AROUND TOWN

Meetings & Lectures

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

This week Lee Veal, current president of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Miguel, explores the history that led to the merger of the Unitarian and Universalist faiths in 1961 and what each brought to the other.

Individually, the two traditions have deep roots in the history of the US and, even though the two faiths have merged, many people often refer to the fellowship simply as the Unitarians, forgetting the other “U” completely. Veal explores why UUs should not forget their Universalist roots. A full-time resident of San Miguel, Veal has been a lay-leader in Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships for more than 30 years.

The UU Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30am at La Posada de la Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio 15. All are invited to attend the service and then join the UUs in the hotel restaurant for brunch.

Panel discussion of an independent US peace movement

Resurgence of an independent peace movement on a global scale is the topic of a Center for Global Justice panel discussion on Friday, March 28 at 10:30am in the Sala Quetzal of the Biblioteca Pública.

On February 15, 2003 over 10,000,000 people in most of the world’s capitals—including around 1,000 in San Miguel—descended into the streets to protest the then forthcoming war on Iraq. It was the largest demonstration in history and the first global one. The demonstration did not stop the war. But the failure of the war, and of the deceptions used to justify, it have vindicated the protest it mounted.

Many countries, especially in Europe, are witnessing a resurgence of the peace movement pointed to on that day four years ago. Many attribute its successful advance to its independent, nonpolitical character. This is especially true of the world’s only super-power. The warning against a “military-industrial complex” voiced in 1961 by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower in his farewell address has not been heeded. Dependence of most congressional districts on some element of the arms budget—greater than those of most nations combined—has made it almost impossible for members of Congress to vote against that budget, including the most peace-minded Democrats.

The aim of this event is to open discussion of the possibilities and merits of an independent peace movement in the US. The Center invites persons of all political viewpoints and parties to join in the debate. Panelists include Betsy Bowman and Bob Stone.

The Midday Rotary Club

On Tuesday, April 1, our guest speakers are Linda and Stephen Curran, co-founders of Literacy Amidst Amity, Inc. (LAAI), a recent start-up 501(c)(3) Massachusetts corporation that collaborates with its Mexican affiliate to promote literacy in San Miguel through four programs, which build libraries in public schools, offer English instruction to children, sponsor instructional seminars for teachers on current methodologies and provide small business consulting, emphasizing planning and cash flow analysis. First priorities for 2008 have been building Spanish libraries and establishing the English school.

Currently, most Mexican schools do not have libraries. LAAI’s Resource Center Library Program will establish full-service libraries in public schools in collaboration with the school, community and local organizations. The libraries will offer quality fiction, nonfiction and reference books in Spanish for children, adolescents, teachers and parents in Mexican primary and secondary public schools.

The teaching of English as a foreign language to local Mexican primary and secondary public school students features a multisensorial approach to teaching, instructional strategies within the context of patterned, predictable text and application of center-based learning. The tuition cost, subsidized by scholarships, will generate monies to purchase books for the public schools, supporting the Resource Center Library Program.

With more than 15 years of experience as a classroom teacher in inclusion settings, Mrs. Curran serves as the organization’s president. Her husband, the organization’s treasurer, has held numerous senior financial management positions for large, international public companies during his 30 years in business.

The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday meets every Tuesday at their new location, the Hotel Real de Minas at the intersection of Calles Ancha de San Antonio and Stirling Dickinson. Check-in time is 12–12:25pm 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. For more information, please go to www.rotarysma.org. 

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. Some players meet in the patio informally other days of the week.

About 10 players gather at Mama Mia, Umarán 8, on Wednesdays, 5–7pm. Assistant manager Martín opens the rooftop terraces so we can play chess like aristocrats. The restaurant has tournament-class sets, long inlaid tables, attentive waiters and spectacular views of churches, mountains and sunsets.

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.

Trips & Tours

Saturday Adventurers

On Saturday, March 29, the Adventurers’ first stop is Lothar Muller’s gallery and home. He has made concrete a thing of beauty, not only with dramatic rough walls, but also highly polished tables and countertops. The exhibits may startle, and the placement of his bathtub surely will! Don’t miss his rooftop cactus collection (one of the best) and the stupendous view.

Next stop is Steven and Kathy’s Dude Ranch (for lack of a better word). Their home is built of stone, as are all the other houses. Many of the houses have been converted to guesthouses, others to stables and tack rooms. They offer guided rides through real Mexican countryside to see ruins of old haciendas; some still plowed with oxen. A sixteenth-century chapel with fading frescoes on crumbling walls is just the setting for a modern wedding. Their home is a delight, a mix of old, modern and cowboy. Everyone ends up on the veranda, admiring a most magnificent view of the whole valley, while relaxing over cookies and cold drinks courtesy of Centro de Crecimiento.

Whatever you do, don’t forget your camera! The tour leaves from the Jardín, across from the Parroquia, at 10:30am.

Instituto Allende trip 

On Saturday, April 5, at 9am, Instituto Allende Tours leads a day-long field trip to nearby Atotonilco, Dolores Hidalgo and the city of Guanajuato. The sanctuary at Atotonilco is where rebellious priest Miguel Hidalgo adopted the likeness of the Virgin of Guadalupe as the inspirational banner during the first months of Mexico’s fight for independence. The church also showcases murals, sculpture and baroque art from the mid-eighteenth century.

Dolores Hidalgo is the center for Talavera-style ceramics. It was here that Miguel Hidalgo uttered El Grito, his famous and historical cry for freedom. We tour the central part of Dolores, including the town square that offers ice cream with unusual flavors such as avocado, shrimp and tequila.

Later the tour heads to Guanajuato, a charming city with great cultural traditions 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 such as the Plazas de la Paz and the main Jardín.

Instituto Allende tours are all-inclusive, including transportation, museum fees and restaurant-served meals. Native-speaking bilingual guides lead all tours and offer further insight within a secure environment. Attend a free preview lecture of the upcoming weekend’s field trip on Wednesday at 4pm at the Instituto. One-time San Miguel mayor Jaime Fernandez often leads tours. Cost for this trip is US$65. Reservations are required and fees must be paid in advance. Visa and MasterCard accepted. For more information, visit Instituto Allende, Ancha de San Antonio 20 or call 152-0226.

Volunteer Opportunities

Does your nonprofit need hands? Send your short requests to edit@atencionsanmiguel.org  with “Volunteer Opportunities” in the subject line.

Save A Mexican Mutt (SAMM) is a charitable organization that rescues, spays/neuters, provides veterinary care, socializes, and transports highly adoptable Mexican street dogs to the United States for adoption. We need volunteers to foster dogs for up to six weeks and to transport dogs to the United States. If you live here full or part-time and can provide a temporary loving home for one of the many dogs in line to be transported to their forever homes or are traveling to Texas, New Mexico or Colorado by car and can transport one or more dogs with you, please contact Kelly Karger at info@saveamexicanmutt.org  and see our website at www.saveamexicanmutt.org.  (Save A Mexican Mutt is a US 501c3 charitable organization. Donations to SAMM are tax deductible on your US federal tax return.)

Field volunteers needed for Patronato Pro Ninos

PPN, one of the oldest and most vibrant charities in SMA, is looking for a selective group of volunteers who would be willing to dedicate two or more mornings per month to go out to the outlying areas of the municipality of San Miguel de Allende to visit schools, talk about the work that PPN is doing to assist children with medical and dental problems, and to invite those children who need medical attention to the office of PPN for evaluation and assistance at little or no cost to the family. The volunteers ideally would either be reasonably fluent in Spanish and/or have a car/truck/SUV which can withstand the back (mostly unpaved) roads of the municipality. If interested, please contact Steve Livingston at steve@stevelivingston.com  with your name and contact information. 

Feed the Hungry looking for screening volunteers

Feed the Hungry is looking for volunteers to help with the preventive medical screening of our school children. We are looking for persons with one or more of the following skills: Bilingual persons, drivers with access to vehicle with high ground clearance willing to drive out to the ranchos, computer data input persons. This medical work is being conducted in cooperation with Patronato Pro Niños for the children our organizations serve. For more information please contact us on 152-2402 or contact@feedthehungrysma.org. 

Pro Musica

Pro Musica de San Miguel AC puts on more than 30 classical music concerts throughout the year in the city. We are looking for volunteers to fulfill various roles. These include helping out as ushers at St Paul’s church and other venues during concerts, selling tickets prior to the House and Garden Tour at the Biblioteca on Sunday mornings, helping to organize suppers in private homes after concerts for our musicians and patrons, and assisting with publicity, marketing and fundraising. We are a fun group of people to work with and the music is fantastic! Contact Pro Musica’s President, Michael Pearl, at 152-2688 or email him at mpearl5493@aol.com.