AROUND TOWN
Meetings & Lectures
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
At this week’s meeting, Eugenia Velasco Vergara describes the mission and work of PEASMA, the environmental education project of San Miguel de Allende. The organization aims to educate a new generation with awareness, love and respect for the environment. Working with teachers in and out of the classroom, PEASMA focuses on short-term, hands-on workshops and field trips that allow students to become closer to their natural surroundings and to see the immediate impact of their actions. Eleven environmental nongovernmental and governmental organizations, various companies, foundations and private donations support PEASMA.
Velasco Vergara is the PEASMA curriculum designer and the coordinator of Save the Children (Fundación de Apoyo Infantil). She is a graduate of Preparatoria Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiors de Monterrey and the Profesional Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiors de Occidente.
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 describes the new Cielito Lindo assisted living community at Los Labradores. The Lions meet every first and third Thursday at Quinta Loreto Restaurant, Loreto 15. Check-in time is 12:30pm and the meeting starts at 1pm. For more information, contact Norma Robinson at 120-0726.
Social and newcomers club
For more information about the weekly dinner of the social and newcomers club, call Jean Schikel at 152-4299 or Paula Nesti, 152-4299.
Lady of Guadalupe celebration
Casa Hogar Mexiquito hosts a celebration for the Lady of Guadalupe on Friday, December 12, at Santuario Hogar Guadalupano church off Carretera a Dolores Hidalgo. The party starts early (4am) with birthday songs (Mananita) for the Lady. Eucharist celebrations are set for 9am and noon. The March of the Indians is at 5:30pm, when adults and children parade dressed in indigenous clothing. Meexican will be available for sale, native dances will be performed and there will be a raffle and bingo in the afternoon. The Mexiquito boys are working on warm scarves to sell at reasonable prices. Madre Theofila Jaimes Aviles, the new Casa Hogar director, welcomes you to a day filled with ongoing activities. Proceeds fund maintenance, clothing and food for the children of Casa Hogar.
Classes & Workshops
Chess: patio and terrace
Chess players meet Mondays 5–6:30pm in the north portal of the Biblioteca Pública’s central patio. The library closes at 7pm, but Café Santa Ana lets them carry on for another hour or two.
Players meet three times a week at Casa de la Cultura on Chorro: Saturdays, 10am–2pm, Wednesdays and Fridays, 4–7pm, moved up from 5pm because it gets dark on the terraces (usually after a spectacular sunset).
| Contact improvisation Contact improvisation touches the moment, from stillness to impulse to action. A sweet surrender happens when our bodies stay faithful to what is happening now, and now...and now! |
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In this workshop we learn to differentiate subtle impulses in our choices and our partner’s choices. We begin to decipher the cues that we give and receive which tell us when to lead or follow, when to go up, when to go down, where to touch, how to lift, when to slow down and when to be still.
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Instructor Mark Moti Zemelman is currently a professor of dance at Centro de Investigación Coreografica at the Instituto Naciónal de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. He also moderates the new international contact improvisation website www.contactimprov.com. |
The workshop, with live music by Moti, meets December 6–9, noon–3pm, at Estudio de Danza Libelula, Plaza de San Antonio 10B, Col. San Antonio. It is limited to 12 persons and costs 1,100 pesos (or 350 pesos daily). To register, contact Elsanne at
elsasunshine@yahoo.com or (415) 109-4982.
Chi-Kung and Tai-Chi Chuan at Los Frailes
Grandmaster Dr. Dan-Horia Chinda’s “Mind, Body and Spirit Harmony” workshops for Los Frailes neighbors focus on simple Chi-Kung exercises which improve health and personal healing power, and move to Tai-Chi Chuan basics, an ancient approach to coordination, balance and flexibility. The free workshops meet 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.
Hatha Yoga classes
Hatha Yoga 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
Adventurers, it’s time to do some Christmas shopping and what better place than San Gabriel, the ceramic factory and showroom? Don’t miss this Saturday, November 29, for a one-stop tour with lots of time to shop. First we visit the factory, where we see all the processes needed to turn out their lovely wares. We watch, fascinated, while the young artists deftly paint a cup or a plate; it will be an entirely different color after firing at 2,000ºF. After the factory tour, we visit homes where we see how they use their products in daily life. Finally, in their humongous showroom “Ceramic Heaven,” you will find everything from giant Talavera urns to tiny salt and pepper shakers. In between are beautifully designed vases or huge plates to hang, colorful sets of dishes or a sugar and creamer set, all in Talavera design. Your choices are endless. You might want to gift your home with a ceramic tile wall mural, for patio or bath, or go splendid and get the three-tiered patio fountain in dramatic Talavera colors. You
probably will not leave empty handed. Cameras—to be sure!
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.
Performances & Events
Arthur Murray dance at Romanos
The twice-monthly Arthur Murray dance night is at Romanos Italian restaurant, Hernández Macías 93, on Friday, December 5, 7:30–9pm. No cover charge; 100-peso minimum order requested per table.
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
The Community Connections section of the Atención website at www.atencionsanmiguel.org
lists nonprofit organizations that assist children and families; promote education and schools; provide food, potable water and medical treatment; and even take care of animals and the environment. This section provides descriptions, contacts and information for donors or volunteers.
Does your nonprofit need some extra help, perhaps for an upcoming event? Send short requests for volunteers to edit@atencionsanmiguel.org with “Volunteer Opportunities” in the subject line.
Leading with English
FINO (Fundación de Niños Olvidados) is looking for volunteers who love elementary-age children to help teach its unique dual curriculum of English and leadership skills called “Leading with English” on Wednesdays, 11:45am–3pm in the village of Jalpa, located 20km from San Miguel. Transportation provided. Contact Elizabeth at
finoac@gmail.com if you’re interested in serving once a week for a minimum of four to six weeks, or go to our website at
www.finomex.org.
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.
Biblioteca needs rare book dealer/collector
The Biblioteca Pública plans a major fundraising Book Fest sale this winter. Rare and collectible books accumulated through donations over the past several years will be a featured section of the sale. We need someone in November and December to evaluate and price about 400 volumes. Contact Kathleen at the library office or Kennedy at Atención.
Biblioteca seeks volunteer coordinator
The Biblioteca needs someone to coordinate volunteer inquiries with available positions, do orientations and cultivate a network of full- and part-time residents who want to process books; teach art, English or computer classes; publicize events; work in a bookstore or help with displays. Contact Miguel Kegel at 152-1210.
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