AROUND TOWN
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Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
The UU’s have long supported the scholarship programs of Mujeres en Cambio and Jóvenes Adelante. At this week’s service, Marge Zap and Amanda Ruiz, along with some students, will explain the missions and present a progress report on the success of these programs.
Since 1995, Mujeres en Cambio has provided financial assistance in the form of scholarships to hundreds of young female students from rural communities in the San Miguel area. Jóvenes Adelante currently provides five-year University scholarships to 56 students; 20 more are expected to be added this fall.
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 orientations and gender identities. Visitors are invited to attend the service and then join the UUs in the hotel restaurant for brunch
Midday Rotary Club
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Rotary honors Donna Quathammer from Casa de los Angeles as Citizen of the Year. Following that ceremony, Maria Westfried is guest speaker.
Inspired by California’s two women senators, Maria devoted the first years of her 15-year political career to electing women to public office. She also discovered she had no problem asking for money for things she believes in.
Maria spent six years in Washington, DC during the Clinton administration serving on the Democratic National Committee, at the White House, the US Department of Energy, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and at a small federal agency called the Overseas Private Investment Company, where her project was to open a small business loan program in Mexico.
Maria has also worked all over the country on the last four Democratic presidential campaigns. After 2001, Maria resettled in the Bay Area to work for San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales. Maria spent several summers here in her childhood, and her mother Caroline has been a full-time resident of San Miguel since 1996. Utilizing her political and organizing skills here in San Miguel, Maria has taken on the upcoming “Building Green Week” to be held February 18–21 at the Biblioteca Pública.
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. Visit
www.rotarysma.org for more information.
Tu B’Shevat celebration
This year Tu B’Shevat falls on February 9. Shalom San Miguel celebrates early with a fruit and nut reception between Shabbat Services and Torah Study on February 7 at 10:45am. The Morning Shabbat Service is held each Saturday at 9:15am and Torah Study is at 11:15am. Both are at the Hotel Quinta Loreto in the TV Salon, Loreto 15. All are welcome.
Facilitators for Healing
“As a psychotherapist and longtime student of alternative healing practices, I was both curious and sceptical of the gathering.... The group attracts skilled healers, students and those looking for alternatives approaches to their own health issues.”
The Fourth Gathering of Facilitators for Healing , an “energy exchange,” takes place at noon on Thursday, February 12, at Privada de Pila Seca 5 (turn into the cul-de-sac opposite Pila Seca 45.) Every meeting is different. The meeting is free and open to the public, including those in need. Facilitators are invited to participate. Call 152-0376 for questions.
Bereavement groups available
Hospice San Miguel sponsors two free bereavement support groups for area residents who have lost loved ones. The first group, led by Dorie Beach, a Hospice Board Member and experienced psychotherapist and counselor, is for English speakers and meets on Wednesdays, 2:30–4pm, in Centro. Contact Dorie at 154-7605 or
delaplaya3@yahoo.com.
The second group is for Spanish speakers and is led by Leticia Gonzales, a Hospice staff member and experienced psychotherapist and thanatologist. This group meets Thursdays from 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.
The groups will be small, so reservations are necessary. For more information about Hospice, call the office at 154-4287, send email to
mail@hospicesma.org or visit the website at
www.hospicesma.org.
Classes & Workshops
All the world’s a stage
Jerry Phalen returns with encore sessions of his acting workshop from March 2–26, Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30am–12:30pm at Shelter Theater VG4. For information call 152-2117 or email
azizi3@msn.com. Tuition is 1,000 pesos.
Tours & Excursions
Saturday Adventurers
It’s an extraordinary tour for all of you Adventurers today, first to the glass foundry of Ana Thiel, who has a penchant for collecting anything old, bent, rusty or burnt. We will see how she incorporates these rusty pieces of machinery with her molten glass to achieve the most remarkable and sensitive objets d’art. The tour visits her foundry and gallery where Thiel continues to surprise with unique pieces, with burnt wood, old books, twisted wire, all intertwined with molten glass. Glass sculptures in her garden would be perfect in your patio. Next the highly anticipated visit to the luxurious Rancho La Loma, where adventurers will be treated to a dressage show and later a carriage ride. The extensive grounds include the unusual trojes, native houses, from Patzcuaro.
These tours benefit the Centro de Crecimiento, school for disabled children and leave the Jardín, across from the Parroquia, at 10:30am.
Instituto Allende field trip to Mexico City
Instituto Allende will lead an overnight field trip to Mexico City and the nearby pyramids on Saturday, February 14, departing at 7am. In Mexico City the tour visits the historic downtown, home to Bellas Artes, el Caballito Monument, the Zocalo, the Cathedral and the National Palace. The famed Anthropological Museum is undoubtedly one of the highlights. Artifacts and representations of the diverse cultural groups of Mexico and the distinct historical periods are on display. Visitors will enjoy a Saturday night in the largest city in Mexico and then the next day visit the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacán.
All Instituto tours are led by bilingual guides. Reservations must be made in advance. The fee of US$235 is all-inclusive (transportation, fees, a restaurant meal, snacks and cocktails.) Bilingual guides lead all tours. A free lecture previews upcoming weekend field trips each Wednesday at 4pm at the Instituto. For more information, call 152-0226 or visit Ancha de San Antonio 20.
Botanical Garden Tour on Tuesdays and Thursdays
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. Entry is 30 pesos (waived for members) and the tour is 50 pesos. Wear a hat and closed shoes. The juice bar next to the gift shop has water and refreshments. The easiest way there is by taxi. Staff will call a taxi for the return trip. Reservations are not necessary. Information:
www.elcharco.org or email nzerriffi@yahoo.com.
Films & Videos
Meditation Center film
The Meditation Center presents How to Cook Your Life, “a jaunty mix of chanting, baking, and spiritual uplift,” according to the New York Times. Zen master and renowned chef Edward Espe Brown, author of The Tassajara Bread Book, is captured on film as he guides students through the mastery of cooking and the importance of how we treat our food. The film is heartwarming, insightful and often surprising. Join us at the center, Callejón Blanco 4, off Quebrada, 5:30pm Thursday, February 19, to view this film. Presentations of the center are free. Donations to help the center pay the bills and get more videos are always gratefully accepted.
Volunteer Opportunities
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.
Centro Infantil
Centro Infantil, a preschool and kindergarten program for disadvantaged Mexican children ages 3–5, an outreach program of St. Paul’s Church modeled on Head Start, has several volunteer opportunities. They need a volunteer arts coordinator, preferably experienced with preschool children, to develop and implement an arts program incorporating volunteers. Some Spanish desirable. Also needed are volunteer English teachers for one hour per week and volunteer classroom assistants one morning per week. Contact Linda Work at 154-5729 or
work_Linda@yahoo.com.
Santa Julia Girls
Volunteers are needed for the Adolescent Life Skills Program. Last semester’s pilot was a success, so the Madres are seeking female Mexican mentors to continue.
Contact Robin Loving at robin@robinloving.com if you can help with beds or roof repairs to the Madre house.
Several donors from San Jose, CA; Appleton, WI; and San Marcos, TX need help getting their donations to the children. Contact
BobbiFries@yahoo.com or 152-4957 if you are traveling from any of these areas.
El Nigromante
Volunteers are needed at Centro CASSA “El Nigromante” for the children’s English and computing programs, and the mixed painting and chess workshops. All are afternoon programs and some experience with children is required. Visit Pepe Llanos 14, or call Jesús Rodríguez, 152-7855.
Patronato Pro Niños
PPN provides health and dental care to needy children and seeks volunteers two mornings a month throughout the school year to offer services to ill children in outlying areas. Should be fluent in Spanish and/or have a vehicle that can travel unpaved roads. Contact Steve Livingston at
steve@stevelivingston.com.
For the “Wash Your Hands” project, sponsored jointly by PPN and Feed the Hungry, volunteers are needed to demonstrate hand-washing skills to children in San Miguel schools. Transportation and teaching information provided; dates and times flexible. Spanish a plus. Contact
marylcarruth@yahoo.com.
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