AROUND TOWN

Meeting & Lectures

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meeting


San Miguel attorney David Barrow discusses “The Spiritual Roots of Law” at this week’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meeting.

Although many people think of law as something disconnected from themselves, perhaps even as arbitrary “rules” that must be obeyed on pain of punishment, in reality a country’s laws are the codified expression of the things that its culture values. How we believe we should treat each other, what is fair and what is not, and our beliefs about human worth and happiness are the foundations of “law,” and this charge to uphold a culture’s values comes directly from spirituality and religion. The first “law-givers” were priests, says Barrow, and lawyers and judges today use the symbols of religion in dispensing justice. In England, for example, barristers wear robes whose design derives from the robes of the monks of the Middle Ages, even to the point of having a hooded pocket on the back of the barrister’s gown similar to that on the monk’s gown. This was the place where money could be discreetly rendered as payment for spiritual services. Today, sitting judges in the United States and other countries whose system of law derived from English Common Law still wear the “robes” of the clergy.

Barrow has been a practicing attorney for 27 years and a full-time San Miguel resident for three years. He is one of a handful of attorneys licensed to practice in both Mexico and the United States. His specialty is international law and the bulk of his practice involves dispensing legal advice on all matters of interest to US citizens living in Mexico. 

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.

Midday Rotary Club 

On Tuesday, June 3, our guest speaker Hector Ulloa presents “A Brief History of San Miguel, from Cossio del Pomar to the Present.”

San Miguel was not always the tourist haven it is today. Until the late twenties, it was actually in ruins, struggling to survive the aftermath of the Revolution and the Cristero War. However, in 1927, a visionary man took the first step in turning things around for this magic little town.

Hector Ulloa is a journalist and teacher. He was the first Mexican editor of Atención in the late nineties. He has been lecturing on Mexican culture, history and politics for over 15 years. He is currently Executive Director of Instituto Allende, the art and Spanish school founded by the very same people who helped turn San Miguel into the booming town it is today.

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 the website 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.

Players also gather at Mama Mia, Umarán 8, on Wednesdays, 5–7pm. The rooftop terraces offer spectacular views of churches, mountains and sunsets.

Chess players also enjoy magnificent vistas at Casa de la Cultura on Chorro, Saturdays, 10am–2pm. You’ll know you’ve earned the view after you climb the last switchback on the road to the top of the hill.





Tours & Excursions

Instituto Allende hosts trip to Guanajuato

Instituto Allende Tours heads towards the colonial city of Guanajuato, the state capital, on Saturday, June 7, departing at 9am. About an hour west of San Miguel, Guanajuato is an astonishing eye opener. Its narrow streets wind their way between flower-bedecked plazas and give way to unexpected balconies, bridges and red-tiled roofs that lie level with the street above. Few places appear more exotic.

Guanajuato both eludes and inspires description. Travelers are reminded of the hill towns of Italy and jewels of places in southern Spain. The town boasts a peculiar combination of unrivaled Mexican and European qualities. 

Guanajuato was once Mexico’s second largest city and one of the world’s wealthiest cities due to local silver mining. Opulent structures have become left behind as art relics. It’s a somewhat flamboyant city, a maze of plazas, byways, dramatic tunnels and picturesque streets.

The city’s been deemed a World Heritage site by the United Nations. During this particular outing, special attention will be given to the preserved architecture of the colonial period in residential areas. Its underground tunnel system enables traffic to move beneath the busy city to relieve congestion. Riding beneath the busy streets makes for a unique experience. Time will be allotted for strolling and shopping in the city’s center.

Points of interest that will be visited are: The university and the stately governmental buildings; the Iconographic Museum of El Quixote which showcases a unique international collection of sculpture, paintings and graphics; and the home of native son and famous painter Diego Rivera that has been converted to a museum. Cost is US$65, all-inclusive (transportation, all fees, a restaurant-served meal, snacks, etc.). 

A free lecture at Instituto on Wednesday, June 4, at 4pm previews this trip. Bilingual, native-speaking guides lead all tours and offer rare insight in a secure environment. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Reservations are a must. For more information call Instituto Allende, Ancha de San Antonio 20, 152-0226.

Saturday Adventure Tours

The Adventurers will learn how to make papier-mâché from the export-quality factory of Pedro Hernandez. We will be shown how newspaper, toilet paper and wrapping paper, torn to bits and mixed with flour, water and glue, form the base for all the objects they make, such as those luscious-looking fruits, the edible-looking “pan dulces,” the cavorting clowns and strings of brilliant chilis. All the molds of various objects are designed and made at the factory. After showing us how mush in a mold evolves to a finished, realistically painted object, we go to the showroom, where there are barrels of yellow corn, red radishes, shiny red apples, ready-to-eat bananas and doughnuts you would swear were edible.

Then, a short ride brings us to ex-hacienda “La Landeta,” built in the sixteenth century for the Count of Canal, the first Spanish governor of this area. Built by Otomí laborers, the façade features artistic stonework, and the walkways are embellished with inlaid mosaics in flower designs (and even a scorpion). We will see the original chapel with its partially visible old frescos and the colonial granary, which is now used for religious retreats and elaborate wedding receptions.

This tour leaves from inside the Jardín, across from the Parroquia, at 10:30am. Don’t forget your camera!



Volunteer Opportunities

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

If you would like to volunteer with a local organization, check our website or the May 9 issue for a full list of positions with the Biblioteca Pública (bibliotecasma.com ), Hospice San Miguel (154-4287 or markb@hospicesma.org ), Patronato Pro Niños (steve@stevelivingston.com ), Save a Mexican Mutt (info@saveamexicanmutt.org or www.saveamexicanmutt.org ), Feed the Hungry (152-2402 or  contact@feedthehungrysma.org ) or Pro Musica (152-2688 or mpearl5493@aol.com ).