Dancing around the world: 14 countries in Multicultural Festival
By Atención staff May 16, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

The 9th Multicultural Festival to Promote World Community features music, culture, art, crafts, customs and traditions framed in an atmosphere of friendship, brotherhood and respect. The diverse performances will prove an unforgettable experience. 

San Miguel de Allende has a mixture of cultures and each one enriches the society in which all work and live together in harmony.

The Multicultural Festival runs May 16–25 at the Teatro Ángela Peralta, the Jardín Principal Esplanade, Fábrica la Aurora and in the central courtyard of the University of León branch campus here. 

Every year the festival offers a multicultural program that aims to promote the world community. Luis Ferro de la Sota, president of Sociedad Civil en Marcha, founded the festival and believes that the best way to create a harmonious society is through cultural creativity. 

Next week, ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from five continents will visit San Miguel de Allende to celebrate the festival. 

The festival presents a cultural, culinary and craft sampling, as well as regional dances from Russia, Spain, Argentina, Thailand, Israel, Iran, Japan, Indonesia, Serbia, France, Hungary, Palestine, Korea and Mexico.

Festivities begin Friday, May 16, with the traditional opening parade of white flags Closing ceremonies with Mayor Jesús Correa are in the Jardín Principal Esplanade on May 25. All events are free.

Ferro de la Sota said, “San Miguel is a place that gives to the world love, respect and coexistence. It is not a coincidence that this is part of the Sanmiguelenses job because San Miguel has a spirit of coexistence from knowledge gained through years of interacting with foreigners. Last century, foreigners chose San Miguel to live and die here. This means that people left all their knowledge and love of San Miguel, creating this way a mixture of culture that makes San Miguel de Allende what is it. San Miguel didn’t lose, instead it has enriched the basic knowledge and appreciation of other cultures in the world. In San Miguel, people of 40 nationalities are working for the welfare of the city.”

This year will see cultural performances from five continents in this great celebration of life and love. This festival would not be possible without the support and active participation of municipal authorities and the state government.

Ferro invites all the people of San Miguel to get involved and welcome more than 40 ambassadors from around the world who come to witness this unique event.

To book tickets for events at Teatro Ángela Peralta, call Sociedad Civil en Marcha at 152-3104, Monday–Friday, 10am–2pm.

Multicultural Festival, May 16–25 

Friday/Viernes, May 16

6pm, Opening Ceremony/Acto Protocolario 

7:30pm, Concierto con la Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de San Luís Potosí 
Templo de San Francisco

7:30pm. Grupo de Danza Mazatl de San Miguel
Jardín Principal


Saturday/Sábado, May 17 

10am, Photography exhibit opens/inauguración de muestra pictográfica (Irán)
Patio Central de la Universidad de León, Campus San Miguel

11:30am Inauguración de aportación cultural (Rusia, Israel, Tailandia e Indonesia) Galería Be-You Style, Fábrica la Aurora 

6:30, Concierto Tierra Santa (Israel)
Teatro Ángela Peralta

7:30pm, Drum group/Grupo de Tambores Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko (Japón)
Jardín Principal


Sunday/Domingo, May 18

6:30pm, “Sadkó”(Rusia) y Recital de música popular de Rusia

7:30pm, Youth Orchestra/La Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de San José de Gracia (Tepatitlán, Jalisco)
Jardín Principal

8:45pm, Martial Art School/La escuela de artes marciales Yogoda Universal Tae-Kwon Do y exhibición del Arte Marcial de del World Haidong Gumdo Federation (Corea)
Jardín Principal


Monday, May 19

6:30pm, Flamenco “Triana” (España)
Teatro Ángela Peralta

7:30pm Grupo Mayahuel (San Miguel)
Jardín Principal


Tuesday/Martes, May 20

6:30pm, Ensamble Musical, Canto y Baile de Tango (Argentina)
Teatro Ángela Peralta

7:30pm, Banda del Estado (Guanajuato)
Jardín Principal


Wednesday/Miércoles, May 21

6:30pm Celajazo (Guanajuato)
Teatro Ángela Peralta

7:30pm, Grupo musical “Los Fresnos” (Guanajuato)
Jardín Principal



Thursday/Jueves, May 22

6:30pm Concierto de Piano (Jalisco)

8pm, Chorus/Coro Magisterial Allende y Coro de la Parroquia
Teatro Ángela Peralta



Friday/Viernes, May 23

7:30pm Israel Markez (Jalisco)
Jardín Principal


Saturday/Sábado, May 24

Teatro Ángela Peralta

7:30pm, Grupo Tari Bali, Danza Clásica (Indonesia)

8:30pm, La Troja Celayense (Guanajuato)
Jardín Principal



Sunday/Domingo, May 25

6:30pm Concierto Tierra Santa (Israel)
Teatro Ángela Peralta

7:30pm Ballet Folklórico ITZE (Nuevo León)

9pm Closing/Clausura
Jardín Principal

 


UNAM begins courses in Biblioteca

With the support of the local government, the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) begins its courses at the Biblioteca Pública. The first course will be Formulation and Evaluation of Investment Projects, and is directed to people working in NGOs or any person interested in developing an investment project. Since the course will be completely in Spanish with no simultaneous translation, Spanish speaking and comprehension is required. The cost and exact date will be announced in next issue. To participate in the UNAM survey, go to www.atencionsanmiguel.org.  For more information, contact Carmen Acosta Riojas at riohoja@yahoo.com.mx. 

 



Statue dedication for Col. Philip J. Maher
By Bett Adams
On Tuesday, May 6, a bust of Col. Philip J. Maher joined the one of Stirling Dickinson at Plaza de Hombres Ilustres on Salida a Celaya in front of Hotel Real de Minas. The dedication ceremony drew about 25 people from the Mexican Red Cross, local TV, La Puertecita (Claudia Kay) and Jovenes Adelante (Peggy Bolt). Bett Adams delivered the dedication address.

My husband Dixon and I met Col. Philip J. Maher 20 years ago in the consular agent’s office where we had gone to register as newcomers. “Hmmm, so you two are actually married, are you?” he said, looking at our papers. From that inauspicious introduction, we grew to know Phil and his wife Muriel very well, as they both became our treasured friends. 


Phil became something of a role model or mentor for me when he involved me in his work as consular agent and as president of the then San Miguel Educational Foundation. In all situations and challenges, Phil embodied character, courage, conviction and common sense. I seldom saw him indecisive or unsure of what course to take and, happily for me, Phil was one of those oh-so-rare men who was not threatened by competent women. 

In fact, he was married to one. Muriel and Phil were for me the quintessential “happy couple.” They may have had their moments of disagreement, but when you start your relationship in kindergarten you must have some powerful “oneness.” 

Those two weren’t just “actually married”; they actually enjoyed a marriage of 60-plus years. 

Phil would be the first to acknowledge that he owed Muriel much credit as his unpaid assistant, not the least of which was her technique in questioning American prisoners in Mexican jails. Phil called this Muriel “the iron fist in the velvet glove”: sweet, friendly conversational then—bam—she would ask, “Why did you kill that man?” or other cut-to-the-quick questions.

Those of you who knew Phil knew about the nine far-flung prisons he visited every four months. Unlike tourists who might have thought the “consular agent” was a part-time office job, the people of San Miguel saw Phil inventory estates of the deceased; heard about the runaways or lost children he searched for and helped; and knew about his house calls and hospital visits. 

As current jargon has it, Phil was on call 24/7 and only Muriel can tell you the many, many, many times he left the comfort of home to help those in distress. 

Phil did not suffer fools willingly and had little patience for petty feuds or personal malice. He was “the Colonel.” He was in touch with the power brokers and he knew “where the bodies were buried,” so to speak. Phil could be a tough hombre. Many people saw mostly this “iron fist” side of Phil, only in his official consular agent role. 

But Phil had a softer or “velvet” side as well. He was passionately devoted to his family, his friends, his job, his charitable causes such as the hospital and, yes, to his San Miguel. You are here because you know that. You know the public Phil and the more private Phil. You know he was a man in full who honored San Miguel by working for many years without regard to clock or calendar. You know it is right and fitting that San Miguel now honor him and his accomplishments. Phil, we will never forget you.

 



Five-star luxury coming in 2010
By Beverly Russell
Howard Shand, sales director of Artesana Rosewood Residences recently addressed the Miday-Rotary Club meeting. The site, which is being developed and sold in tandem with Bald Mountain de Mexico, consists of 14 acres directly behind Instituto Allende, bordered by calles Nuevo, Aldama and Cardo, and adjacent to Parque Juárez.

Shand moved his wife and two teenage sons to live full-time in San Miguel and was named “Citizen of the Year” by the real estate community in his hometown of Victoria, British Columbia. He rolled out the plans for the first phase of this upscale gated community, which consists of 27 colonial-style residences, a five-star, 63-suite boutique hotel, four swimming pools, four restaurants and a fitness center all nestled within lush landscaping. All cars on the property will be garaged underground and street access limited to delivery vehicles and taxis. This phase is targeted for completion in the summer of 2010.

“People are responding to this high-end, high-quality community,” he said, noting that houses will range in price from US$799,000 to $3.2 million in the first phase. Prospective clients come from the US, Canada and also from Mexico City and Monterrey, whose residents understand “a sense of place” and the historic architectural significance of San Miguel. 

With its renowned flagship hotel in Dallas, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Rosewood’s other five-star hotels include the famous Carlyle in New York City, the honeymooners’ haven San Y’sidro Ranch in Montecito, California, and the chic Las Ventanas in Cabo San Lucas. All these hotels are nearly always fully booked and room rates in Cabo start at US$900 per night. Rosewood recently surpassed the Ritz Carlton Group as the number-one luxury brand for customer satisfaction in an independent traveler survey. Shand said the company will train local personnel for jobs within the operation and will look particularly for graduate students from nearby universities The company is also intent on giving back to the community and has been involved in various charitable activities.

Beverly Russell is the author of several books on architecture and design. She has written articles for numerous publications including The New York Times.