A sculpture or two from student workshops enhance the courtyard and visitors may have a peek into the little chapel that served the Canal family. Besides art and language courses, there are lectures on Mexican history and archaeology. In addition, trips to Mexican archaeological sites accompanied by an archaeologist are planned at the institute, and there are a variety of musical concerts. With the influx of foreigners, it is easy to imagine that San Miguel has probably lost its identity as a truly Mexican town. However, Mexican traditions are deeply imbedded in the daily life of the local people, and foreign money may actually have helped in keeping it that way. All in all, it seems to be a good marriage. |
 The layout of San Miguel de Allende is typically Spanish with a central plaza functioning as the heart of the city. In San Miguel the plaza is called El Jardin, or The Garden and is appropriately named with large Indian Laurel trees, flowering plants, wrought iron park benches for passing the time, and a gazebo where musicians play in the evenings and on fiestas. The day begins in El Jardín with the clanging of the many church bells in the town either telling you the time or calling you to mass. Little San Miguel has fifteen churches and six patron saints. The morning newspapers (Spanish and English) are being sold, and a vender with cart is there with sweet cakes and coffee for the early risers. You may have your shoes shined while watching the children in crisp uniforms and little backpacks pass through on their way to school. Many residents arrive to check out the blackboard for messages from friends, available rentals, or news of anything else that may be happening locally. Buses begin to line up for the daily excursions to sites of interest nearby, while other buses take the curious on tours to some of the interesting and eclectic houses of local residents and foreign retirees. These excursions are sponsored by a group in the foreign community that helps the local orphanage and biblioteca publica or public library with the money that is collected.El Jardín can be lively in the evenings and especially on weekends when the day's work is done. There are sellers of colorful balloons, spun pink cotton candy, cool drinks, ice cream, fresh roasted corn on the cob, and tortillas stuffed with a variety of tasty ingredients. The band is playing, and the young people dressed in their best clothes have begun the traditional paseo. Girls walk in one direction around the gazebo and the boys walk in the opposite direction. It is a special time for them to catch the eye of an admirer and to flirt a little, always under the watchful and protective eyes of parents and neighbors. Small children run in abandon around the park benches while overhead in the Laurel trees, nesting starlings compete with the band music with their loud squawks and flapping of wings. |
 Looming over all this gaiety across the street is the beacon of the town, the parish church La Parroquia. It is an impressive structure built of local sandstone and designed by an Indian mason with no formal training who simply drew designs of his dream in the sand. His was inspired by photos of European Gothic Cathedrals he saw on postcards. It is a large open welcoming church and an extension of El Jardín, with townspeople using its entry as a spot to gather and talk. It is also the destination of small groups of religious pilgrims. They come to the Parroquia's sanctuary from the surrounding area dressed in typical costumes, carrying either an image of the Virgin Mary or a chosen saint, and the men leading the procession carry tall poles tied with flurries of bright ribbons. Vehicles give leeway to the pilgrims as they walk up the cobbled stone streets singing with the accompaniment of trumpets and Indian flutes. |
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From El Jardín, it is possible to walk to any and all parts of the city easily. South of the Jardín on Calle Aldama is Parque Benito Juarez, and with its lush vegetation and bubbling fountain, it is a good place for the early morning jogger, stroller, or Tai Chi practitioner. At this time, the roosters are still crowing to the morning sun, gardeners pruning bushes, shopkeepers sweeping sidewalks in front of the stores, and there is always the faint smell of wood-stoked cooking fires in the air. On selected mornings, the park is enhanced with masses of colorful flowers and green garden plants as dozens of growers from small farms in the countryside use the park as a nursery to sell plants. Across the street from the park is the outdoor lavanderia, or washing place, fed by El Chorro, a natural spring. Where once the women may have used the waterfall and rocks by the stream they now use a row of cement tubs to clean the clothes. It is said that some of them have washing machines at home, but they much prefer the gossip and laughter of the women gathering at the fountain. |
| Walking aimlessly and exploring the side streets of San Miguel can be as interesting as arriving at the destination of any of the historical sites. At every turn, there seems to be something to catch the eye, from a quiet, cool courtyard filled with flowers seen through the opening of a large carved door that is slightly ajar, to a fantasy house built by a local merchant decorated with statues of real or imagined animals. There are shops selling glassware, decorative tin, wood furniture, paintings, Mexican silver jewelry, and embroidered clothing. There are shops with some quality Mexican antiques and tacky shops with wall-to- wall tee shirts, wall hangings with glow in the dark pictures of San Miguel landmarks, plastic toys and statues of saints to hang under a car's rear view mirror. However, even the non-shopper can appreciate the high degree of skill still practiced in Mexico in producing their traditional crafts. |
 A restful place for a light meal at noontime is in the courtyard of the Bellas Artes Institute which is located next to the Iglesia de la Concepción. When the Spanish ruled, it was the Royal Convent of the Concepción. The institute offers instruction in painting, music and dance in this lovely old cloister filled with trees and flowering plants. In a corner of the courtyard there is a small café, Las Muses, serving light meals and drinks. It is a real coup to be able to enjoy one's soup and sandwich plus murals by the famous Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros at the same time. |
 For a taste of the daily life of the community, a trip to the central market, El Mercado Ignacio Ramires, is a good place to begin. There is nothing touristy about the activity here. There are stalls with fruits and vegetables, sugars and spices, meat and poultry (alive and dead), kitchen utensils, pungent chilis large and small, bread, house plants, bird cages with singing birds, leather sandals, cowboy hats, tamales, baked goods, and tasty blended juice drinks called licuados. Surrounding the mercado are tables divided by colorful cloth separations selling clothes, inexpensive jewelry and painted pottery that are geared to the locals as well as the tourist. |
 If you enjoy bullfights, San Miguel has its Plaza de Toros Oriente. It is a simple country corrida where small boys fill the ring before the event begins, practicing their Veronicas and Maonoletes moves with homemade capes in imitation of famous matadors. Then comes the desfile de matadores, when brave, brilliantly costumed men who soon will face death in the afternoon march into the arena and pay their respects to the authorities. |
 The main thing to consider in San Miguel de Allende, in order to appreciate it thoroughly, is to adjust your inner clock to the more relaxed ticking of Mexican time. Rushing the day is for another time and place, and you wouldn't want to miss the revelations that seem to be around every corner. Give yourself a chance to absorb the atmosphere. What appeared on first view to be just another sleepy little Mexican village, as you will discover, is a captivating colonial Spanish Mexican town rich in history and traditions. |
| PHOTO CREDITS: Mary Ashcraft, David X. Manners, Mexican Government Tourism Office, Contributed courtesy of: LaBag Photo Gallery (Bullfight and People), Tommy Huynh |
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© 2003 ROMAR TRAVEL GUIDES
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