Going once, going twice, $25,000 for Tabasco
By Atención staff

Art for Tabasco: Art auction benefit for Tabasco flood victims  Sun, Nov 18, 5pm Silent auction bids until 6pm Patio Biblioteca Pública Botanas & bar  By donation

This Sunday, November 18 sanmiguelenses unite in solidarity for the flood victims at the “Arte y Gastronomia por Tabasco”. The event, organized by gallery owner Carmen Gutierréz and the Biblioteca Pública, has a target of raising US$25,000 for the more than one million people affected by the flood. Mexico’s national bank Banamex will match peso for peso all donations for the relief fund.

In less than a week of organization more than 70 fine art works and art objects have been donated, creating an outstanding selection that will be auctioned by professional curator Margaret Failoni. Botanas and a free cocktail, also donated by local businesses, welcome guests; a cash bar is available.

The works will be on display in the courtyard of the Biblioteca Pública. Doors open at 5pm and bids can be made until the start of the auction at 6pm. A raffle, tickets 100 pesos is also scheduled, prizes will be announced on the night. All tickets are winners as every ticket includes a free movie and coffee at the Santa Ana theater and café.

Join us in this united effort to help the flood victims of Tabasco.

Wool and Brass Fair turns 30
By Tania Noriz

XXX Feria de la Lana y el Latón
November 16–25, 10am–9pm
Inauguration, Friday, Nov 16, 6:30pm
Plaza Cívica

San Miguel’s annual fair, the Feria de Lana y Latón (Wool and Tin Fair) celebrates a 30 year tradition tonight, Friday November 16. Beyond a diverse array of Mexican handicrafts the fair will feature concerts and performances by local and special guests. Santa Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, is celebrated on November 22 with a gala musical performance by 19 different groups, while the closure of the festival includes a concert by guest musicians from the Jazz and Blues festival. 

More than 100 stands set up in the centrally located Plaza Cívica. Textiles from Jalisco, Oaxaca, Colima and Toluca, among many other imported and local wares,

The fair, long organized by local artisan groups in collaboration with the municipal Department of Tourism, Economic Development and International Relations, features will be on offer. Department director Francisco Peyret stated that he hopes to see more sales and support for local craftsmen at this year’s fair.

The Wool and Brass Fair will be located at Plaza Cívica from November 16 to 25. 

This year the fair will have the presence of other status Duch as Oaxaca, Guerrero, Puebla, Querétaro, Coahuila, and Mexico.

In Plaza de la Soledad, in front of Oratorio, there will be a special stand for San Miguel artisans in brass and there will be a small workshop in which the public will see how the products are made.

The local jail (CERESO) will also be present with a stand in which the arts and crafts produce by the interns such as color bags, wooden furniture and baskets, will be on sale. The rural communities will also participate with cushions and baskets. 

Although the selling of food is not allowed, there will be a stand by Panadería San Sebastián, which is already a tradition in the fair. 

This year the fair, organized by the Tourism, Economical Development and Foreign Relations Department, will be supported for the first time by the Economic Development State Department and by the Arts and Crafts National Fund (FONART).

Cultural Events from 4pm
Plaza Cívica
Cultural Program


Friday, November 16 
6pm, Inauguration, Plaza Cívica
6:30pm, Concert, Taki Kuni play Son, Plaza Cívica
8:30pm, Concert, Band of Don Elías Pirú, Plaza Cívica



Saturday, November 17
6pm, Music, Plaza Cívica
8pm, Music, Plaza Cívica



Sunday, November 18
4pm, Puppet show, by Mónica Hoth, Plaza Cívica
6pm, Performance, San Miguel Ballet, Plaza Cívica 
7:30pm, Music, Band of Don Elías Pirú



Monday, November 19
6pm, Performance, Guitar group of Casa de La Cultura, Plaza Cívica


Tuesday, November 20
6pm, Theater, group from the Economics Faculty of UNAM, Plaza Cívica


Wednesday, November 21
6pm, Performance, Group Sisoneros de la UNAM


Thursday, November 22, (Santa Cecilia)
Noon, Musical Gala, 19 musical groups commemorating Santa Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. 


Friday, November 23
6pm, Performance, Ballet Mazatl
8pm, Music


Saturday, November 24
6pm, Concert, Chamber orchestra Los Solistas de la Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato, Plaza Cívica


Sunday, November 25
4pm, Puppets, by Mónica Hoth, Plaza Cívica
6pm, Jazz group from the Jazz Festival, Plaza Cívica
7:30pm, Closing of the event, music with the band of Don Elías Pirú and fireworks, Plaza Cívica

New city law protects animals and the public
By Arno Naumann

“Un aplauso,” is in order for the San Miguel City Council and Amigos de Animales. With input from Amigos and the support of Ecologia, the city has passed a new law that forbids the sale of dogs and cats in public places. Previously, vendors could sell dogs and cats at the Tuesday Market, San Juan de Dios market, and other venues around town.

This trade was unregulated and often without regard for the health of the animals or the appropriateness of the buyers. It was common to see puppies in cages at the Tuesday Market without shade or water.

San Miguel joins the ranks of Querétaro and other enlightened cities in Mexico that no longer permit the sale of dogs and cats in public places, acknowledging that pets are companions not commodities.

Why ban public sales?

· Puppies offered for sale are usually often bred in inhumane “puppy mills” that produce inbred and sick animals.

· Buying an animal, even with the thought of “rescuing” it, just leads to more demand and more unregulated, inhumane breeding.

· The kittens and puppies normally do not receive vaccines or sterilization, contributing to disease and overpopulation.

· Cute puppies and kittens are often purchased on impulse, perhaps to please a child, without proper thought of the future care and expense, and are later abandoned.

Wonderful puppies, kittens, dogs, and cats are available at San Miguel’s SPA, SAMM (Save a Mexican Mutt) and through local vets. In addition, Amigos de Animales has hired a vet to work at the Centro Canino (the municipal pound), and he regularly sees fine, abandoned pets that, to his dismay, end up having to be euthanized. At the pound, animals for adoption are sterilized and vaccinated for free.

Please do not buy—Adopt! In doing so, you can have the satisfaction of saving a homeless animal from euthanasia and/or a miserable life.

A special note: Amigos de Animales next “blitz” will take place on December 1 and 2 in Colonia San Luis Rey. Please contact Lisa Wandler at 

lisa@amigos-sma.org  or 044 (415)111-4723 for more information or to volunteer.

Arno Naumann is co-founder and president of Amigos de Animales and currently cares for 26 dogs on his ranch.

School supply run costs US$8000 and 36 hours in jail
By Carol Schmidt

A front-page story in the October 29 Washington Post may explain why a part-time San Miguel resident was arrested and spent 36 hours in a Nuevo Laredo jail. Border agents discovered two ammunition clips from years ago in his SUV—which was stuffed with school supplies he was bringing to a poor rural SMA school

Transporting guns or ammunition across the Mexican border has always been illegal, and past crackdowns have led to cases of what seem like extremely harsh sentences even for those who got lost and crossed the Mexican border accidentally in a car with guns.

Mexican aversion to US weapons is underscored by volume (2,000 per day) and violence—they fuel the drug cartel war that has claimed 4,000 lives in the past 18 months, an Arizona pistol was used to assassinate a presidential candidate in 1994, and the lethality is comparable to the firepower US “soldiers are facing in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said ATF spokesman Thomas Mangan in Phoenix. Tijuana police estimate “that 100 percent of drug-related killings are committed with smuggled US weapons.” 

The guns travel the “ant trail,” a couple at a time, smuggled by people who don’t look like stereotypical dealers. The Texan bound for SMA with school supplies may have been caught in a crackdown on the “ant trail.” He said, “I was guilty. It was unintentional but it’s the law. I’m fortunate the cost was $8,000 and not $80,000, because I would have paid it somehow….When I left the jail I immediately went to a Marriott and had the longest hot shower of my life. I've been shot twice and had my butt kicked a dozen times and nothing compares to being in a Mexican jail.”

He wants everyone to be absolutely certain they don’t have guns, ammunition, or illegal drugs when they cross the Mexican border, or even are anywhere near the border where they might make a wrong turn. And be very aware that Mexico is not the United States—the laws, practices and culture of both countries are very different in many important ways. 

Carol Schmidt and Norma Hair operate www.fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com  and wrote Falling…in Love with San Miguel: Retiring to Mexico on Social Security.

Citizens find creative ways to contribute to community
By Robin Loving

When potential donors first toured Casa Hogar Santa Julia Don Bosco a few summers ago, they said, in effect, “You ought to just raze the place and start over.” The Dominican sisters who run this group home for girls from dire family circumstances didn’t have that luxury, however, they prayed for more creative solutions, and those potential donors came through, as did others.

The home is a long way from sustainability, but it, the girls, and the sisters are in better shape thanks to community creativity such as the following, each of which could be duplicated by other citizens seeking to support the Casa Hogar Kids or others:

The Atlanta Chapter of Friends of Santa Julia suggested that in lieu of flowers for a lost loved one, donations be made. Santa Julia got its first car (used, and 10 years old, but in good shape) as a result. A young family in San Miguel made a donation in memoriam of family friend, and that filled the car with gas.

The Chicago Chapter of Friends of Santa Julia invited friends (many of which own real estate in San Miguel) for a Mexican themed party and asked that each person make a donation of US$100 toward the support of the girls. Enough was raised to support the basic needs of two of the 33 girls for a year.

A family from Nashville asked visitors to their San Miguel home to forego the traditional gift for the home in return for lodging and make donations to Santa Julia. Donations made it possible for Santa Julia to purchase tee shirts to sell to support various expenses. Then, a local designer provided the design for the tees.

The Midday Rotary Club of San Miguel began just a short time ago, but got big ideas in a hurry and leveraged their support and connections with other Rotaries in the States to land more than US$30,000 of support for the local Casas Hogares. In this way, many of the Casa Hogar kids at Santa Julia and Sollano received school funds, books, computer lessons, building modifications, violins and Suzuki lessons to play them, heaters, fans, fire extinguishers, utility efficiencies, medicines, and greater security. If you would like to know more about involving your favorite Rotarians, check locally with Gordon Logan, President.

A group of local singers and musicians, Los Logros y Madrigales and More, headed by Liz Stone and accompanied by Savero Barrera, organized a free concert at St. Paul’s Church that drew a standing-room-only crowd, then asked for donations that paid almost all that was needed for a washer and a dryer.

A woman from California asked her Thanksgiving guests to express their gratitude through donations, and the girls now have a place to store their school uniforms.

A local artist and tour guide offered her assistant to distribute brochures around town while she was making her usual rounds.

Another local artist and her musician husband are planning an art/music event to help.

All of these examples are gifts in kind in which the organizers had to donate almost no funds in order to leverage their creativity to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than themselves. What outstanding leadership their examples make for us all in this season of Thanksgiving.

If you have creative ideas about fundraising to meet the needs of these children or their brothers and sisters at the other two Dominican casas hogares , please contact Robin Loving Rowland at 925-418-8003 (US), 152-3709 (SMA), or robin@robinloving.com. US tax deductible donations may be made to the San Miguel Community Foundation and dropped off at Border Crossings’ Box 121A at the corner of Relox and Mesones in San Miguel, or mailed to 9902 Crystal Court, Suite 107, Laredo, Texas 78045.

Soon to follow, how local NGO’s collaborate to support the Casa Hogares.

Special note from the casa hogar madres: Thanks to Atención and its readers for participating with and helping to publicize the work of those who are bringing us sustainability and leverage. We hope you will read our article about other collaborations soon. Conjuntos, podemos! Together, we can! Gracias!

Hope runs: Partnering with children to outpace poverty
By Claire A. Williams

Of the 12,000 participants at the starting line for the 2006 Madrid Marathon, I was probably the only one just getting my land legs back. A bit of overzealous planning had meant that my first marathon began exactly one day after getting off the thirteen day transcontinental cruise that began eight months of work (and play) around the world. The last two weeks of training are tapering, anyway, I reasoned.

That day in Madrid, I did not feel like a marathon runner. My cotton socks, uncharged iPod, and misunderstanding of how 26.2 miles translated into kilometers (it’s 42, not 39), did nothing to alleviate my concerns. At least I didn’t let anyone down with my slow time. The only spectator was another novice who couldn’t find the race’s finish line to take a picture.

For my second marathon in 2007, though, I did things differently. For five months I trained at an AIDS orphanage in Kenya, the pilot site of my nonprofit organization, Hope Runs: Partnering with Children to Outpace Poverty.

There are many places to help do good things and learn new ideas in this world of ours, and this is but one of them; however, it is one definitely worth considering.

As an anthropologist working with international volunteer organizations, I firmly believe in the power of international volunteer organizations to transform the lives of individuals who take part in such endeavors—on both sides. Over and over again, it seems that doing something worthwhile in this world is not just about the money you give out, but the connections and experiences you make.

For this reason, a volunteer’s experience in another place in the globe can be worth the cost of a plane ticket to get there, and in the long run, that expense can do as much or more than sending money abroad— it helps transform the nature of our global citizens’ response to growth, aid, and healing change—this is the reason I go to the places I go.

I was on just such a trip in 2006 when I happened upon the Tumaini Children’s Home with my traveling companion and sole Madrid Marathon spectator, during the last leg of eight months around the world. On our way to climb Mt. Kenya, we got stuck at Tumaini, a place that runs itself far better than many of the correctly tax-bracketed organizations where I have worked.

The Tumaini Children’s Home was started by the Women’s Guild of a local church as a way to feed the large number of AIDS orphans in the community. As more children clamored for food, school uniforms, and shelter, the project expanded. Now Tumaini does incredible things for its kids, including funding a smaller orphanage for disabled children, putting the finishing touches on a brand new community health clinic, and laying the foundation for an up-and-coming old folks’ home. But I just came to run.

In June of 2007, 22 Hope Runs teens finished the Mt. Kenya marathon. A few months later, the kids ran the Nairobi Half Marathon, with their new Hope Runs coach placing twelfth out of 15,000. Finally, bolstered by a new partnership with Runner’s World, new Hope Runs programs began in three other orphanages in Kenya and Tanzania. Today, our efforts to bring extracurricular programs to AIDS orphans have expanded far beyond running. Technology programs, computer classes, and health education programs top the list of ways that Hope Runs extends its extracurricular programming to AIDS orphans. 

And it all began with a slow, limping, and undocumented first marathon.

Claire A. Williams is a former San Miguel resident who serves as Executive Director of Hope Runs  www.HopeRuns.org ). Please contact her at claire@hoperuns.org. 

Democrats Abroad sponsoring Global Primary

Who can vote?

Anyone who declares that he/she is a Democrat and that he/she is willing to sign statement that he/she will not vote in any state presidential preference primary.

Also, you must register as a Democrat Abroad at the website democratsabroad.org

Does that mean I cannot vote in my home state?

No, you can still request an absentee ballot from your home state and vote for any state or local candidates and on any ballot question. However, if you vote in the Global Primary, you cannot vote in the presidential preference primary or caucus in your home state. If you choose to vote in the Global Primary and your state primary, you must leave the presidential preference section of your state ballot BLANK.

How, when and where can I vote in person?

The Global Primary in person voting will take place on February 5, 2008. Wherever local chapters of Democrats Abroad are located, the local organization is required to have a voting site for in person voting established by November 30, 2007. In Mexico, that means that voting sites will be located in Mexico City, the Lake Chapala region and San Miguel de Allende. Voting times and sites are to be established by the local chapter and must be publicized.

Registration with Democrats Abroad and signing a statement that the voter will not vote in any state presidential preference primary is a requirement. Voters may register with Democrats Abroad up to and including February 5, for in person voting only. In person voters who do not have an email address may still vote after they complete (on election day) the Democrats Abroad registration form on paper leaving the email address blank. These registration forms will be sent by the local chapter to the Country Committee for assignment of a “dummy” email address and the voter will then be entered into the Democrats Abroad computer system.

If I do not choose to vote in person, are there other ways in which I can vote in the global primary?

Yes, you may also vote via the internet, by fax and by mail. In order to vote in any manner other than in person, the following requirements apply (note that the dates are different than above):

You must register with Democrats Abroad up to January 31, 2008 at the website democratsabroad.org, request a ballot and declare online that you will not be voting in any state presidential preference primary.

After receiving a ballot via the internet, you may complete it and submit it online between February 5 and February 12, 2008.

You may also print the ballot and fax it or mail it to the address shown on the ballot. All faxed and mailed ballots must be received at the indicated address by February 12, 2008.