Irma Hernández Jacinto of Los Ricos de Abajo: This is her world
By Dianne W. Hart May 2, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

To understand Irma Hernández Jacinto, you have to know something about Los Ricos de Abajo, the little rancho that’s her home.

It’s an hour’s walk from Atotonilco, across the Rio Laja, up a dusty road, and around a bend where small homes, cattle, and clotheslines spread out against the side of a hill. Farther up a rocky rutted road are the kindergarten and elementary schools where Feed the Hungry serves the children a mid-morning meal.

Irma, a short solid woman with a shy smile made even more hesitant with her concern about her two front teeth that feel precariously balanced on a dental bridge, puts her arm around her youngest child who has run from the classroom to hug her. Her pink top sets off her olive skin and dark hair. She talks about her children and how her love for them has framed her life.

Six years ago, Irma’s then 32-year old husband died of stomach cancer, leaving Irma a widow, at age 23, with 3 sons. When he became sick, he had to stop working in a chicken factory; they sold everything in their La Cuadrilla home, and moved back to her hometown of Los Ricos de Abajo to be near her parents. To pay for his care, she asked for money from her brothers, sisters, parents, and uncles.

A couple of years after his death, Irma decided to accept the invitation of one of her sisters in the United States. It was a difficult decision for Irma, but in order to ever have a house for her family, she felt she had to do it. She had begun selling school snacks-- churros topped with cabbage and salsa picante, fruit juice, and oranges, all priced at a peso--but she never made enough to get ahead. Her mother agreed to take care of Irma’s children and Irma’s work; her brother would accompany her, pay for her trip and she would pay him back.


They took a bus from San Miguel de Allende to Nuevo León, made contact with a coyote, and on February 27, 2005, took one of the many row boats waiting at the Río Bravo to take emigrants across.

The first thing they did was hide, and then they began a long walk accompanied by two men from a rancho near Los Ricos. Their canned beans, flour tortillas and bottled water ran out by the third day, forcing them to scoop water out of puddles, wrap the bottom of their sweatshirts over the top of the bottle, and use the fabric to strain the mud out as they drank. The weather was cold and rainy; they used garbage bags as raincoats; when they needed to sleep, they found a tree and hid themselves under its leaves or ground cover as best they could.

They eventually caught a bus to Dallas, then one to Houston, and finally boarded a van that held four strangers, including one from Argentina, and continued on their way.

Thirty-six hours later, her sister met them at a gas station in New York City, and took them to her small apartment in Staten Island where the sister lived with her husband and children.

Her sister helped her find work cleaning in Manhattan. The first trip on the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan terrified her, as did the New York subway, especially the day she missed her stop and had to keep asking people what to do until she found a Spanish-speaking policeman to help her. “Ay, Dios mío, ayúdame,” she would pray repeatedly and it guided her way.

At night, she cleaned offices full of massage tables in a Manhattan skyscraper; during the day she cleaned New York apartments. When she wasn’t working, she slept. She bought nothing, met no one, and saved every penny she could, her biggest splurge being dinner at the cheapest restaurant she could find, a Chinese one.

When she had to return. Irma had been able to pay her brother back, and by then, she had money for a house, enough for a plane ticket, and had thereby accomplished what she set out to do.

She landed in León around 1pm, three months after she had left, with two large suitcases full of used clothing given to her by a woman whose home she had cleaned and whose children were the same ages. She was greeted with hugs and tears from her mother and Paco, her youngest child.

The three took a taxi from the airport to Silao where they caught a bus toward San Miguel. When they got off the bus at the Pemex station near the turnoff to Atotonilco, they dragged the two suitcases on the highway, turning off to the dusty road to Los Ricos, across the Rio Laja, and reached her parent’s house at 6pm.

When she got to Los Ricos, she knew she had done the right thing by going and the right thing by returning. She thought of the differences between her rancho and New York City, places she’d been within the span of one day, and said to herself, “This, Los Ricos, is my world.”

Awaiting her were more hugs and tears from her other two children, all of whom looked older and bigger than she had remembered.

Before long, the dream of the house that sent her afar came to fruition. Her father had given her a small piece of property near his house, the people in Los Ricos pitched in by donating cement, and now, after her 3 months in New York, Irma could buy bricks, sand, gravel, metal for the roof, allowing her to build a house with 2 rooms and a small kitchen. 


Today she’s back selling snacks. Her oldest child, Augustín, is 13 and an excellent English student at Atotonilco’s secondary school, and Feed the Hungry continues to make lunch for Fernando, 9 and in the third grade at Los Ricos, and Paco, soon to be 6 and in kindergarten.

Irma is the president of the Los Ricos parents’ group called Comité de Padres y Families. She and the other three officers meet every 1 or 2 months, depending on what’s happening. If the school director needs something, like basketballs, posts to be painted, cement to be repaired, the committee goes door to door and asks for cooperation. Some parents are able to help with a few pesos, others not.

When there are discipline problems, attendance troubles, family disagreements that spill into the school, the committee of 4 women pays a visit to the home. Irma admits that they are not always welcome, that they are in the awkward spot of having responsibility but no power, but still, the welfare of the children is what they work for.

And on occasion, when she and her children are watching television at her parents’ home, New York City will come on the screen. “See,” she’ll say, “those are the Twin Towers, and I worked right next to where they used to be.”

Dianne W. Hart is a longtime volunteer with Feed the Hungry and a published writer.

Feed the Hungry—become part of our story through your support


It’s a story of success, smiles, generosity, and innovation, and of course, thousands of meals, served daily to kids who say gracias and mean it with all their hearts. Everyone has a part in this story, from those who were hungry, to those who work, to those who give their time and financial contributions.

What We Do

We are an independent nonprofit corporation in the US (Federal Tax ID #20-1193434) and in Mexico providing hot, nutritious meals every regular school day to children who do not have enough to eat. Our 32 kitchens provide food to over 4,000 children a day. We build our kitchens attached to schools in San Miguel and the surrounding rural communities. The diet we provide is designed by a nutritionist and is high-protein vegetarian food—fresh vegetables, legumes, soy, rice, fortified tortillas and fruit. Contact http://www.feedthehungrysma.org/ 

Los Ricos de Abajo

We also teach English one hour a week at Los Ricos de Abajo’s elementary school from mid-January to mid-April. If you are interested in participating, please contact Dianne W. Hart at dwaltahart@yahoo.com.

Mentors sought for new Jovenes Adelante scholarship recipients
By Keith Wall

A year ago in Atención, Jovenes Adelante announced a new development in its efforts to support an expanding number of university scholarships: a mentor program.

The organization anticipated awarding another 25 scholarships in the summer, bringing the number of recipients to 42. The officers realized, with mixed feelings, they could no longer provide the familial, one-on-one relationships with students they’d enjoyed in simpler times. The article described the nature and responsibilities of the mentor relationship and asked for volunteers. In a matter of weeks, more than 40 people responded. A mentor welcome and orientation meeting was held in July. The officers were thrilled with the response and humbled by the backgrounds and qualifications of the interested people. Mentors and mentees were matched and then introduced at the first beca (stipend) distribution in August.


In the past year, the mentor program has proven not only successful, but indispensable. Each month mentors meet with their students and submit brief reports to the board. Meetings are generally brief and loosely structured, sometimes involving a coffee, a mini-English tutoring session, or a short outing. Sometimes, due to student location or mentor travel issues, only email exchanges are possible. The main thing is that students know they have a friend (counselor, confidante, sympathetic “auntie” or “uncle”) in the organization immediately available to them with whom they can share their university, family and work experiences, good or bad, who wants them to succeed, and who will help them when problems arise. When something serious comes up, the mentor’s job is to notify Jovenes Adelante officers who can intervene with a plan to help the student overcome whatever the obstacles might be.

Oncer again, Jovenes Adelante seeks mentors for the 20 or more new students to be awarded scholarships this August. The minimum requirements to be a mentor are to meet or communicate with students once a month and report on their progress. In addition to an orientation meeting in July, there are two mentor meetings yearly where mentors share experiences and ideas. Mexican citizens living and working in San Miguel are strongly encouraged to become mentors, as are members of the ex-pat community. Mentors do not need to be bilingual, nor do they need to live here full time. Some mentors who are here only in the winter or spring have managed, with email communication, to build strong mentoring relationships with their students. Mentoring is a wonderful opportunity to get to know a young Mexican student and his or her family over time, make a significant difference in the life of another and develop a mutually enriching lifelong relationship.

If you are interested in being a Jovenes Adelante mentor, in volunteering as an English or math tutor, or in helping with student screening and interviews, publicity, fundraising and/or technical support, please contact jovenesadelante@gmail.com  or Pat Harding, VP of the Mentor Program, at travel@yptd.com. 

Bereavement support groups at Hospice San Miguel
By Dorie Beach

Coping with one’s life after the death of a loved one can be a devastating and solitary experience for the bereaved. It may seem that no one else could ever understand the feelings of emptiness and despair. After the funeral is over and the inevitable flurry of legal and business activities slows down, so does the pace of visitors and phone calls. Friends assume that sufficient time has passed for the bereaved person to begin to “feel better,” yet this is often the point where deep grief begins. Getting out of bed in the morning takes a major effort. Everyday tasks can seem monumental. Making a commitment to keep a social engagement in the near future is avoided because the bereaved cannot know with any certainty whether he or she will have the emotional capacity to follow through when the date arrives.

It is difficult for the bereaved, and for their friends, to understand that these reactions, as well as many others, are a natural part of the grief process. For the grieving persons, learning that they are not alone in this process is a great relief.

Sharing feelings with others who understand fosters emotional healing and hope. This has been the experience of those attending the Bereavement Support Groups at Hospice San Miguel.

There are Bereavement Support Groups in both English and Spanish. The groups meet every Saturday and are led by experienced mental health professionals. To make a reservation or for further information, call 154-4287.

Dorie Beach is the Social Work Director/Bereavement Coordinator of Hospice San Miguel. She has experience as an oncology social worker, hospice bereavement counselor and as a psychotherapist.

Festivities in the tradition of the cross
From Atención archives

During the morning of Saturday, May 3—the day of the Santa Cruz (Holy Cross)— masons and construction workers bring floral-decorated crosses to churches to be blessed, and then take them to the construction site where they are working and set them high in a place of honor.

The origins of this custom lie in the pre-Columbian reverence for mountain tops where an altar or sacred symbol was often placed. Employers are expected to contribute generously to the midday feast, put in an appearance with a cordial buen provecho, but not linger. This is the albañiles (construction workers) day, now joined by other trades working on the edifice.

So from now through the end of May, San Miguel residents will receive early wake-up calls as the faithful celebrate with fireworks and church bells. Dawn and dusk are believed most beneficial for being charged with spiritual energy, and the light and noise of fireworks assists the change from night to day.

Commemoration of La Santa Cruz was first established in Byzantium during the 4th century when, reputedly, Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, journeyed to the Holy Land at an advanced age and found the remains of the cross on which Christ was crucified. This same tradition was brought to Mexico by the Spanish conqueror, Hernán Cortéz, who landed in a place he named Veracruz (True Cross). The early missionaries wisely knew the value of incorporating pagan forms of worship and other native customs into the Christian faith.

The founding of San Miguel

According to the late Don Felix Luna (from an interview in 2005), a descendant of one of the four founding families of San Miguel and guardian of a 350-year-old Santa Cruz, the Holy Cross, like the Virgin of Guadalupe, was critical to the conquest and evangelization of Mexico. Fray San Miguel, accompanied by a small group of Otomí converts and Chichimecas, founded San Miguel Viejo. The ceremony was ritualistic and impressive: the friar made a cross out of branches, held it above his head in his left hand and held earth in his right. Then, he struck the ground with the cross and scattered earth to the four directions, declaring the town founded under the protection of the King of Spain and the Archangel Michael. In those days, the cross was some 15 meters in height, made of branches, and placed in the center of town high enough to be seen from afar.

After the town was founded, the indigenous people wanted a permanent symbol. A larger wooden cross was offered, but rejected. Then a cross made of cantera. No, that would not do. Finally, a stone cross was decided on, durable and as permanent as the original idols the people had worshipped, and decorated with symbols for water, sun, moon, wind and earth along with Christian symbols. The Santa Cruz is considered the most important symbol in the process of evangelization, though, at the time it was strongly rejected by indigenous peoples. They had hollow crosses in their homes that they would cut in half, placing idols of their many gods inside. The Spanish were impressed with the fervor of their devotion to the new symbol.

Later, marauding Chichemeca tribes nearly wiped out the small settlement; the friar and a few others escaped to more secure grounds at El Chorro—not as in popular belief, in search of water as there was abundant water, but for security from the tribes. It was then that the first stone cross was made. A group of 50 Spanish families came to make it official, as the town occupied an important location at the crossroads to the capital, the silver mining town of Zacateros, and mineral-rich Guanajuato. The town wasn’t officially refounded, but the transferral of the cross made it official on December 16, 1555—the Villa de Españoles de San Miguel el Grande.

The center of town was Ojo de Agua El Chorro, with the Santa Cruz resting in the small chapel; the north of the city was designated to the Spanish and the south to the indigenous, with the water supply shared between them. But fighting broke out and a judge was brought in from the Capital to decide on the water rights issue. The fight culminated in the Indians removing the cross to a place in Guadiana. After the wars of independence and revolution, records of the cross were lost; the cross destroyed, stolen or lost in the wars.

The seven barrios (suburbs) created were Guadiana, Ojo de Agua, Valle de Maiz, La Palmita, Tecolote, San Juan del Obraje and San Francisco de las Cuevitas; each with a chapel and a holy cross. Valle de Maiz continues to conserve the closest traditions to the original.

Volunteers in San Miguel: Helping people is the satisfaction
By Gabriela Blanco

San Miguel is a gifted city that counts more than 50 nonprofit associations and organizations that dedicate their work and time to help people live a better life. These groups depend on the support of hundreds of volunteers and without this help, would not be able to assist as many communities nor take care of as many people who require special assistance. These volunteers work with all sorts of different programs and activities without receiving monetary compensation--the only reward comes with the satisfaction of helping and assisting people. Their duties can include garbage collection, cleaning communities, protecting animals and giving support to children and elderly people. Volunteers often dedicate full or part-time support for many of these organizations.

The Centro de Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende, CASA (Center for the Adolescents of San Miguel de Allende), is a center that offers many services such as family planning and information about contraception, cancer prevention in women, Caesarean services, protection from domestic sexual violence and information about the severe consequences of illegal abortions. The Center has 30 youth counselors, all Mexican students, who visit communities to distribute birth control and disease prevention information.

The Centro de Crecimiento (Growth Center) supports the development of disabled children by improving their physical training conditions, as well as by offering scholastic education and helping them to raise their self-esteem through the many diverse programs sponsored at the center. The center has eight permanent volunteers, three from the US and five from Mexico. They also currently have 25 young students who are performing their social service.

Instituto de Rehabilitación y Enseñaza Especial (IRRE) is a school that helps the deaf and dumb children from limited resources that come from diverse communities around the city to have a normal and complete education, with the support of special programs and equipment.

Casa de los Angeles (Angel's House) is a community of people who nurture and educate children from lesser means, by serving the needs of all that need support. Casa de los Ángeles has seven volunteers who come from Japan, Canada, US and Mexico.

In their own words

Robin, a volunteer, said “I love being a volunteer, because I love fixing libraries. I like making them better than they are. Books are my whole life; I started volunteering in 1975.”

Jose Luis Reyes, a preparatory student, he has been volunteering for three months. “I’m a volunteer because I love to help people; I feel comfortable volunteering, especially in communities. This work gives me much satisfaction as I can offer information on subjects such as sexual disease prevention and breast and cervical cancer detection and offer nutritionally healthy recipes so people can feed themselves better to prevent diseases.”

Diego Armando Becerril said that he offers sexual education talks to young people about how to use condoms and other contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. “I like to have contact with people to gain their confidence and help to orient them. I have been volunteering for four months,” also he supports the collection and separation of garbage to clean the communities and to educate people to maintain clean their living places, “It’s hard work, but little by little, we will obtain a garbage-free San Miguel.” He is a preparatory student and uses his free time to volunteer. “There are 30 volunteers who do different work; we are already working with 24 communities who periodically need attention and attendance.”

Diane, an American, said “I have been volunteering about a year and I love it. I’m teaching English, because I can give back as much as I receive from Mexico and I enjoy it.” She works in ALMA.

Ximena, a 9-year-old girl, said that her school teacher invited them to help in the Charco del Ingenio annual clean up so she, her mother and her two younger brothers and sisters attended. “I’m so happy that my mother brought me here to clean this place, because I feel that I’m helping our planet.”

The search is on!

This year the Biblioteca Pública celebrates its 50th anniversary with a variety of events scheduled throughout the year. In preparation for the special gala in July the administration seeks historical photographs of the institution.

Photographs can be brought to the offices of Atención San Miguel where they will be scanned and immediately returned. Drop by Wednesday to Friday between 10am and noon.