February 13, 2009, A birdhouse in your hand supports natural conservation, By Carol Wheeler, Jalpa: music, dictionaries, computer and burros, By Dorothy Glenn and Jaci Winters, Why alternative, and why women?, By Holly Yasui, Food, wine, mescal and art to raise funds, By Shari Reynols, The gift of mentoring help students grow, By Renee Devereaux, Celebrating a year of empowering young women, By Roger Hind

A birdhouse in your hand supports natural conservation
By Carol Wheeler February 13, 2009 San Miguel de Allende

Casita de Aves
Benefit Auction
Sun, Feb 15, 12–3pm
El Charco del Ingenio
Members, 250 pesos; nonmembers, 300 pesos

Calling all birders, bidders, lovers, bird-lovers, art-lovers, nature-lovers and you who just like a festive afternoon in the country! The Audubon/Charco Birdhouse Auction is this weekend at the Charco del Ingenio, San Miguel’s botanical gardens.

Food, drinks, jazz, open air, native plants, original artworks, and the most congenial, artistic and ecological people in San Miguel will combine for a unique event in San Miguel's natural history—the first joint benefit for our two top conservation groups—the Charco and Audubon de Mexico.

Dozens of San Miguel’s most renowned artists have created houses of every possible size, shape and composition for our local birds, expressly for this Auction. And one of our town’s best-known (and loved) artists—Anado McLauchlin—has agreed to carry out the auctioning duties. Watch out! It’s hard to resist Anado’s auctioneering skills.

And of course the bird houses are very close to irresistible too. There are free-standing houses, houses to fit in trees or hang on them, and houses you wouldn't even consider letting a bird come near and will keep inside your home on display forever.

There are fanciful birdhouses—Cicero Greathouse’s work is called “Lefty” and comes with a travel bag and calendar to make migration easier; threatening ones—Sheridan Sansegundo’s “Come on In” features a fierce-looking cat; suggestive ones—Edward Swift’s “Birdello”; multi-occupancy dwellings—Angela Gentleman’s “Se Renta” and bejeweled and betiled ones—Anado’s “And He Went Up Up... (Birdland)”. Plus, an enchanting, surprising panoply of many others to bid on and to take home with you.

In between bids, benefit-goers will be treated to botanas (otherwise known as finger food) by Patsy Dubois (of “Patsy's” fame), light jazz and of course drinks. You’ll be free too to wander about the gardens, which are replete with native plants of every kind and lovely meandering paths.

Both the Charco and Audubon work to keep and restore the natural beauty of San Miguel, which is growing from a sleepy colonial town to a major Mexican tourist center. Supporting the two organizations helps to preserve native plants and their surroundings, teach schoolchildren about the environment and present events that raise consciousness about nature.

If you haven’t bought your ticket yet, there may be a few left—each ticket is 250 pesos for members of Audubon or Charco; 300 pesos for others. Ticket information is available from Linda Whynman at 152-2139; vellum1@mac.com or Naomi Zerriffi at 154-9553. If you are unable to attend, go to www.casitasdeaves.org, a special website set up for the auction. You'll be able to see all the birdhouses and even bid on them. Follow the instructions on-line.

Jalpa: music, dictionaries, computer and burros
By Dorothy Glenn and Jaci Winters

Concert
Doc Severinsen
Gil and Cartas
Mon, Feb 23, 7pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Mesones 82
100/225 pesos

Jalpa, a Mexican village 30 minutes from San Miguel, has been chosen as the site for Fundación Internaciónal de Ninos Olvidados (FINO) to run a new after-school program called Leadership through Language.

The program encourages primary school children to develop leadership skills and provides them with the opportunity to learn English, as well as read bilingual books and gain computer skills. The students are selected by their teachers to attend this program (with parental consent) and they willingly give up their free time to participate. They are enthusiastic and attend these classes in a building and library constructed near the school by FINO volunteers.

English- and Spanish-speaking volunteers assist the coordinator in the classroom every Wednesday. Students also have access to the new library, which has a wide selection of English and Spanish books. They can check out books to take home, which reinforces their reading skills. The books are often shared with brothers and sisters. FINO provides library cards to all 150 children in the school, a “credential” which also can be used for bus fare discounts. The card gives them responsibility to care for and return their books on time. They are proud of these cards and pleased with the whole procedure.

FINO recently added two new components to their program. Thanks to Computadores por Jovenes, FINO was given a computer and then purchased specific “kid-friendly” English-language software so when the children come into the library, they reinforce their English and computer skills with a FINO volunteer assisting them. They have headsets for learning and especially enjoy using the mouse to find the right answers to score points with the language games.

David and Melody Brobst donated the second new resource, personal English/Spanish dictionaries for the kids to use at home to help with homework and to appreciate the value of books.

If you would like to help Jalpa students and enjoy some wonderful music by Gil and Cartas, plus former Johnny Carson TV show trumpet player Doc Severinsen, then join us February 23. During the night of music, you will hear from two Leadership through Language students, who will share their stories. Tickets can be purchased at the theater box office.

If you want to attend something unusual, hilarious and unforgettable, and enjoy a delicious local comida (ask someone who was there last year), come to Jalpa for our third annual Burro Festival, March 28. Advance tickets will be available at a discount at the concert. Regular tickets will be available starting February 24 at Casa Papel, Solutions and at the Jardín March 14 or 21.

For more information, visit www.finomex.org.

Why alternative, and why women?
By Holly Yasui

Art Exhibit
Alternative Fair of Women Artisans
Sat–Sun, Mar 7–8,
Bernard Weisman Foundation
Quebrada 67

The Bernard Weisman Foundation (BWF) is sponsoring a nonprofit Alternative Fair of Women Artisans at its property in San Miguel’s historical center.

BWF President Julie DuRand explains, “San Miguel does not lack commercial venues for artisan work, of all kinds, including food and health products as well as clothing and household accessories. ‘Artisan’ in this case means handcrafted, as opposed to manufactured by an industrialized process. But there are few opportunities for artisans to sell directly to buyers without middlemen taking a percentage, or third parties charging for the space in which to display their products.”

Women make up more than 50 percent of the artisans in Mexico and in the world, if you take into consideration the handcrafted meals that most rural and low-income women prepare for their families. Most economists and people in general usually do not consider food preparation as artisan work, but when it is done “from scratch,” it is a craft that requires skill and creativity to do well. At the fair, visitors can taste a wide variety of traditional fresh as well as preserved homemade foods (jams, sweets, liquors).

The Alternative Fair of Women Artisans, designed to be educational as well as fun, will provide a venue for collective and cooperative groups of women such as Mujeres Productoras from the municipalities of Allende and Tierra Blanca; Centro de Desarrollo Agropecuario (CEDESA)/Tierra Generosa in Dolores Hidalgo; and Tlayur from Morelos. The El Caldero theater collective of San Miguel will present special performances.

In the tradition of the popular Mexican kermesse festival, fair-goers can “get married” and play games such as Lotería (a type of bingo), ring-toss and fortune-telling. But watch out! If you don’t behave yourself, the kermesse police will put you in jail, and you’ll have to pay bail to get out!

As part of the alternative community marketing movement that promotes not only local and regional production/consumption but also barter and “social coin,” all goods and services at the fair will be payable by BWFs (pronounced Bwiffs), a currency created especially for this event.

BWFs can be purchased at the BWF Bank at the entrance of the fair, and though regular currency can be used at the fair, prices in BWFs will be lower than prices in pesos.

Everyone can exchange goods and services directly with others. So if someone likes your sweater or sunglasses, you may get an offer to trade them for honey or a massage! If there is a substantial difference in value between goods and/or services being bartered, that difference can be paid in BWFs. Visitors and tourists can barter things that they have brought from home or that they have picked up during their travels. Those who may not have anything else to barter can offer English or Spanish tutoring on site at producers’ table, or in the “Jardín de Idiomas/Language Garden.”

Food, wine, mescal and art to raise funds
By Shari Reynols

A Celebration of Mexican Architecture, Cuisine and Art
Sat, Feb 21, noon–5pm
Feed the Hungry benefit
Rincón de Santa María
Colonia Obraje
350 pesos

Rincón de Santa María hosts a benefit for Feed the Hungry featuring cooking demonstrations by three popular local chefs, wine and mescal tastings, plus a silent auction of artwork from the Feed the Hungry collection.

The program starts with a cooking demonstration by Gustavo Calderón Vivas, the chef at Dos Casas Restaurant, who will prepare three of his Mexican fusion specialties. The WineStyles tasting will feature fine Mexican wines. Allen Williams, owner/chef of Food Factory will demonstrates the preparation of a classic Mexican botana. A mescal tasting follows. Cooking demonstrations conclude with Pablo Cárdenas, owner/chef at Petit Four, who will prepare a Mexican candy specialty. Traditional Mexican botanas, margaritas and aguas frescas will be served throughout the day, with music by a DJ and strolling trio.

Sixteen pieces from the Feed the Hungry collection of donated art will be on display for the silent auction, including work by Krizia, Annemarie Slipper, Dan Ruffert, Toller Cranston and Keith Miller. In addition to the silent auction, a raffle will be held for all ticket-holders.

Feed the Hungry is a nonprofit organization based in San Miguel that raises money to build small, efficient kitchens attached to schools which will provide hot, nutritionally balanced meal to over 4,000 hungry children every school day. Feed the Hungry currently supplies 35 kitchens and plans to build three more in 2009. Visit the website at www.feedthehungrysma.org.

Rincón de Santa Maria is San Miguel’s newest residential community. The contemporary architecture is the work of Mexico City architect Luis Sánchez Renero, whose vision for the project includes the creation of San Miguel’s first hike and bike trail starting at the community entrance along Parque Las Cachinches and Fábrica La Aurora.

Tickets are on sale now at Feed the Hungry offices, Dos Casas, Petit Four, Food Factory and WineStyles. Tickets can be purchased online at www.rincondesantamaria.com/feedthehungry. Ticket price includes entry into the raffle. Event contact: Feed the Hungry Development Director Catherine Cooper Long, (415) 152-2402 or cathycooperlong@gmail.com.

Program

12:30–1:30pm: Gustavo Calderón Vivas, Dos Casas—cooking demonstration and tasting

1:30–2pm: Wine tasting by WineStyles

2–3:30pm: Allen Williams, Food Factory—cooking demonstration and tasting

3:30–4pm: Mescal tasting

4–4:30pm: Paco Cárdenas, Petit Four—cooking demonstration and tasting

4:30–5pm: Announcement of raffle and silent auction winners

If somewhere in your innermost self exists a desire to share what you have learned with someone who deserves a helping hand, Jóvenes Adelante presents a wonderful opportunity.

Jóvenes Adelante grants university scholarships for talented disadvantaged Mexican students. Schooling in Mexico is not required beyond the sixth grade. Upon completion of their schooling, most pre-teens begin some type of manual labor to help provide for the familie’s. Jóvenes Adelante has been able to assist many to further their education.

Along with this worthwhile program, the privilege of mentoring is provided for responsible adults who are willing and able. Mentoring is a way of giving the students unbiased support. A mentor can learn about their lives and concerns without judgment and who can help them navigate some of the complexities of university life.

With mentoring, one’s life can be enriched. Mine certainly has been! In San Miguel, we have all experienced one type of miracle or another. I have experienced many. I will never forget the moment I met the young woman I have had the good fortune to mentor. The name on her name tag told me we would have a strong connection. My life and career have to do with health. Her name: Salud! Yes, it is a privilege to get to know someone so sincere in her desire to improve her life with higher education. She demands a great deal from herself. I feel that one of my roles is to help her balance her expectations with what is practical and realistic, considering her many responsibilities.

Her mother and two younger sisters live at the rural community of Cruz del Palmar. Salud’s father has been in Texas for several years working as a gardener and landscape designer, sending money to his family on a regular basis. Salud had been living with her grandmother in San Miguel during the school week to shorten her travel time to the Universidad Tecnologica de Guanajuato at Dolores Hidalgo. She studies business administration, returning home for the weekend and devoting her spare time to her small business. The enterprise, which she started at age 15, is selling women’s clothing, simply because she observed the inescapable desire of so many to buy “something new” and that going into town to shop was virtually impossible.

Her mother became ill last Christmas, so Salud has returned home full time to be close to her mother. But she has lengthened her travel time to over three hours daily. Her mother’s health has improved considerably, but Salud will not even consider the remote possibility of moving back to San Miguel at this time.

It is easy to love and respect Salud because I see many parallels in her life and the girl I was. I too started my first business as a teenager, and I remember how much I would have appreciated the encouragement and emotional support which I am now able to provide Salud. It is easy to want to help, in one way or another, those who have the drive and initiative to help themselves.

Scholarship students are carefully screened. One of the criteria, besides high marks, is initiative—enthusiasm, a positive attitude and a plan to succeed. It’s not difficult to see why Salud has a scholarship. I applaud her selection and want to give her lots of support.

Exposure to a rich, expanding culture is another reward to mentors that cannot be bought. On our shrinking planet, we need greater understanding of different cultures. Mentoring gives everyone an opportunity to grow, to learn acceptance and, therefore, to love and respect one another.

For more information about Jóvenes Adelante volunteer opportunities, or to sponsor a student, contact jovenesadelante@gmail.com or visit http://jovenesadelante.org.

Celebrating a year of empowering young women
By Roger Hind

Mujeres en Cambio Lunch Benefit
Thu, Feb 19, 2pm
Fernandez Ranch, Atotonilco
Buses depart 1:30pm from calle Cardo, near St. Paul’s Church
250 pesos at Casa de Papel; entry by ticket only

Benefit Concert
Koerner sings Kern
Sat, Feb 28, 7:30pm
Auditorio Miguel Malo
Bellas Artes
Hernández Macías 75
Donation 175 pesos

Mujeres en Cambio holds its major annual fundraiser for 2009 next week —a delicious buffet lunch in a rustic setting near Atotonilco. We are deeply indebted to Pakina and Jaime Fernandez for hosting this event.

Besides opening her home to us, Pakina will supply the main course: chicken mole, rice, beans and tortillas. Mujeres en Cambio supporters or members provide guacamole, salads and dessert platters. Tea and coffee provided, and Pakina and Jaime will donate cash bar proceeds to Mujeres.

You will also have the chance to meet some of our scholarship recipients who will help us run the event. At least one student will sit at each table so you will have a chance to get to know firsthand how a scholarship can change a girl’s life. Lunch tables seating 10 will be set up in the grounds of the Fernandez ranch and you will be at liberty to enjoy a peaceful wander through the gardens and take a peek at the house. Many tables are in dappled shade and some umbrellas will be provided, but we recommend bringing a hat and wearing sunscreen.

After the lunch, we have arranged a visit to Galeria Atotonilco where you will see and be able to purchase from a major collection of Mexican folk art. Our thanks go to Susan Page and Mayer Schacter for offering us this opportunity.

The mission of Mujeres en Cambio is to recognize and empower Mexican women from the campos around San Miguel. By seeding self-sustaining businesses and providing high school and college scholarships, our group has changed the lives of close to 1,000 women and girls.

Women participating in The Rug Hook Project (see www.therughookproject.com) have learned a craft and developed business skills. Their rugs are in demand in the US and Canada and their designs are sold over the internet. Income derived from these efforts is used to educate their children, to provide healthcare for their families and to improve their living conditions.

Our scholarship students come from extremely poor backgrounds, usually living in a single-room house with an earthen floor and no indoor plumbing. We choose outstanding young women who demonstrate capability to achieve, willingness to work hard and a desire to improve themselves and their communities.

Help make the February 19 event a great success. Buses leave from calle Cardo, opposite St. Paul’s Church, at 1:30pm sharp. If you are driving yourself and have room in your car, please drive past St. Paul’s before departure and pick up passengers to avoid overflow from the buses. Details and directions are printed on the reverse of the tickets.

Access to the buses and entry to the lunch and gallery are by advance purchase only. The 150 tickets always sell out quickly and no tickets will be sold on the day. Tickets are available from Casa de Papel, La Conexión (all locations) and La Victoriana (opposite Bellas Artes).

Marianne Koerner, San Miguel’s favorite cabaret artist, will accompany herself singing a selection of Jerome Kern’s classic songs. Further details appear next issue.

For more information about Mujeres or either of these events, visit www.mujeresencambio.org or call Roger Hind at 154-6552 (sorry, no lunch reservations can be taken).