A Saturday night moment of luxury:
PBS San Miguel Premiere
By Linda Lowery April 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende


“A Moment of Luxury” World Premiere
Bill Stubbs, Architectural Digest award-winning designer
Cocktails & Botanas
Sat, Apr 26, 7:30pm
Instituto Allende
Donation 200 pesos
All proceeds benefit Fernandez-Martinez grants for young local artists
154-5595

You’re quietly reading Atención in an outdoor café near the Jardín when two big vans pull up, and out come cameras, lights and a dozen people from a film crew. Suddenly, the whole area is hopping.

They’re checking out the perfect angle to capture those carved doors. They’re powdering the host’s face to keep down the shine. The chatter is something about PBS, something about luxury.

“Well, maybe I’ll order another cappuccino,” you decide, “and see what happens. Who knows? I might just end up on TV.” Admit it, it’s fun to be part of the scene when the director calls “!Silencio, por favor! We’re rolling!” It’s fun to notice how others perceive our beautiful town through new eyes.

“Just look at the incredible russet color of this wall,” the host tells the camera, as he lightly rubs the paint and his fingertips turn chalky red-russet. “This is San Miguel,” he adds joyfully. “Don’t you love it?” 

Yes, we love it, and we love that the award-winning host, Bill Stubbs, one of Architectural Digest’s top 100 designers of the world, recognizes the simple beauty that drew us here in the first place. Stubbs has the eye for magic, noticing every detail we cherish: the hand-carved rustic wood, the canterra angels above the doorways, the Coca Cola green glass jewels embedded in a plaster wall, the beautiful weathered wrinkles on the face of a woman selling calla lilies.

The San Miguel TV episode Stubbs’ team filmed here in January is from his new PBS lifestyle series A Moment of Luxury. Although he’s been here many times, Stubbs can’t wait to return, so he’s flying down from Houston on Saturday, April 26 to give us all a first peek before “our” episode airs on PBS. He will show the entire 30-minute feature as a World Premiere, share design tips, talk about the filming experience, and answer questions. All, by the way, for the benefit of young local artists, to encourage their paths in continuing the Mexican creative legacy.

Born in Gonzales, Texas, Stubbs studied at the International Institute of Design in Washington, D.C., and has designed projects ranging from renovations of historical buildings to exclusive vacation retreats to community housing for the elderly. He has received awards from numerous professional organizations, including ASID and IIDA. Author of I Hate Red, You’re Fired! The Colorful Life of an Interior Designer, Stubbs’ second book will be published this fall by Gibbs Smith, titled Moment of Luxury: Discovering the Beauty Around You. His work has taken him on countless projects around the world.

In his new PBS series, Stubbs invites viewers to join him in his travels to exotic locales in search of design inspiration that can be re-created at home. The first season includes trips to Paris, London and Lima, Peru.

The San Miguel episode #5 will air in mid-May and takes viewers to many of our familiar local haunts, from a La Capilla candlelit evening with margaritas to an interview with Guajuye owner Juan Jose Alvarez at his glass factory showroom.

Stubbs shares historical tidbits and designer tips throughout the segment. Boveda ceilings, he tells us, were originally developed by the Mayans. A fabulous door, he points out, is a great way to add charm and beauty to a rather plain entryway back in Houston or Toronto or Milwaukee, wherever the viewer might live. He shows us a fireplace trimmed in parrot-colored tiles in a hotel room. “When you have something that bright, you want to play down the rest of the space with dark wood and white linens,” he says. “Otherwise the room can be over-stimulating.”

The heart of Stubbs’ message is that luxury can be experienced by anyone, no matter how lavish or modest their budgets. His own clients have run the gamut from from the rich and famous to a recent graduate with less than US$3,000 to furnish her entire existence.

“Luxury does not have to be a fabulous home or an expensive piece of jewelry,” Stubbs insists. “It can be an embroidered pillow or a simple cup of tea.” On his website (www.momentofluxury.com) he asks readers to share a personal “moment of luxury”. Here are a few posted responses:

-“Swimming in a glacier lake in August.”

-“Looking out at the ocean, smoking a Cuban cigar and sipping a glass of porto.”

-“Getting lost in the pages of a favorite book.”

Our lives, when you think about it, are really an experience of many moments, one following the next. Face it--we in San Miguel are blessed to live in a place that invites us to experience moments of luxury every gorgeous day. How about we add a few San Miguel moments to that list?

-Buying a dozen red roses (for 40 pesos!) from the beautiful woman in the shaded doorway.

-Watching the Parroquia turn golden pink as we sip tequila on a hand-wrought iron balcony.

How about the moment when you see yourself walking along the cobblestones in the background of the PBS Moment of Luxury show? Did you make the cut? Come check it out.

Tickets for Saturday night’s world premier at the Instituto Allende restaurant can be purchased at the door, or in advance from the sponsors: 

-Shops and Galleries of the Instituto Allende, as a benefit for promising a dedicated young San Miguel artists. Ancha de San Antonio 20.

-Artesana Rosewood Residences, with plans for many five-star luxurious moments for the San Miguel community. Presentation Center at Recreo 51.

-Dos Casas Luxury Bed and Breakfast. Quebrada 101.

Linda Lowery is a New York Times bestselling children’s book author who assisted the producers on the San Miguel MOL episode, and happily managed to stay out of the eye of the cameras.

Casa Hogar Kids go shopping
By Robin Loving Rowland

Día de los Niños
Wed, Apr 30, time arranged
La Conexión
Aldama 3
Mercado San Juan de Dios
Avenida Guadalupe
Café Monet
Zacateros 83

Día de los Niños will offer volunteers the opportunity to celebrate children by taking the Casa Hogar Kids on a shopping trip thanks to donations already received, and to a donated ice cream fundraiser thereafter.

“Just like our Christmas shopping event, we will need 100 volunteers to take the kids shopping at Mercado San Juan de Dios and then have them treated to ice cream afterward at Café Monet,” said event organizer Susan Sergeant. 

“I did this at Christmas and fell in love with one of these beautiful children,” said Kate Buckner.

“This is a great way to prove that you are a true communitarian,” said Patrice Wynne, a supporter of Casa Hogar Kids who are in the group homes due to dire family circumstances.

To participate, go any time before April 30 to La Conexión to pick up your official volunteer certification. La Conexión is open Monday–Saturday, 9am–7pm and Sunday 10am–2pm.

Then, on April 30, go to the Casa Hogar you choose at the time you choose to pick up your child. Take that child to Mercado San Juan de Dios and guide your child in making wise choices with his or her funds (between US$10–15). Then, take your child to Café Monet for hot dogs, drinks and ice cream.

In some instances, a Madre (a nun who cares for the children) may accompany the volunteer to ensure that the child feels comfortable in the company of someone he or she does not know well.

While at Café Monet, consider buying a Beanie Baby to support the casas hogares, which receive virtually no funding beyond community support. A collector has donated 150 Beanie Babies with original tagging to be sold for US$10 each. Another donor has offered to match whatever is made on the lot. A purchaser will have three options with the Baby: keep it, donate it to a child, or return it immediately to be resold for more funds for the casas hogares.

There are more than 1,500 differently themed Beanie Babies, each with its own name and birthdate. Enthusiasts even buy tag protectors to ensure authenticity. Beanie Babies have been sold for much more than the US$10 being asked at this fundraiser.

“We are grateful for the support of Susan Sargeant at La Conexión for organizing this event, to Café Monet for donating the funds and the party, to Carl Rimby for donating the ice cream, to Mackenzie Carlton for donating the Beanie Babies and for Dr. Lou Vogt for offering to match the funds raised,” said Madre Chuy from Casa Hogar Santa Julia, on behalf of all three casas hogares.

For more information about how to help the Casa Hogar Kids at this event or in another way, contact Robin Loving Rowland at 152-3709 in San Miguel, (925) 418-8003 (Vonage), or robin@robinloving.com. 

Dedication set for bust of Phil Maher
By Don Knoles

Dedication
Philip Maher
Tue, May 6, 1pm
Stirling Dickinson Plaza

A bust of the late Philip Maher, long-time US consular agent and community leader, will be dedicated Tuesday, May 6, 1pm, at Stirling Dickinson Plaza. The event, sponsored by the San Miguel Community Foundation (SMCF), is open to the public. The Maher bust will join those of Dickinson and Susan Roettinger, two other expatriots noted for their roles in bridging the Mexican and American communities.

He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. It was there in a kindergarten that he met Muriel, his future wife of 61 years. He and Muriel came to San Miguel in 1970, buying an home in Atascadero that was to serve as home for the rest of his life. Maher died here shortly before Christmas 2006 at the age of 84.

A listing of Maher’s local accomplishments is lengthy. He was president of the Biblioteca Pública three times, volunteer English teacher, instrumental in forming the city’s first firefighters organization, treasurer of the Malanquin Golf Club, treasurer of Club Deportivo and a founding member and president of Patronato del Hospital de la Fe. Maher also was a cofounder of San Miguel Community Foundation and served as its president from 1974 to 1996.

Maher, of course, is best known for his role as the US consular agent from 1985 to 2006. As such he became San Miguel’s “go-to guy” in handling a myriad of tasks for expatriates.

Stirling Dickinson Plaza is across from Real de Minas Hotel on Calle Ancha de San Antonio. The Maher bust and column will be donated by SMCF while the city is paying for the plaque.

Looking back at San Miguel
Compiled by Atención staff

April 20, 1998 The lead story opened “Disagreements Heat Up in Underground Wiring Project,” with reporters discussing the growing concern over street closures and torn up sidewalks in the ongoing maintenance project for underground wiring. Sound familiar?

“As of now, many streets remain under construction or repair, workers with chisels break up the flat stones of the sidewalks to lay plastic pipe, dangerous unmarked holes in sidewalks abound, and for the most part, the overhead wires and poles remain in place. Says the CFE, 'We have no comments. Ask city hall. Says the office of the Mayor, 'We are not to blame for the faults in the underground wiring program.' Says the city's Department of Urban Planning, which operates under the Mayor's supervision: 'Of course we are responsible!' A press release from the mayor's office asked, 'Who is to blame for the state streets in San Miguel?'”


The English teachers of Mextesol (San Miguel chapter) held their First Regional Convention Saturday, April 25. The convention was planned to offer networking for English teachers in the area, as well as host several English textbook editors.


An oral history archive of San Miguel was started by the Biblioteca Pública, to begin compiling audio, video and photographic material dating back the the 1930s. “We'll attempt to capture and preserve, mostly on audio or videotape, the living memories of the San Miguel community members who have shared in creating the organizations that make San Miguel such an active and attractive place to live,” said Barbara Bladen Porter, chairwoman of the Oral History Committee initiated by Clyde Ellis, president of the Library.

April 22, 1988 The Red Cross ambulance report was the lead story; the progress report deemed the chapter alive, well and growing. “Only five years ago, a San Miguel 'emergency medical system' wasn't really a thought, much less a reality.

The Red Cross provided most ambulance service in broken-down old vehicles which contained no equipment or supplies, at times no gasoline.”

From the Decline of Civilization Department: The world's favorite gourmet paradise, McDonald's, has opened a restaurant in Guadalajara. When their first hamburger palace opened in Mexico City in 1985, it tied-up traffic for four hours.

Busy Bodies reported that there were a lot of disappointed faces around town the previous week. Film fans were crushed to discover that on their favorite night of the year--Academy Award night--Cablevision scheduled the televising of a baseball game! Calls started coming in to chide Atención for having recently printed some favorable comment about the cable company. But all ended happily--a campaign of last minute pleas to Señor Trejo at the office on Zacateros got the program on the air. And although most sanmiguelenses wondered what John Candy and Pee Wee Herman were doing on the same program with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, a good time was had by all.

CASA spring sale is this weekend

Spring Sale
CASA
Sat, Apr 26, 9am-3pm
Santa Julia 15

CASA will be throwing its annual Spring Housecleaning Sale this weekend. Now is a good time to stock up on furniture, housewares, clothing and all kinds of bric a brac that will help CASA raise money for its variety of social services programs. If you have anything you would like to donate, please call Elsbeth Friedli at 152-2813, and we can come and pick it up!

Community Meeting

Va por San Miguel
Tue, May 6, 7pm
El Sindicato
Recreo 4
All are invited