AROUND TOWN


Meetings & Lectures

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Meeting

Did you know that “sloppy” writing reveals more creativity and intelligence than “pretty” writing? It tells of a focus on leadership, uniqueness and creativity. Consultant/therapist Colin Hanlen discusses how your writing reveals much about your physical, mental and spiritual health at this Sunday’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Meeting.

According to Hanlen, handwriting analysis, or graphology, is one of the best tools for understanding and developing compatibility between anyone. It can help teachers, employers and health professionals better understand their students, employees, clients and patients. It is a respected science in Europe and nearly every job résumé must include a handwritten letter.

Hanlen has been using and teaching graphology for more than 25 years in his profession and is the author of Handwriting Analysis Simplified.

The 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.

Attorney speaks on Mexican/US “folk law”

What are the legal “myths” that people swear are absolutely true in Mexico, but are actually absolutely false? According to attorney David Barrow, they are numerous and widespread. For example, one will sometimes hear, “Contracts written in English are not legal in Mexico.” Or, “You must obtain a Mexican will within six months of purchasing a home here, or the sale isn’t final.” Or, “Your US will won’t be honored in a Mexican court and the same goes for a will written in Mexico in relationship to US courts.” 

Which of the above statements are true? None—they represent a wealth of misinformation Barrow terms “folk law.” According to Barrow, who specializes in international law, many people are not aware that Mexico and the US are bound by international accords in which each honors the other’s legal contracts and processes.

On May 2, at 5:30pm in the Biblioteca Publica’s Sala Quetzal, Barrow will address this issue and others relating to international law, including estate planning, assets protection, real property transactions and personal finance. There is no charge, although donations to the Biblioteca Publica are encouraged. Barrow has 25 years of experience in international law. He can be reached at 154-8975 or at smalawyer@gmail.com. 

Classes & Workshops

Chess workshops

Free chess workshops for adults meet Mondays 5–6:30pm in the central patio of the Biblioteca Pública. The Biblioteca has good chess sets, but bring your own if you like. More than a dozen players occupy the north portal of the patio each week.

About 10 players gather at Mama Mia, Umarán 8, on Wednesdays, 5–7pm. The restaurant has tournament-class sets, long inlaid tables, attentive waiters and spectacular views of churches, mountains and sunsets from the rooftop terraces.

Adults also play chess at Casa de la Cultura on Chorro, 10am–2pm on Saturdays.

The view is extraordinary and you’ll know you’ve earned it after you climb the last switchback on the road to the top of the hill. The meeting of April 19 was moved forward to April 26 because of Literary Week activities at the Casa last week.

Feldenkrais Embodiment Therapy talk: Stop suffering needlessly!

You can rediscover the pleasure of your body through gentle Feldenkrais movements and hands-on bodywork. Richard Adelman will be presenting an introductory lecture-demonstration on Feldenkrais Embodiment Therapy this coming Monday, April 28, at 7pm at LifePath Center (Recreo 80), 50 pesos. In this event you will have to opportunity to experience both doing Feldenkrais movements and observing or receiving a hands-on session.

In the words of San Miguel meditation teacher Patricia Feldman de Gonzales, “Richard’s multitude of skills can help anyone feel better in their body. He has given me practical guidance on walking, meditating and sitting at the computer that I use daily. His techniques for relaxation leave me ready for the next chapter of my life. He can help you heal what ails you as well as reset and renew the capacity for the body to feel pleasure.” 

The therapy is a creative synthesis of the Feldenkrais Method, somatic psychology and Pilates. Richard Adelman has an M. A. in psychology and nearly 40 years’ experience in body awareness studies. The introductory lecture-demonstration will give you a preview of the benefits you could receive in his private sessions, which will be offered at LifePath from Monday, April 28 to Saturday, May 3. He may be reached at 044 (415) 114-3069, richardadelman@gmail.com,  or www.lifepathretreats.com.  

Eva Hunter’s Style Workshop for Prose

Award-winning author, editor and writing coach Eva Hunter offers the eight-session “Style Workshop for Prose” from May 6 through May 30. The class, which costs US$295 or peso equivalent, meets Tuesdays and Fridays, 9am–noon.

In this workshop, which is appropriate for both beginning and experienced writers, Hunter’s emphasis is on the craft of writing—those elements that separate the “wannabe” writer from the professionally published writer. How to organize the piece, how to pass an editor or agent’s “five-second test,” how to make one’s writing vibrant and relevant are essential elements in the workshop, which is structured for both fiction and nonfiction. Participants may come with nothing more than an idea about what they would like to write, or with work in progress. A primary emphasis of the course is the technique of producing polished writing.

Hunter’s work has been published throughout the US and Mexico. She is former creative writing faculty at Portland State University and has taught extensively in various international writing conventions and schools. Her latest book is Lord of the Dolls: Voyage In Xochimilco. For more information, call 152-6378 or email: evamhunter@gmail.com. 



Tours & Excursions

Saturday Adventure Tours

The Adventurers will see a really big home today, across from the Chorro (the town’s original springs) and above Parque Juárez. An eight-bedroom, gorgeously furnished home with huge salas, there are miles of verandas to wander on or sink into a deep chair and read a book. Down on another level, a Troje sits amid acres of green lawn. This typical home brought up from Pátzcuaro is put together with wooden pegs, but has now undergone modernization with added kitchen and baths. There are so many nooks and crannies to get lost in on this piece of property, be careful you don’t get left behind on our jaunt to the first class papier-mâché factory of Pedro Hernandez to learn how all those real-looking, and “good enough to eat” fruits and pan dulces are made. We are shown how newspaper, rolls of toilet paper, wrapping paper, a bit of flour, water and glue all “mushed” together forms the base of all objects. This mush is put into the form of the object to be made, and all forms are designed and made there. After hangin
g to dry, it’s ready for the first coat of paint. After drying, it receives a coat of lacquer, followed by shellac. Then talented senoritas add the details—seeds on the watermelon or kernels on the corn. In their showroom, you will be tempted to buy strings of red chilis or a cavorting clown, all at factory prices! Good idea to bring your camera!

This tour leaves from inside the Jardín, across from the Parroquia, at 10:30am.

Botanical Garden Tour

Every Tuesday morning discover the marvels of cacti and other Mexican plants as well as the history of El Charco through a guided tour in English. Entrance fee is 30 pesos (waived for members) and the tour is 50 pesos. All proceeds benefit the garden. The tour starts at the main entrance at 9am and lasts about 2.5 hours. Bring a hat and water. Space is limited, so reserve by calling 154-8838 or email charcodelingenio@gmail.com. 

Audubon Sightings
By Walter L. Meagher

Birds on the drying presa

Ducks and waders come to San Miguel in advance of the cold and freezing temperatures that shut down their food supplies in the upper Midwest and the Canadian Prairie Provinces.

They stay on the Presa las Colonias until the drought of winter evaporates the pond on which they have displayed their beauty for six to seven months. Presa las Colonias is the name of the dam—you might call it a small lake; as it dries it looks more and more like a pond—in El Charco del Ingenio botanical garden.

The waders (Avocets and Black-necked Stilts, ballerinas of the pond) stalk prey with heads bent, stirring water with their bills, disturbing the life of aquatic invertebrates.

The black-and-white plumage of the stilt makes it appear dressed for dinner at the UN more than for hunting crustaceans. These waders feed where the presa is deepest and their numbers diminish daily, a water clock running out.

Where the water is most shallow, by the stone wall of the old road to Xichu, Mexican Ducks are sitting on a ‘sand’ bar. Year-round residents, they are untroubled by the drying of the presa. Closer to the middle of the presa are other dabblers, the Northern Shoveler and both green- and blue-winged teals with bodies built for upending in the search for aquatic vegetation. Each kind gives a measure to water depth; dabblers feed where it is shallower than where divers swim. Diving ducks, such as the Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Duck, are built for swimming long distances underwater to hunt for small fish. As the presa dries, they get ready to depart, but will return next autumn.