CASA’s haven for the little lambs: La Loma de Los Chiquillos
By Patricia Hirschl, July 06, 2007

La Loma, CASA’s daycare center was, from the beginning, a safe haven for the children of employees.

Irma Salas, who spent 20 years at CASA before retiring as one of its directors, recalls the days when a handful of children, including her brother, gathered to play, rest, snack and learn from each other and their teacher in CASA’s rented house on Calle San Pedro. The sound of their chatter and games drifted across the hall to her desk Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 7pm. 

Alejandro Gonzalez, CASA’s founding father, decorated the freshly painted walls with Winnie the Pooh and other familiar figures. Irma’s son, Geraldo, first came to the nursery at three months in 1991.

When a larger building on Umarán was donated, offices, both workers and children had a home of their own for the first time, and in 2000, when the current Santa Julia facility was ready, the burgeoning daycare center filled up seven classrooms, two specially designed children’s toilets, and an amply equipped playground. Soon a special room for estimulación temprana (early stimulation) filled with materials for sensory exploration, a more sophisticated cousin to a McDonald’s playroom.

CASA co-director Susana López, whose children also attended the La Loma program, recalls that in the beginning, childcare was an employment perk. CASA employees paid nothing. When the Promotores (peer counselors) were organized, many already had children, even though they were teenagers.

Free childcare was part of the “scholarships” intended to launch them into the adult work world.

Rocío Bautista, currently in charge of the La Loma program, reports that fewer than eight percent of the parents now work at CASA, and they pay the same income-based fees as the other families. In 2006, La Loma served 174 infants and preschoolers; 33 percent were children of single mothers and 72 percent of the children’s families earned less than US$400 per month.

The spacious Santa Julia facility with its gardens and playgrounds is vast compared to the little room on San Pedro, and while the mission of providing a safe place for children of working mothers to learn and grow is the same, the program has evolved.

All of the current teachers have earned certification, most on CASA scholarships. Specialists in child development now design programs; ongoing teacher training is standard, as are medical visits to check the children’s physical progress. In 2004, the preschool program was awarded state certification, an important step to public recognition of its quality.

This summer, Dr. Judith Auerbach, professor of developmental psychology from Ben Gurion University in Israel will spend two months at CASA as a volunteer researcher. Approximately 15 children from 3 months to 24 years will be the subjects of special observations by Dr. Auerbach and staff. Her resulting report should help the CASA staff identify areas where individual children need special attention and assess the overall effectiveness of the CASA program.

Nourishment for the body as well as the mind is part of the La Loma day. Two meals a day flow from the on-site kitchen to a sunny dining hall, where the children eat and help with the serving and clearing as much as they can.

Olga Helena, a nutritionist whose recipes are still treasured, introduced the idea early on that it isn’t just filling bellies that is important, but filling them with the nutrients for healthy growth. When records were first kept, many children arrived below normal height and weight and made substantial gains during their first year at CASA. By 2005, a visiting doctor noted that several children were well over the normal weight range, and suggested cautioning parents about the dangers of childhood obesity. The journey from not enough food to too much had taken only 15 years. 

As conditions like nutritional needs change, the program’s emphasis has shifted in response, but the overall goal is still to give the children who come to La Loma “un empuje para crecer,” a push to grow, or in US argot, a Head Start.

Casita Linda spotlight: The Ramirez Palma family 
By Jean Gerber and Mauricio Magaña

Martina hustles the first of her 10 children to school at 7 in the morning. The younger children’s school is a kilometer away, while the older ones travel more than five.

The kids who attend afternoon classes help Martina with the chores: cooking—usually frijoles, papas, quelites con salsa, nopales and tortillas; herding the family’s goats which are their mainstay; and fetching buckets of water from a well which they will then use for cooking, bathing and watering the animals. The oldest children work in the fields for meager pay while the father leaves early when work is available at a nearby ranch.

The women and children from this family and others who live in the rancho spend their days working under the shade of a large mesquite tree, the only one as far as the eye can see. Here they prepare food, sew, nurse babies, mind toddlers and talk. At midday the first shift of school-age children arrives home to do chores while the other shift heads out for their time in the classroom. 

Pigs are tied to scrub trees, chickens circle erratically and mangy dogs loiter around the shade tree. Generally the families buy their eggs because no one has time to hunt out where the chickens are laying them. In the background beyond the ranch are beautiful green agricultural fields, a surprising number of distant trees and dazzling reflections off the Presa Allende. The rancho is about 20 minutes off the main road from Cienegita.

The parents are members of progresa, a program whereby they receive free medical treatment in Cienegita. In exchange, they attend monthly town meetings and clean up garbage from the streets and field.

When we got the women aside they asked us questions about birth control. They have no education in these matters, and a lot of major misconceptions. We were surprised and delighted that they were comfortable enough to bring up this sensitive subject, and we are working on bringing a counselor from CASA to talk with 20 or 30 of the women in the village.

As we were leaving, the grandmother and grandfather said “when you are finished with the casitas in Guerrero, we want to celebrate and kill one of our goats and cook it.”

We were touched by their generosity, but gently informed them that “most, if not all, of the volunteers are vegetarians and would honestly prefer to see the goat grazing in your fields rather than in our tortillas.”

At this moment we are about halfway through the construction, with the wooden forms on four sides and a curved roof with trusses holding it up in preparation for pouring the cement. Sra. Martina said “we think the casita is beautiful just the way it is.” She told us when their neighbors walk by and see what is currently under construction, they shake their heads…“No bricks? No adobe?” The whole group of people sitting under the tree with us that day began to smile and laugh in telling us this story. We at Casita Linda are so eager to finish this house, paint it bright, happy colors and have all the people passing by in Guerrero saying “Ah, so THAT’S how it works!” 

Casita Linda is a nonprofit volunteer organization. Working with the appropriate government departments and local people, we identify a community that needs our houses. Families most in need are selected at community meetings. Recipients agree to sweat equity in exchange for the house. Since they live in extreme poverty, they are not required to pay any money. For more information on Casita Linda please contact: jean@casitalinda.org. 

“Boots & Brooches” auction supports the children

Come and join the magic of the 7th of the 7th of the 7th! It has to be a lucky night and it is also the Patronato Pro Niños Auction and Raffle 2007!

Whether you are lucky to have the final bid on a silent auction item or have the most fun winning a live auction bid by waving your paddle that final time, or being the lucky one having your name pulled out of the hat to win the raffle, you will leave knowing you have helped support health and dental care for the beautiful children of San Miguel and the surrounding areas.

This wonderful evening is the main fundraising event of the year for Patronato Pro Niños. With your participation we raise almost three quarters of the funds needed for the annual working budget of this well known charity. In one night!

Thank you so much for your continued support!

So, put on those boots and pin on those brooches, and come and enjoy a gala evening of the live and silent auctions, a gourmet dinner and raffle drawing and know that while you are having such fun, you also are supporting our local children with health and dental care.

Harleys, tents and Marilyn Monroe: Five SMA bars
By Kennedy Poyser

San Miguel offers solace to the thirsty wanderer in dim cantinas and hotel plazas, Irish pubs and French bistros. The devoted imbiber has favorite venues, but the adventurous one expands the repertoire with the new or unusual. Consider the following five; each has features not found elsewhere.

JJ’s Bar is tucked into the Inquisitor’s building at Cuadrante 32, just two blocks south of the Jardin. Lara and Marie open about 4pm and stay until midnight or later (often much later on weekends or if the party is good). They are closed Tuesdays. Lara is not only a creative bartender who speaks English, he is also a strong chess player and nearly unbeatable in dominoes.

JJ’s is distinguished by being the nicest biker bar in the hemisphere. The owner is a “motorcycle enthusiast” whose vast collection of Harley Davidson memorabilia covers the walls of this almost-bohemian grotto. Some nights you might find six “hawgs” lined up out front; in Texas, you avoid such a place, unless you like a little mayhem with your beer.

JJ’s offers an adventure you can tell your friends about: “Saturday about midnight I wandered into this Mexican biker bar....” You’ll have fun, and pick up stories, since most of the patrons speak fairly good English.

La Palapa offers another unusual setting, possibly unique to San Miguel—a bar (and restaurant) in a permanent tent. The hours are short, 12–5pm, Monday through Saturday, but it’s a favorite with expats so it’s often busy. Look for the Sol Cerveza tent in a fenced lot off Calle Nueva, a side street just north of Instituto Allende. Carla, the owner and social director, is bilingual. Right next door, in another tent, is the Longhorn Smokehouse. They’re open Tuesday through Saturday, also 12–5pm.

Cantina El Gato Negro is tucked between the two buildings at 10 and 12 Mesones, just up the street from the equestrian statue of Allende. From the outside, it looks much like other cantinas, but inside is a truly surprising collection of Marilyn Monroe photographs and memorabilia. Their provenance might be intriguing, since the bar has been there for nearly 80 years. This no-frills/no-English venue is open noon to midnight each day. Corona is only 10 pesos.

Revolution at Canal 48, just beyond the bridge, is open 6pm–1am, Tuesday through Sunday. Alicia and Carla are usually busy making generous flavored micheladas, the house specialty. English is in short supply, unless Alberto is there on Tuesdays. The 20-foot painting on the west wall is a visual treat, mixing Olmec imagery with more esoteric symbology. It looks like a mural, but is in fact a large oil painting on canvas, commissioned from a Korean artist in León.

Thirsty Monkey (South) opened April 4, 2007 at Calle Codo 32, a half block up from Espino’s. It’s a blend of San Miguel and New Orleans, but more Garden District than Bourbon Street. Happy hour is noon to 8pm; live music on Friday and Saturday nights (blues, jazz, Latin, reggae). José and Julio make you feel welcome, and they are very gracious about imperfect language skills, though I suspect their English is better than my Spanish. The northern branch of Thirsty Monkey is in McAllen, run by Bernal and Marie. Recipes for both came from Cajun country via grandmother.

Kennedy Poyser is alleged to have avoided gainful employment for 16 years by owning bookstores in Connecticut and Texas. 

Obituary, July 06, 2007

Karl Anton Bleyleben
1926—2007

Karl Anton Bleyleben, resident of San Miguel for 30 years, passed away at age 81 on June 25th. He was laid to rest at the Panteon de San Miguel in the company of close friends and family.

Karl Anton was known in Vienna, Munich, New York and San Miguel as a cultivated host, an energetic debater with a mischevious sense of humor, and as a mentor to students and travellers who sought to follow in the footsteps of his varied adventures. He will be missed by his family and by the many loyal friends he maintained throughout the years.

Karl Anton was born in Prague to an Austrian aristocratic family. During the 1930s he attended schools in then Czechoslovakia. He managed to continue his studies even when Europe was engulfed in conflict, but at the end of World War II he was briefly interned by the Gestapo for agitating against the Nazis. After V-E Day Karl Anton migrated to Allied-occupied Vienna and graduated from the University of Economics in 1948. Following a stint at an international trading company, he embarked on his first adventure, becoming sales manager for an Austrian automotive company in the Middle and Far East.

After several years of travelling between Beirut, Baghdad and Karachi, Karl Anton shifted gears by taking the post of managing director of a small high-fashion textile company in New York’s garment center. It was 1959, and this was his first exposure to New York, a city that captured his imagination and piqued his cultural interest so much that he returned to visit every single year until the end of his life. 

In 1961 he returned to Austria to become international affairs director for a consortium of breweries, with the specific task of preparing them for entry into the European Common Market (forerunner of the European Union). This role eventually led to his appointment as Secretary-General of the EFTA Breweries Association and as delegate to the Council of Europe and several other international organisations, where he represented the interests of Austrian breweries.

In 1966 he married Anita Schmölders, daughter of German economist Prof. Dr. Günther Schmölders, and the two made a new home for themselves in Munich, Germany, where—in 1969—their son Maximilian was born. In Anita he had found a lifelong partner and travelling companion, and the couple soon became known as intrepid adventurers, untertaking countless amateur archaeological, anthropological and scuba diving expeditions around the world. In Munich they were known for throwing animated dinner parties by mixing their eclectic circles of friends in politics, business, media and the arts.

In 1978, Karl Anton jocularly announced to friends and family that “as preventive therapy against mid-life crisis” he was moving with his wife and 9-year-old son to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Both ended their European business careers and embarked on what would effectively become a second life, as complete and fulfilling as the first. In Mexico Karl Anton took up writing and producing documentary films for German and Austrian television on cultural and archaeological topics in Central America. The pace of expeditions continued, with filmed journeys deep into the Lacandon rain forest in Chiapas, to newly discovered archaeological sites in Belize and Guatemala, and diving trips along the Estacas river and with the ‘sleeping sharks’ of Isla Mujeres. 

Together with Anita, he wrote the first Baedeker guidebook on Mexico, which was later translated into English, French and Italian, and which they continued to update into the late 1990s. Thanks to his meticulous research and his extraordinary archive, the Baedeker acquired a reputation for accuracy and for cultural and historical depth unequaled among guidebooks.

Karl Anton’s main interests were in politics, pre-Columbian archaeology, European culture and history. He was also an avid tennis player, often leading teams from Webster’s tennis courts into battle against the Club de Golf Malanquín and other regional opponents. His other passion was scuba diving, a sport in which he had been a pioneer since the early 1960s, diving with some of the great underwater researchers and photographers such as Hans Hass and Leni Riefenstahl.

Karl Anton’s sporting life was prematurely cut short when, in 1991, a routine eye operation led to an anaesthesia accident which left him with impaired motor skills. In spite of speech difficulties, he continued to host dinners, make new friends among newcomers to San Miguel, and to divide his time between his three favourite cities. A common complaint among his friends in New York and Vienna was that he and Anita were more in tune with the plays, movies and art exhibitions of the day than they were.

Karl Anton is survived by his wife Anita in San Miguel, his brother Alfred in Vienna, and his son Maximilian and grand-daughter Philomena in London.