AROUND TOWN

Meetings & Lectures

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

In a talk titled “Incidents of Travel in Zapatista Chiapas,” longtime San Miguel resident Betse Davies shares her experiences of recent visits to that predominantly indigenous-populated state in southwest Mexico at this week’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Meeting.


Davies has made two trips to Chiapas this year as a delegate of the Marin Interfaith Taskforce, which scheduled the trips to experience two important Zapatista events. One was an international roundtable in San Cristobal de las Casas featuring talks by representatives of rural struggle in India, South Korea, the US and Mexico. The other was the second meeting of the Pueblos Zapatista with the Pueblos of the world.

The talk will reflect the impression of those experiences and provide insight into the lives of the indigenous people and the different political forces at odds with one another, often in the same village.

UU Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30am at La Posada de la Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio 15, and welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation and gender identity. Visitors are invited to attend the service and then join the UUs in the hotel restaurant for brunch. For more information about Mexico’s only chartered UU Fellowship, visit portalsanmiguel.com/lifestyle/unitarians/unitarians.

Midday Rotary Club

On Tuesday, August 21, our guest speaker will be Dan Rodriguez, visiting Rotarian from the Jurupa Rotary Club of Redlands, California. Rodriguez will provide a vivid account of their club’s assistance to the community of Pass Christian, Mississippi, which was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The storm surge from Hurricane Katrina that hit Pass Christian was estimated at 30–(N)37 feet, leveling Pass Christian up to half a mile inland from the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. In 2006, much of the city remained empty and deserted.

The Rotary Clubs of District 5330 in the Riverside and San Bernardino Counties of California, created a group called ‘STARS’ (Service to American Rotarians) to identify and assist in projects that would benefit other Rotarians in need. Rodriguez, through his club and other clubs in STARS, traveled to Pass Christian to assist in community reconstruction projects.

Rodriguez is the general manager of the Jurupa Recreation and Park District in Riverside County, former community services administrator for Redlands and former superintendent of parks and administrator for San Bernardino, California. He was invited to speak by Midday Rotarian Duane Eriksmoen.

The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday meets every Tuesday at the Villa Jacaranda Hotel, Aldama 53, Centro. Check-in time is 12–(N)12:25 and the meeting starts promptly at 12:30. Visiting Rotarians and others interested in Rotary are invited to attend this meeting. Rotary is an organization of business and professional persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Lunch follows at 1:30pm in the hotel dining room. For more information, please go to the website: rotarysma.org.

Self-Sustain, Permaculture Style lecture

What is rainwater harvesting and why is it important?

Water is our most precious resource and something that most of us take for granted. We are now increasingly aware of its importance and its limited supply, especially in such an arid place as San Miguel. Rainwater harvesting is collecting water from surfaces on which rain falls, and subsequently storing this water for later use. Normally water is collected from the roofs of building and stored in rainwater tanks. Water also can be collected in dams from rain falling on the ground and producing runoff. Either way, the water collected is precious. In San Miguel, we can collect rainwater from roofs of buildings. All that is necessary to capture this water is to direct the flow from roof gutters to rainwater storage tanks or directly to cisterns. It is possible to replace all or at least a substantial portion of your freshwater requirements by capturing and storing rainwater from your roof. Being largely self-sufficient in water supply is possible for a majority of us. Find out more about this precious resource and what we can do in San Miguel at 5pm on Friday, August 24, in the Sala Queztal of the Biblioteca Pública.

LifePath talk with Ishaya Monkks

Friday, August 24 at 4pm, LifePath Retreat Center hosts a free, one-hour talk entitled “Finding Inner Peace,” presented by the Ishaya Monks of San Miguel. The Ishayas teach a series of powerful meditation techniques, called Ascension, that lead you to experience your own inner source of peace, joy and unconditional love. The Ascension workshop immediately follows the talk Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. For details please call the SMA Ishayas at 152-2531, or email sma_ishayas@yahoo.com. 

Classes & Workshops

La Cocina cooking classes

Tuesday, August 21 from 4–(N)7pm is devoted to Mexican food—(M)traditional dishes, as well as a few with a modern twist. The menu includes roasted tomatillo salsa, chile pasilla salsa with skirt steak, grilled vegetable and goat cheese chile rellenos, chayote salad and raspberry chipotle brownies.

On Wednesday, August 22, discover “The Art of Chiles Rellenos.” This popular class, taught by Mercedes Arteaga, owner of La Bugambilia restaurant, highlights the fundamentals of working with chiles. Bugambilia’s famed chiles en nogada, the national dish of Mexico, are on the menu, as well as chile poblano soup, traditional cheese chile rellenos and stuffed ancho chiles. The cooking portion is followed by a small feast, so come with a big appetite. The class runs from 2–(N)5pm and costs US$55 per person.

Thursday, August 23 from 4–(N)7pm is mole class. After snacking on freshly made sopes con tinga, you’ll learn the secrets of making homemade mole, one of Mexico’s most festive dishes. The menu features black mole cheese enchiladas, green mole with chicken, cactus salad, tres leches cake and café de olla.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are not just a cooking class, but a fun evening out with a dinner and margaritas. The cost is US$45 per person. For more information and registration, stop by El Buen Café, Jesus 23, between 9am and 4pm or go to www.mexicocooks.com .

The Powerful Messages of the Body

It is possible that some of the pains in your body are not due to physical problems but those related to emotional hang-ups, stress, worries or other metaphysical issues. Could that shoulder pain be connected to guilt or responsibility? We often use the expression, “I feel like I am carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.” Left shoulder complaints refer specifically to the emotions of love and sentimentality. Right shoulder complaints point to the challenges in the areas of finance, logic and analysis. Each symptom and illness is telling you something. When you drop the notion that you are a victim of circumstance and embrace your role in your healing process, you can overcome any symptom, any disease and any challenge. In the seminar, The Powerful Messages of the Body, the energetic origin of illness, disease, accidents and coincidences will be explored.

Dr. Jim Bourque Starr, chiropractor, author and professional speaker, shares his experiences and knowledge on this subject in two 4-hour workshops, in English on Saturday, August 18, and in Spanish on Sunday, August 19. Both days are from 10am to 2:30pm and cost 500 pesos. For questions, information and reservations, please call his office in the Dharma Holistic and Chiropractic Center at 152-1761.

Writing workshop in Fiction and Memoir

San Miguel Workshops presents two 5-day writing workshops in Fiction and Memoir, August 20–(N)24. The instructor for the Fiction Workshop is Kaylie Jones, daughter of novelist James Jones. She is the author of five novels including A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries, which was made into a Merchant Ivory Film directed by James Ivory and starring Kris Kristofferson and the critically acclaimed novel, Speak Now. Jones chairs the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, which awards US$10,000 yearly to an unpublished first novel.

Teaching the Memoir Workshop is Laura Fraser, the author of the travel memoir An Italian Affair, which was a New York Times bestseller and translated into five languages. She is a contributing editor to More magazine, and writes for numerous magazines. Laura has taught writing at the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, Aspen Summer Words and other venues.

Students in the workshop will also receive a private critique with their instructor. Space is limited to 10 students. For more information go to www.sanmiguelworkshops.com.

Creating Your Own Website

Would you like to build your own website even if you have no experience in doing so? The San Miguel Macintosh Users Group meets this month at 3pm on Tuesday, August 21, in the Biblioteca’s Sala Quetzal to explore iWeb, Apple's intuitive web application found in the iLife set of applications.

Do you have a small business you want to promote? A new grandchild you want to brag about? Have you taken a trip lately and want to share photos and comments? You can do all that and more with your own site. Nonnie Marketset demonstrates how to design and build a website by creating one for our Mac Users Group on the spot that integrates member feedback. This should be a fun, interactive session for Mac users of all levels. If you have an article, picture or anything else you want posted on the site, please bring them on a flash drive or CD.

The San Miguel Mac Users Group meets monthly in a comfortable learning environment to expand our skills, build confidence and explore the creative possibilities of our Mac computers.

Tours & Excursions

Instituto Allende trip to nearby towns

On Saturday, August 25, at 9am, Instituto Allende Tours hosts a day-long field trip to nearby Guanajuato, Atotonilco and Dolores Hidalgo.

The sanctuary of Atotonilco, where rebel priest Michael Hidalgo latched onto the likeness of the Virgin of Guadalupe that became the freedom flag during the initial moments of Mexico’s independence, showcases murals, sculpture and baroque art from the mid-eighteenth century. The next stop is Dolores Hidalgo, a center for Talavera style ceramics. The main square, from which Hidalgo cried “El Grito” on September 15, 1810, offers unique flavored ice creams, with unusual ones such as avocado, shrimp and tequila, along with the more traditional types.

Later the tour heads to the capital city of Guanajuato, a charming city with great cultural tradition and home of the University of Guanajuato. Famed painter Diego Rivera’s home is on the bill, along with an easy-going walking tour of other sites of interest like the Plazas de la Paz and the main Jardín.

Guanajuato was one of the wealthiest cities in the world during the peak of silver mining. On the tour, special attention will be given to the preserved building and the architecture of the colonial period in residential areas.

Other points of interest are the university and the stately governmental buildings in Centro and a number of museums. Cost for the all-inclusive trip is US$55 (transportation, museum fees, restaurant-served meal, etc.).

All tours are led by native-speaking, bilingual guides within a secure environment. Reservations are a must and fees must be paid in advance. Visa and MasterCard accepted. A free lecture is given each Wednesday at 4pm for the weekend’s upcoming field trip. For more information, visit or call 152-0226.

Botanical Garden tour

Every Tuesday morning discover the marvels of cacti and other Mexican plants as well as the history of El Charco with Mario Mendoza, vice-director of the garden. The tour includes a visit to the nursery which contains many rare species and is not usually open to the public.

Entrance fee is 30 pesos (waived for members) and the tour is 50 pesos. All proceeds benefit the garden. The tour is in English and starts at the main entrance at 9am and lasts about two hours. Bring a hat and water. Space is limited, so reserve by calling 154-8838 or email charcodelingenio@gmail.com.

In addition, Richard Cretcher, author of the book Flores Silvestres, a pocket guide to the wildflowers of San Miguel, will be offering walks in the botanical garden and Parque Landeta using this book to identify the multitude of gorgeous flowers blooming at this time of year on August 22 and September 12 and 26. Walks will start at 9:30am and last about two hours. Cost is 70 pesos for members and 100 for non-members of El Charco. All proceeds will go to the botanical garden.

Please reserve a space by emailing nzerriffi@yahoo.com  specifying the day you would like to attend.

Saturday Adventurers

The Adventurers are going to Ana Theil's glass foundry to see what she does with all the old rusty pieces and parts she collects. If it’s old, bent, twisted or burnt, she uses it in her glass sculptures. Ana will explain the process which turns molten glass and her collected junk into a work of art. A drive follows through the beautiful flower-filled countryside to the well preserved Puerta de Sosa, a 17th century hacienda. Frescoes are still visible on the wall of the central patio and an old chapel nearby. The thick stone walls and buttresses of the huge granary are representative of this period. It is rumored that the owner is selling off land that will be used for an elegant housing project. Take your cameras to record the past! This tour leaves from inside the Jardin, across from the Parroquia, at 10:30am.

Performances & Events

Global Justice screening Tibetan documentary

This week’s selection for the Center for Global Justice Summer Film Series is Tibet—(M)Cry of the Snow Lion, a feature-length documentary that chronicles the struggle of a beleaguered country for survival in the face of China’s determination to destroy its culture and identity.

Filmed during nine journeys throughout Tibet, India and Nepal, Cry of the Snow Lion brings audiences to the long-forbidden “rooftop of the world” with an unprecedented richness of imagery, from rarely seen rituals of remote monasteries to horse races with Khamba warriors, from brothels and slums in the holy city of Lhasa to magnificent Himalayan peaks still traveled by nomadic yak caravans. The dark secrets of Tibet’s recent past are powerfully revealed through personal stories and interviews, and a collection of undercover and archival images never before assembled in one film. The New York Times calls it “impeccably made…a more concise and affecting summation of the Tibetan crisis would be hard to imagine.”

The film will be screened in the Teatro Santa Ana at 3pm on Thursday, August 23. Admission is 50 pesos.

Volunteer Opportunities


Volunteering at the Biblioteca

If you would like to volunteer to assist in any of the following departments, please see Elia in the Sala Infantil, Monday-Friday, 4–(N)5pm, or send an email to volunteers@bibliotecasma.com  and Judy Boston will get back to you. The departments with the most need are La Tienda, the English Book Committee (which needs shelf readers at the moment), English classes and conversation with students, the computer room, the Sala Infantil with literacy programs and painting, administration, the Café, the Sunday House and Garden Tour and Atencíon. A minimum commitment of three months is requested for most of these positions.

See you in the funny papers

Mark Saunders, creator of Atención’s “Más o Menos” cartoon, invites suggestions from readers for funny material about living in San Miguel that would lend itself to a cartoon. Selected ideas will be drawn by the cartoonist, and authors will be given credit as well as a signed copy of their cartoon. Please send your “expat” cartoon ideas to edit@atencionsanmiguel.org