AROUND TOWN

Meetings & Lectures

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 

At this week’s meeting, philosopher Cliff DuRand takes an iconoclastic look at the mythology surrounding Thanksgiving. In “The Thanksgiving Myth,” he reflects on the cultural meaning of this unique US national holiday and the checkered history it conveys and conceals. He argues that the values of family and brotherhood it expresses are part of the national identity that conceals a very different historical reality whose legacy we are still striving to overcome.


For 40 years, Dr. DuRand taught social philosophy at Morgan State University in Baltimore, an historically Black school. After retiring from paid employment, he and his wife moved to San Miguel, where for the last four years he has volunteered as a research associate at the Center for Global Justice.

The UU Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. 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.

Midday Rotary Club

The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday meets every Tuesday at 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. Visit www.rotarysma.org  for more information.

Lions Club International

On Thursday, December 4, Dr. Jose Valencia Rodriquez, a specialist in gerontology and the head of the new Cielito Lindo assisted living and retirement community at Los Labradores, describes a new option in San Miguel for older parents and perhaps individual future needs.

Lions Club International meets every first and third Thursday at Quinta Loreto Restaurant, Loreto 15. Parking is available. Check-in time is 12:30pm and the meeting starts at 1pm. For more information, contact Norma Robinson at 120-0726.

Bonsai presentation at El Charco 

Dan-Horia Chinda has taught martial arts around the world since the sixties and has a doctorate in architecture and environmental design. He will present the history, style and general principles of bonsai using a slide show which includes examples of trees from the bonsai masters and nurseries in Japan. The presentation is November 21, 10am, at the botanical garden Bóveda. Reserve space at nzerriffi@yahoo.com ; members are 70 pesos and nonmembers 100 pesos.

Dan-Horia starts weekly bonsai classes in January, limited to 10 people. More details will be available at the presentation or email dan-horia@atelierdhc.com.  Chinda’s website is http://atelierdhc.com/chindadojo/master/master.htm.  

Classes & Workshops

Managing anxiety, fear and stress

Years ago, Krishna suggested to a troubled Arjuna to act, without being attached to the fruits of his actions, as a way to relieve his worries. Later, the Buddha proclaimed that the whole world is burning with the fire of sorrow, pain, grief and despair, and pointed toward awareness as the “extinguisher.” Even later, Jesus invited his disciples not to worry about what to wear, eat or drink, suggesting they live stress-free, like the lilies of the field.

However, they did not have to face the financial turmoil we face. None of them had to deal with mortgages, devaluations or global warming. Moreover, they were not constantly bombarded with information, or “had” to be wired 24/7. In short, they lived less stressful times than we do, right? They only had to worry about plagues, starvation and the Roman Legions.

Are such teachings applicable to our current predicaments? Is it possible to triumph over anxiety, fear and stress? Are only enlightened beings spared from such mundane concerns? Have we learned something new in the last 2,000 years? What can modern psychotherapy and neurology teach us? Is there any connection between such ancient teaching and our reality?

It might be impossible to eliminate anxiety, fear and stress entirely, since they are an inherent part of being alive. Some try to avoid them either by anesthetizing themselves with alcohol, drugs, work, television, etc., or by creating a wall around themselves. Unfortunately, these strategies tend to cut them off living altogether.

One does not have to escape or avoid anxiety, fear and stress, but face them and embrace life in its fullness, which includes difficulties, pain, sorrow, happiness, bliss and love.

But how are we to do that? No simple answers can be given, but some hints can be suggested: By learning to live here and now, stopping catastrophic thinking, and by becoming aware of our thoughts, our posture, our eating and breathing habits, all of which impact the way we feel and experience life. Sergio Rodríguez-Castillo discusses these and other ways to manage anxiety, fear and stress in his lecture on Wednesday, November 26, at 3pm in Sala Quetzal at the Biblioteca Pública, Insurgentes 25. Admission is 50 pesos. The eight-week program to follow begins Thursday, December 4, 11am–12:30pm at LifePath Center, Recreo 80.

By combining the ancient method of mindfulness meditation with the findings of modern science, we will provide tools to deal with stress and live a more fulfilling life.

Blues guitar

Del Rey and Steve James conduct a two-part workshop on American roots and blues fingerstyle guitar, focusing on Memphis Minnie, Frank Stokes, Big Bill Broonzy and Sam McGee.

Rey and James demonstrate some of the techniques of these innovators, laced with bits of blues lore and history. They’ll show you where the styles came from and how they influenced the music that followed. Then they’ll break it all down into manageable points you can take home and practice. Bring along your guitar, ukulele or mandolin.

Rey and James have conducted clinics at the Port Townsend Blues Festival, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Augusta Heritage Festival and Fur Peace Guitar Camp. 

The workshop costs 500 pesos, or 600 with admission to Friday night’s El Viejo Topo show. 

Chi-Kung and Tai-Chi Chuan at Los Frailes

Grandmaster Dr. Dan-Horia Chinda offers weekly workshops about “Mind, Body and Spirit Harmony through Chi-Kung and Tai-Chi Chuan” for all the neighbors in Los Frailes. He discusses basic issues, from theoretical to practical, benefits of practicing, implications in daily life and the awareness offered by diligent practice.

Workshops focus on simple Chi-Kung (energy cultivation) exercises which improve health and personal healing power, and move to Tai-Chi Chuan basics, an ancient approach to coordination, balance and flexibility.

The weekly workshops meet on Sundays at 10:30am at Plaza de Azulejo, around the big fountain. Sessions are about 45 minutes and everybody is welcome with no age limitation. They’re free but donations will be used for Los Frailes maintenance.

Hatha Yoga classes

Hatha Yoga strengthens the body, promotes balance and cultivates mindfulness. Beginners meet Mondays and Wednesdays, 9–10:30am; evening classes for all levels are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 6–7:30pm at Hotel Casa Bonita, Cardo 9. Contact Joanna at 152-1271 or joannafrancisdechavz@yahoo.com. 

Tours & Excursions

Saturday Adventure Tours

Don’t miss this seldom-visited mushroom farm. Learn the fascinating and enlightening life of the mushroom, from their lowly birth in sterilized compost to the most elegant dining table. We will see the machine which seeds the mushroom sperm, attached to a grain of wheat, into the compost. The machine disgorges a huge square of seeded compost onto plastic which is then dexterously wrapped and sealed by a crew of female workers. These large packets are then taken to the growing rooms where they are put on beds of wire similiar to bunk beds. In this humidity- and heat-controlled room, when the mushrooms begin sprouting, the plastic is split open and in only a few days the first crop is ready for picking. Try a fresh-picked mushroom; remember it has been sterilized. With a few sanitary precautions, we are allowed into the cannery to see the washing, sorting and canning. With a bit of luck, we will be invited to sample the various flavors of canned mushrooms. Those in the Teriyaki sauce are one of the favorites. Cameras? Yes! Yes!

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

Botanical Garden tour

El Charco del Ingenio (Jardín Botánico) offers two-hour tours on Tuesdays at 10am sharp. Bring a hat, water and good walking shoes. Fees are 50 pesos for members and 80 pesos for nonmembers. Private tours are 150 pesos per person (minimum five). 

The easiest way to Jardín Botánico is by taxi. Staff will call a taxi for the return trip to town.

Reservations are not necessary. If you have any questions, email nzerriffi@yahoo.com.  

Lions to Guadalajara

The International Lions Club of San Miguel leaves Wednesday, December 10, on a three-day excursion to Guadalajara for sightseeing and holiday shopping. The Lions will stay at the historic Hotel de Mendoza, previously a convent and now a 5-star hotel within walking distance of the city’s main attractions. The ornate, neo-classical Teatro Degollado, modeled on Milan’s La Scala, is adjacent to the hotel and is the site of the city’s founding in 1542, according to popular legend. The plaza located behind the theater commemorates this event.

The city’s main cathedral was finished in 1618, after more than 50 years of construction. The cathedral houses Bartolome Esteban Murillo’s The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.

The eighteenth-century Palacio de Gobierno, an excellent example of Spanish colonial architecture, served as the headquarters of the Juárez administration in 1858 and today houses murals by the Mexican social realist, José Clemente Orozco.

Some of Guadalajara’s other notable sights include the Presidencia Municipal, the Plaza de Armas, the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres, the Museo Regional de Guadalajara, the Museo de Cera and the Palacio de Justicia. The Museo de Arqueologia de Occidente de Mexico, housed in a large pyramid-shaped building, is located in the center of the Parque Agua Azul.

Perhaps one of Guadalajara’s favorite attractions is its zoo. Considered the fifth best in the world, the zoo is more that just a place for observing animals; it is also an ecological center that aids in the reproduction and preservation of endangered species. Covering 34 hectares, much of which has been restored and featuring 2,200 species of animals, it is difficult to see the entire zoo in one visit, even on the zoo train. 

The twin towns of Tlaquepaque and Tonala are about 20 minutes from downtown Guadalajara. These artisan towns attract shoppers from the city to purchase ceramics, pottery and some of the finest dinnerware made in Mexico. The Guadalajara suburbs may produce more crafts per square foot than any other place in Mexico. On Thursday, Tonala’s village center is transformed into a busy and colorful open-air marketplace.

The trip costs 1,900 pesos each, double occupancy (less than US$160 at today’s exchange rate), and includes hotel, first-class bus, breakfasts, tips, BYO cocktail parties with nibbles supplied by the Lions, plus a donation to the club, which dispenses glasses to the needy and does diabetes testing on Thursday mornings at Correo 63. Reserve by December 2, with Jean Schickel at 152-0934.

Performances & Events

Arthur Murray dance at Romanos

The Arthur Murray dance studio holds its twice-monthly dance night at Romanos Italian restaurant, Hernández Macías 93, on Friday, November 21, 7:30–9pm. There is no cover charge but a 100-peso minimum order per table is requested.

Films & Videos

Meditation Center: Return to the Golden Horse

The Meditation Center at callejón Blanco 4 presents Return to the Golden Horse at 5:30pm, Thursday, December 4. Director Mark Verkerk returns to the monastery one year after the release of Buddha’s Lost Children to screen the final version for Khru Bah and the boys. “This gorgeously lensed journey is not one the viewer will soon forget,” says Vancouver’s Georgia Straight.

Meditation Center presentations are free, but donations are accepted.





Volunteer Opportunities

Children’s books in English to nonprofits

Occasionally, the Biblioteca Pública on Insurgentes receives donations of books it already has, and if they are not sold at the Bodega de Sorpresas, they become available for nonprofits to take. If you are interested in what might be available, see Kathleen in the Librarian’s Office, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am–6pm.