Around Town, Sep 08, 2006

Meetings & Lectures

Midday Rotary Club

On Tuesday, September 12, the guest speaker at the Midday Rotary Club will be Maria Williams, who will speak about the activities and background of ALMA. ALMA (Spanish for “soul”) provides a home for seniors (both Mexican and non-Mexican) regardless of their ability to pay. ALMA currently gives loving care, clothing and meals to over 30 people. ALMA provides a wonderful service to the San Miguel community and depends substantially on donations.

Maria Williams was born and raised in San Miguel. Her family dates back to the 1760s.  For 20 years, she lived in Pasadena, California. In 1971, she returned to San Miguel and became the founder of “Patronato Por Niños.” In addition, she worked with the Scholarship Committee of the Biblioteca Pública until 1999 and was in charge of the program for two years. She served for three years as commissioner for the Parks and Garden Program for the city of San Miguel.  For the past 10 years, she has been ALMA’s director of finance.

The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday meets every Tuesday at 12:30pm at the Villa Jacaranda Hotel, Aldama 53. Visiting Rotarians and others interested in Rotary are invited to attend this meeting. Lunch follows at 1:30pm in the hotel dining room. For more information, see www.rotarysma.org.

ANYÉL’s founder addresses Unitarians

Elsmarie Norby discusses her vision for ANYÉL, the nonprofit music education program for the children of San Miguel, at this week’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meeting. Now in its third year of operation, ANYÉL permits hundreds of children to share the experience of singing, dancing, playing rhythm instruments, and listening to music from all over the world. A class of young students will demonstrate what they have learned during the presentation.

Norby, the founder/director of ANYÉL, had extensive experience as a music educator and performer before moving to San Miguel nine years ago. She was surprised to discover that no music programs existed for children, so she took it on herself. Now, ANYÉL has more than 800 students in local school programs and a fledgling 100-voice choir. ANYÉL also trains teachers with the aim of spreading the program throughout Mexico.

The UU Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30am at La Posada de la Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio 15. Visitors are invited to attend the service and then join the UUs in the hotel restaurant for brunch. For more information, visit portalsanmiguel.com/lifestyle/unitarians/unitarians.html.

Classes & Workshops

Chi-Kung classes

Chi-Kung is one of the most important and effective practices in the management of vital energy. The discipline has been around since 1500 BC and forms part of the legacy of traditional Chinese medicine. Commonly, in China, to start the day people gather to practice Chi-Kung, much as one might jog or walk in the US to stay in shape.

To promote the teachings of Chi-Kung, the International School 7 Lotos was founded in Mexico in 1993. Classes are held in several parts of Mexico, and the practice is taught in Madrid, Vancouver, California, Switzerland, Guatemala and Israel, among other places.

At the Chi-Kung School 7 Lotos there are three levels of instruction: Wei-Dan, Nei-Dan and Shen-Dan. The first level, Wei-Dan, consists of different postures and movements, structured in seven consecutive sequences, and external supports such as vitality tonics, Doshas and meditation techniques that help promote concentration and self-awareness.

The postures are simple and appropriate for all ages (there is a Chi-Kung for children, also), and if practiced daily results are seen in a short time.

The other two levels are more advanced. Another form of Chi-Kung is taught in the Nei-Dan level, called Yu-Ren-Chuan. Shen-Dan works with even subtler energies. For most people, the first level is sufficient.

Now the teachings of Chi-Kung have come to San Miguel. The instructor, Aura de Wit, has been teaching at the 7 Lotos school since its beginning. She is also cofounder of Casa Amatlán and a corporal psychotherapist from the Escuela de Psicoterapia y Desarrollo  Transpersonal Ontogonía, A.C., in Mexico City.

The classes were begun at the Yellow Door spa on Stirling Dickinson and Ancha de San Antonio on Friday mornings from 10 to 11am. Beginning September 19, Chi-Kung instruction will take place at Mesones 14, Interior 2, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:30am. For more information, phone 152-4727 or 044(415)111-2809. The first class is free of charge.

Meditation instruction and practice

Shambhala of San Miguel de Allende invites you to a weekly public meditation every Wednesday from 7:30 to 8:30pm at the Meditation Center on Callejón Blanco 4, just off Quebrada.

Meditation practice can teach us to soften our hearts and appreciate the sacredness that is present in our daily lives.

At the heart of Shambhala is the view that a dignified life based on meditative understanding is accessible to everyone and can blossom into an enlightened society. Contemplative practices bring into our ordinary lives a natural sense of goodness, fearlessness and humor.

Meditation provides a way to work with the chaos or confusion in the world around and within us. The weekly program includes meditation instruction and is offered free of charge. For more information, call Margaretta at 120-0767 or Christina, 152-5814.

Pizarra Blanca Writers Workshop

On Tuesdays from 10am to 1pm, from October 3 through December 5, LifePath Retreat Center, Recreo 80, will host a 10-week writing workshop led by Kimberly Kinser, formerly of the Amherst Writers and Artists Workshop. The cost is 2000 pesos, and space is limited to 12 writers. Contact Kinser at 152-1024 or email kekinser@mac.com for details.

Commenting on her writing life, Kinser explains that she had been a writer when she was 7 or 8 years old.  Sometime during that period a well-meaning adult criticized her work, and she turned off that faucet of creativity.  In adulthood, she shrugged off the encouragement of career counselors, therapists and psychics telling her she should pick up the pen again.  It was too late.  She had majored in the sciences and had no idea how to begin.

In 2003, while working as a marketing director for a continuing care community, Kinser met Joan Marie Wood and through her learned about the Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA). Wood quoted AWA founder Pat Schneider, “A writer is someone who writes.”

When Kinser arrived in San Miguel, she found that there were no writing groups that offered everything that AWA had offered her, so, she took the AWA workshop leader training.  She started Pizarra Blanca Writers, named to remind us that we are all blank slates when we approach an empty page.

Tours & Excursions

Saturday Adventurers

Driving through a semi-arid landscape, the Adventurers will come upon stark white domes and rising turrets. Far from Morocco, this is Sakkarah, a hotel and fiesta salon for wedding receptions, 15th birthdays and other parties, where seeming acres of white marble lie ready to be danced upon.

Leaving this setting out of Arabian Nights we continue to a setting where a fairy godmother must have waved her wand to create the green oasis called “Las Hadas Madrinas,” home of Patsy Du Bois, well-known caterer and cooking teacher. Her home is a delight to the eye, and her tacos and other tidbits are mouth-watering.

The tour leaves the Jardín, across from the Parroquia, at 10:30am on Saturday, September 9.

Botanical Garden lecture series

Visit a nearby rancho for an excellent example of xeriscaping:  September 14 we have the special privilege of visiting Bob Haas’s ranch near Atotonilco. Bob will lead the tour and explain which plants are best for xeriscaping, which is landscaping designed specifically for areas susceptible to drought and where water conservation is practiced. As a special bonus, it will be possible to visit his wife’s folk art museum after the tour for anyone who wishes to do so. The tour starts at 10am, so please allow yourself time to drive there. Directions:  take road to Dolores Hidalgo approx. 13km. Go past the PEMEX station, turn left onto the road to Santuario Atotonilco. You will pass the hotel Viejo Atotonilco and a balneario (1.7km). Turn right onto the gravel road (look for a small sign indicating “Rancho Jaguar”). Go straight for 2.5 kilometers. On the left, you will see an unusual house called Rancho Cascabel. Turn left; Rancho Jaguar is the second entrance. Ring the bell if no one is at the entrance.

Please reserve a space by contacting Naomi at nzerriffi@yahoo.com. The cost is 70 pesos for members and 100 for nonmembers of El Charco del Ingenio. We want to thank Fen Taylor for her wonderful walk through the garden in August identifying trees.

Performances & Events

International potluck dinner at St. Paul’s

The kick-off potluck dinner takes place Sunday, September 10, at 6:30pm. The dinners will be held approximately every two months. You don’t have to be a member of St. Paul’s to come—everyone in town is welcome. 

Each person (or couple) contributes a dish to serve 8 to 10 people, takes turns at a couple of simple jobs, and contributes to a free-will offering to cover expenses. We usually finish by 9pm.

Pat Caballero and Molly Peterson, invite you to come Sunday, September 10, at 6:30pm. This first dinner will celebrate the cuisine of Italy. Our program will be a group sing-along of old-time hymns. Call Pat Caballero (152-7663) to make a reservation. We need to know how many to expect. Tell Pat what dish you are going to bring. Iced tea will be available, but if you want wine, bring it along with you.

Films & Videos

Shalom San Miguel film

On Monday, September 11, Shalom SMA presents the 1998 film Left Luggage, Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe’s first feature film that offers a touching look at the connected lives of two Jewish families. Set in Belgium in 1972, this Dutch film explores the emotional journey of Chaja Silberschmidt (Laura Fraser), daughter of Holocaust survivors, who goes to Antwerp to study philosophy and live a bohemian life. Her parents seem to her to be obsessed with the past. Her father (Maximilian Schell) spends his time digging all over Antwerp to find two large suitcases that he buried when he fled from the Nazis; they contain his violin, family silver and photographs. Meanwhile, her mother (Marianne Sagebrecht), in denial, compulsively weaves a blanket and makes pound cake. Since she’s in need of rent money, a family friend (Chaim Topol) finds Chaja a job as a nanny to five children in a Hasidic family, headed by Mrs. Kalman (Isabella Rossellini) As she begins a friendship with the devout Mrs. Kalman and her four year-old son Simcha, she is forced to re-evaluate her views on the Jewish faith. The movie is an affecting and clear-eyed look at Hasidic faith, which is so often glossed over and generalized in movies. Left Luggage is a moving film, aided immeasurably by Rossellini’s and Fraser’s outstanding performances.

The movie will be screened at 4:30pm in the TV room of the Hotel Quinta Loreto, located at Loreto 15. It is 1 hour and 40 minutes long and a discussion follows the film. A donation of 50 pesos is suggested.

Strauss’s Salome

Richard Strauss’s Salome, sung in German with English subtitles, is the featured video opera on Saturday, September 9, at 2:30pm in the Biblioteca Pública’s Teatro Santa Ana.   

Maria Ewing gives a command performance in this landmark production of Strauss’s one-act musical drama. The cast includes Michael Devlin, who is in strong voice as John the Baptist, and Kenneth Riegel as the heinous Herod the Tetrarch.

Edward Downes and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House bring out every thrilling aspect of the young Strauss’s still-disturbing score. The film runs 103 minutes.

There is no video opera next week, owing to the public holiday. Video operas resume September 23, with Swan Lake.

Volunteer Opportunities

Atención welcomes nonprofit organizations to submit requests for volunteers to be included in this section of Around Town. Please email your submission to edit@atencionsanmiguel.org.

CROSSWORD