It's been two weeks since we arrived in San Miguel de Allende (SMA), and four days since we began our stay at Heather Hanley's marvelous condo in the heart of downtown, El Centro. In no time we developed the habit of retreating to the third-floor rooftop in the late afternoon to watch the waning daylight with a 360-degree view of the city. Here we are on the rooftop terrace, and below that is a shot of the courtyard of Heather's building.
Where to start in describing San Miguel? There are many websites that detail the town's central role in the Mexican revolution and talk about the various cultural influences here. Here, a summary from www.sanmiguelguide.com:"San Miguel de Allende, is located in the mountainous central region of Mexico, part of what is referred to as the "Bajio" of the state of Guanajuato. This "low" region in reality averages about 7000 feet, but is so called for being a relatively flat area ringed by mountains.
"Originally known as San Miguel El Grande was founded by a Franciscan monk named Juan de San Miguel in 1542. It was an important stop over on the Antigua Camino Real, part of the silver route from Zacatecas.
When the Mexican War of Independence began in the nearby town of Dolores (now known as Dolores Hidalgo) on September 16th, 1810 ... the rapidly growing revolutionary army
came to San Miguel El Grande. ... It was in San Miguel that General Ignacio Allende joined the army as Padre Miguel Hidalgo's chief lieutenant and led the army to several victories. Allende was not able to enjoy an independent Mexico, free from Spanish colonial oppression, as he was captured during a battle and beheaded. General Ignacio Allende is now a national hero, and San Miguel el Grande renamed itself "San Miguel de Allende" in 1826 in honor of his actions.
"As the mineral wealth waned, the many caravans ceased, and by 1900 San Miguel de Allende was in danger of dying out. Having been declared a national monument in 1926 (no neon signs, no new style buildings), the old Centro district still has the colonial style elegance of its wealthy past. In the 50's San Miguel became a destination known for both its beauty and for its natural hot springs. ... It was after World War II that San Miguel began to revive as a tourist attraction, as many GI's discovered that their education grants stretched further in Mexico at the US accredited art school, the Instituto Allende, founded in 1950.
"San Miguel de Allende is world famous for its mild climate, colonial architecture, and large expatriate population, which estimates number from 8,500 - 10,000. The majority are Americans, with a healthy percentage of Canadians, and smattering of Europeans and other nationalities. Many people have elected to retire here, as the large community of foreigners has brought about a number of conveniences that would normally not be available in a town of this size."Indeed, our felt experience of SMA so far has mostly to do with how this place, population about 62K, contrasts with the Mexican towns we know or are getting to know: tiny Mulege (population 3K) and Santa Rosalia (about 20K) and La Paz (about 500K), all in Baja California, and Zihuatanejo (about 60K), in Guerrero state.
In SMA are many things that we've never seen in other Mexican towns of this size or greater: a thriving tennis community and many courts; organic grocery stores and restaurants; classes in every possible art and craft, in language, in yoga, and more; art galleries and restaurants galore; concerts galore; a library with the largest collection of English-language titles in Mexico; great local transportation (you can easily live here without a car); and volunteer organizations (education, health, social services, etc.) that serve the natives of SMA and the area surrounding it.
SMA is not everybody's cup of tea -- too gringo for many, too European-looking for others. But we find ourselves appreciating the Mexican cultural elements -- the incredible colonial architecture and food and music and art -- that are refined and revered and preserved here more than in other areas where we've spent time. That said, the "regular, everyday Mexico" that we love is also here -- for example, Gary has found several puestos (food stands on the sidewalks or in the mercado) for terrific tacos and for carnitas (roasted pork). He wants you to know the tacos cost about 60 cents each :-)... Terri finished her first week of Spanish class -- 3 hours a day with private instructor Alicia -- and tomorrow begins her second week. She's getting into new territory, and it's harder but important to carry on. ... Gary met famed local photographer and author Robert de Gast and spent 2 hours of private photography tutoring with him. It's challenging to choose which photos to take and share here, because everywhere you look is a gorgeous building, gorgeous landscapes, interesting people doing interesting things. You'll continue to see more of Gary's photos on these blog pages.
The list of things we wish to do here hasn't gotten any shorter -- in fact, it continues to lengthen as we learn about more places to see and things to do. We're meeting fascinating people, and everyone has a story to tell about how they came to live here. A lot of those stories involve folks just falling in love with the look and feel of SMA.
Yesterday we rented an ATV, which is a common mode of transport on the narrow cobblestone streets here that are full of topes (speedbumps). For 6 hours we explored little callejones (narrow alleyways) in various colonias (neighborhoods) that we'd unlikely have had time to find on foot. Some curve steeply from El Centro up into the hills, and while we were up there, we went to the El Charro de Ingenio, the botanical gardens that feature a zillion types of cactus and yucca and other arid-landscape plants. Afterwards, we returned down to town and checked out the Fabrica de Aurora, a former cotton mill that's been transformed into a space full of art galleries, furniture stores, cafes, and gardens.
After turning in the ATV, we strolled through the Jardin, the park in front of the beautiful Parroquia catedral. The Jardin is always full of Mexicans and gringos relaxing and visiting, and yesterday there were mariachis playing and lots of vendors selling flowers for Valentine's Day. Today, we are headed to Parque Benito Juarez, the largest green space in SMA, where there is a plant sale (species from all over Mexico have been brought in this week) and an art exhibit. From there, we'll go over to the trailer park where we lived at the start of our visit here and where our rig is currently stored. We've been invited to a potluck where the matriarch of the Mexican family who owns the park is going to teach us how to make tamales, and one of the park residents is going to show how to make chiles rellenos (mild poblano chiles stuffed with cheese). Yum!
Soon, more from San Miguel.
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