AROUND TOWN

Meetings & Lectures

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 

This week’s service presents “The Texas Wall of Shame” by Dr. Cynthia E. Lynch. The notion of building walls as a means of defense and protection is as old as human civilization. Her talk reviews some of the more spectacular uses of walls in history and explores the controversy surrounding the US/Mexico border wall now under construction. 

Dr. Lynch is an ordained Interfaith minister and an associate professor at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg. She teaches in the Master of Public Administration program and is the editor of Global Virtue Ethics Review, an electronic journal now in its sixth year.

The UU Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30am 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

On Tuesday, August 18, Robert Haas, member of the board of directors of El Charco del Ingenio, relates its history, its importance as the major green space for the community and the members’ continuing effort to protect the buffer zone from developers. He will describe upcoming events and the importance of membership to support this world-class botanical garden.

Haas has made San Miguel his home since 1983, and has been president of Sociedad Audubon de México twice, executive vice-president of Patronato Pro Niños, founding member of Amigos del Parque Juárez and of Lions International, board member of Club de Golf and a member of Feed the Hungry.

The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday meets Tuesdays at Hotel Real de Minas, intersection of calles Ancha de San Antonio and Stirling Dickinson. Check-in time is 12–12:15pm and the meeting starts promptly at 12:30. The meeting is followed by a luncheon and visitors are invited to stay for lunch and fellowship. Visit www.rotarysma.org  for more information.

Lions Club International

The Lions Club next meets Thursday, August 20, at Don Quijote restaurant, Prolongación de Pila Seca 55. Check in time is 12:30pm and the meeting begins at 1pm. You may order lunch from the special menu and parking is ample. For additional information, contact Norma Robinson at 120-0726.

Classes & Workshops

Chess workshops

Free chess workshops for adults meet Mondays 5–6:30pm in the central patio of the Biblioteca Pública. Players also gather at Casa de la Cultura on Chorro, 10am–2pm on Saturdays and 4:30–7pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Tibetan Healing Chod 

The Zangdokpalri Foundation for Great Compassion presents the Healing Chod Tour for 2009, under the direction of Rigdzin Dorje Rinpoche. The tour’s San Miguel stop is Saturday and Sunday, August 15–16, 1–5pm, at El Sindicato, Recreo 4. The fee is 1000 pesos per day.

The Tibetan Healing Chod is beneficial for chronic illness to simple sadness and is especially successful in curing anxiety and stress. The two-day ceremony does not require listening to teachings, following instructions, or learning techniques. Nuns and monks perform the ceremony—you bring a pillow, blanket, or mat, lie down and relax.

For Healing Chod, plan to arrive half an hour earlier than the scheduled starting time of the first session. Visit zangdokpalri.org for information or contact: milesvidor@gmail.com , 044 (415) 102-7413. 

Bereavement Support Groups available

Hospice San Miguel sponsors two free bereavement support groups for area residents who have lost loved ones. The groups are small, so reservations are necessary.

The first group, led by Dorie Beach, is for English speakers and meets on Wednesdays, 11:30am–1pm in Centro. Contact Dorie at 154-7605 or delaplaya3@yahoo.com  to arrange to attend the group.

Leticia Gonzales leads the second group, for Spanish speakers, on Thursdays, 5–6:30pm at Hospice San Miguel, Manuel Rocha 35 in Col. La Lejona. Contact Leticia directly at 044 (415) 113-9806 or lego_2000_mx@yahoo.com.mx to arrange to attend the group.

For more information about the groups or any Hospice service, call 154-4287, email mail@hospicesma.org  or visit www.hospicesma.org.  

Tours & Excursions

Saturday Adventure Tours

We start with glamour at the home of jewelry designers William Harris and Luis Pantoja, where you will be “blinded” by the glittering strands of precious and semiprecious stones that outdo the rainbow in brilliance. You may choose from their own settings or design your own. Their home is another gem and their garden an enchanted place, with hidden nooks where little elves could come flitting out.

Then to Rancho “El Encanto,” a place that has been charmed. Extensive gardens with a riot of flower colors are tucked among the walkways. The home is like visiting a European museum, with antiques and classic works of art wherever you look. At a dressage show in the ring, beautiful horses respond to invisible movements of the reins, from walk to trot to gallop. Bring your camera and a hat for protection from the sun.

New Wednesday Adventure Tours

On August 19, we become “pilgrims” at the Shrine of Atotonilco, now listed as a World Heritage site. It was begun in 1754, as a place for Otomí Indians to atone for sins after Padre Luis Alfaro caught them cavorting in the warm springs nearby. To this day, pilgrims from all over Mexico come to be purified. Colorful rope whips used in the act of purification are sold in the stands outside. The inside walls are covered with Bibical history murals and mystic poems written by Padre Alfaro. No flash cameras!!

A ride through green countryside brings us to the marvelous ranch home of Ricardo Gonzalez. A lagoon to one side has an island in the middle. We visit one of the oldest chapels in this area, built long before Atotonilco. The home, though new, is built colonial-style around a central patio with a fountain of cantera stone. It is furnished with family heirlooms or European antiques. A noteworthy decorative piece is a larger-than-life rooster covered with long, dried, red Cascabel chilis. The kitchen is a cook’s dream. Cameras for the ranch.

These tours benefit the Centro de Crecimiento school for disabled adults and children and leave the Jardín, across from the Parroquia, at 10:30am on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

Botanical Garden Tour 

A guided tour in English of El Charco del Ingenio each Tuesday and Thursday, 10am–12:30pm, is a fun and informative activity for people of all ages. Enjoy a stroll in nature while learning about our conservation project and garden. Entry is 30 pesos (waived for members) and the tour is 50 pesos. We suggest you wear a hat and closed shoes. Reservations are not necessary. Information: www.elcharco.org or 154-8838.

Haciendas in the Heart of Mexico

Mexico’s haciendas open their doors once again. Each Thursday, 9am–7pm, during July, August and September, the owners and staff of Hacienda de Monjas, Hacienda de San Juan Pan de Arriba and Hacienda La Jaula, in the municipality of San Diego de la Unión in Guanajuato, welcome tourists to learn about the richness of the history of these large dwellings. Visitors are treated to an intimate vision and engaging version of Mexican colonial history as the people of the haciendas share their customs, their knowledge and their food.

Tickets at 900 pesos are available at Teatro Santa Ana, or call the project’s headquarters at 045 (442) 274-3540 or 274-3541. The full-day tour includes transportation, guide/translator, explanations of each Hacienda, visit to production areas, meals and tastings.

Bird Walks 

Signe Hammer leads bird walks in El Charco del Ingenio on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. She has been birding in San Miguel since 1995.

Have you ever seen the ethereal blue of a courting Ruddy Duck’s beak, the nest of a Cactus Wren, or a Coot’s fuzzy chick? August is the month of nesting and fledging on land and water at El Charco. Join her on Wednesday, August 19 at 9am for a 2.5-hour exploration of the wonders of avian nature in San Miguel’s botanical garden.

The walk is for birders of all levels, no reservations are needed and you are free to leave the walk at any time. Bring binoculars and water, and wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat. Cost is 50 pesos for members of either El Charco or Audubon, 80 pesos for nonmembers (includes El Charco entrance fee).

Performances & Events

Arthur Murray Dance Studio

The Arthur Murray Grand Opening celebration was a huge success, thanks to student volunteers and coordinator Kay Gibson. Paola & Tom and Pat & Bill did a great job of dancing in the show.

Now you can party with them three times a week: Tuesday is the Newcomer Party, Friday is the Studio Party and Saturday is the Latin Party. Every other Wednesday is Singles Night!

Practice dance moves on a state-of-the-art wooden dance floor with instructors who can lead and follow all dance styles. Relax on the garden patio with complimentary snacks and wine!

Parties are free to Arthur Murray students and 200 pesos for non-students (Singles Night is only 100 pesos). Instructors are provided as available.

Your next party could be held in the space; stop by Hernández Macías 68, or call to discuss rentals and possibilities. Call today to schedule a first free lesson: 152-0095 or 044 (415) 106-4401.

Singles Social Group

San Miguel Wednesday Social Group now meets at the Sunset Bar in Casa Linda, Mesones 101, diagonally across the street from Teatro Ángela Peralta. Singles, couples and anyone interested in meeting new people are welcome every Wednesday, 5:30–7:30pm, for 2-for-1 national drinks, delicious Mexican botanas and lively conversation.

Wine and Organic producers fair

The Feria de la Vendemia, August 21–23, is the second Encounter of Organic Producers at Rancho La Romita. To join the fair and display your organic products, call 152-8146 or Estela Barragán 045 (415) 153-3470.

Biblioteca and VIP Club membership drive 

Buy a San Miguel VIP Club card for 500 pesos during August at the Biblioteca Pública and let the VIP Club pay for your new 80-peso library card! This deal applies to new and old VIP Club members who purchase cards at the Biblioteca. 

The VIP Club, founded in 2000, offers discounts of 10 to 20 percent for up to four people at some of San Miguel’s most popular restaurants plus discounts at many service providers such as pharmacists, hairdressers, dentists, spas, doctors, boutiques, dry-cleaning and laundry, house paint and much more, plus chances to earn free shuttle trips to and from León’s airport. 

This offer is only valid through August 2009, and Club membership will be good until August 31, 2010.

Films & Videos

Meditation Center 

The Meditation Center of San Miguel presents Video 5 in the 12-week Eckhart Tolle series, Touching the Eternal, from a retreat in India in 2002. The series continues Thursday, August 20, at 5:30pm at Callejon Blanco 4. Presentations of the Center are free; donations are gratefully accepted.