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Editor,
To be or not to be.....a writer. I just returned from the San Miguel Writers’ Conference and my head is filled with ideas, new and revisited; my being is full with inspiration and motivation from this 3-day immersion in a community of like-minded people.
Did I find the “magic bullet” to success (a method, a practice), which I think many of us hope to find from such an experience...NO...but nevertheless have not walked away empty-handed.
What does it take to be a writer— are you born with the talent; can anybody do it through hard work and/or luck..... is it a “pipe dream”...all of the above. Is there a formula to success?
What I observed and learned, and was so impressed by listening to successful authors, was that they all seemed to possess certain qualities that we all can possess— humanity, intuition, compassion, non-judgementalness, sense of humor, curiosity, a sense of adventure, open-mindedness...seasoned with dedication, perseverance, passion, hard work and sacrifice; but most of all, humility, which I found the most impressive of all. I saw no arrogance amongst these particular writers. This is something I would connect to my overall experience in San Miguel—positive support from the artistic community as a whole—if you say you want to be, you can be.
As in all things, we are individuals and must seek our own way to our own ends, hence there is no magic, no easy road, and no escaping the “process” of just doing it—take a risk, exercise your courage, trust yourself.... go for it!!!
Claudia Joubert
Editor,
Please keep the Jardin/Centro free of commercial business and familiar looking signage which distracts from the historic and Mexican flavor of our wonderful town. We fully support Joy Emery's fine February 22nd letter to you indicating her disappointment in the announcement of a Starbuck's Coffee House on the Jardin's perimeter. Where is our historic police force, INAH, in this important decision? A better location would be near Gigante, Mega or the newly announced Wal-Mart Store. My experience with Starbuck's in California and particular, San Francisco, is that their locations become a major pedestrian traffic jam and their customers use the facilities as a second office (cell phones, computers, etc.). Let's not disrupt the existing businesses in the Centro with yet another major competitor. The next thing we know, Peet's Coffee will want equal billing across the Jardin, to be followed up with a Chili's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Slow down the growth! We recognize the financial impact to San Miguel bu
t not at the expense of its charm and reputation.
Rennie & Elsa Spaulding
Editor,
There is a simple solution for those, like myself, who abhor the thought of this installation at one corner of our beloved Jardin.
Do not patronize it. We've all seen what happened when Subway tried to set up shop, in the same block as San Miguel's great "Tortitlán".
Their vegetarian "torta" is superb and no soft submarine sandwich could ever compare with a crisp telera.
Let's continue to support local eateries where they use really fresh, not frozen, ingredients.
Zena Lazarus
Editor,
In the last ten years, the availability of coffee has changed in San Miguel. In the past, when one ordered a cup of coffee, a bottle of Nescafe would be set on the table along side a cup of hot water. Today there are many charming coffee shops which not only sell coffee beans and freshly ground coffees, but also cups of wonderful, aromatic brews in all possible combinations. Why we need a Starbucks here, in one of the premier commercial locations in the Centro, is impossible to fathom. Starbucks has become known for the $4 or $5 cup of coffee in the US and dissatisfaction with that is reflected in their decrease in sales.
Gringos are often blamed for the changes made here in town. If gringos are responsible for this, I apologize for all of us. If not, I would be curious to know what influenced the decision and the giving of the permits and lease to allow this to happen. I am disappointed that tourists will come to our town and see Starbucks beside the Jardin. And, I am sorry for all of the responsible, hard-working owners of small businesses who will suffer.
I, for one, will join with Joy Emery, and make a promise to myself not to buy Starbucks coffee. I hope that others will join me.
Barbara Dulik
Editor,
We travel to places far from home to see things anew, to reconnect, reground, and essentially, to make us feel alive. For many of us, it is through these distinct experiences that we are inspired to contribute to a place’s landscape and people, and to make works that offer a means of re-experiencing the world with a full sense of being.
While in San Miguel de Allende a year ago, I became aware of the work undertaken by Casita Linda through an article published in the local newspaper Atención. Upon returning to the United States, I contacted the organization and asked if they would be interested in having a group of architecture students from the Rhode Island School of Design investigate new ways of approaching the design process for the houses they were building. Casita Linda responded immediately and enthusiastically. Forgive us for not including your names. You know who you are.
We are also grateful to Father Sergio Hernandez for his generosity in allowing our group to set up a studio space in the Convent San Francisco. We are thankful to the Sautto family for continuing to accommodate our students in their hotel. We are especially thankful to Felix Cortes for his enormous patience in helping us develop architectural details for the project. We are indebted to the architect Pedro Antonio Urquiza for his enthusiastic support, and the countless hours of time he spent introducing us to the valuable benefits of building with the regional material of adobe. Our final thanks go to those departments at RISD that supported this project with their financial contributions. I know we will look back and be amazed that we that we made it with our very own hands.
Silvia Acosta
Professor of Architecture
Rhode Island School of Design
Editor,
We at Casita Linda would like to once again express our sincere appreciation to the community of San Miguel de Allende for opening up their hearts and wallets at our recent benefit concert on February 12–13 at the Teatro Santa Ana.
How fortunate we were to have singer/songwriters Steve Eaton and Mike Sanders come to San Miguel (at their own expense!) to put on a show that knocked our socks off…and brought tears to our eyes. They both have hearts as big as the universe and we are hoping they will return in the near future.
Big kudos to Mike Hager, who put together this concert almost single-handedly. As a result of his efforts and the generosity of the San Miguel community, we raised US$6,500—enough to build three homes for families living in extreme poverty in the nearby campo.
Jean Gerber
Executive Director
Casita Linda
Editor,
Your “3 Green Tips” to help save the environment in the February 15 issue are certainly worthy. But, the suggestion to take shorter showers should have been followed by a shower tip— to first have a short soak, turn off the water, soap yourself and then shower off the soap. Collectively following this procedure would save lots of water in a relatively warm climate like San Miguel.
David Westerman
Editor,
The Democratic Global Primary Election in San Miguel was a great success thanks to many people. First we want to thank and congratulate the 512 San Miguel residents who voted in person at the Biblioteca Pública and the 266 who voted via the internet. For the first time in history, Americans living abroad had an opportunity to vote in person in an American election.
We want to thank the officers, board and staff of the Biblioteca Pública for making the Biblioteca available as our polling site.
Members of San Miguel Democrats Abroad volunteered their time to work all day at the polling site. We very much appreciate their dedication.
Thanks to all of you.
Gretchen Sullivan, Chair
Editor,
On behalf of the Madres and boys of Mexiquito, please accept our thanks to all those who attended La Aurora’s 4th anniversary fiesta and who through their generosity that evening donated nearly $9000 pesos. As they passed by the fountain in the entrance patio they were encouraged by Chris and Barbara Webber to make a wish to make a dream come true for someone else less fortunate.
This amount allowed us to purchase more of the furnishings required for the new dormitory project for 13 of the older boys. In recent weeks many other caring donors have come forward to share in this cause or to offer services and talent to the casas hogares at Sollano, Santa Julia and Mexiquito.
Through the kindnesses of people like our ‘angeles’ we can make a difference in the daily comfort of the boys and their caregivers. Donations are accepted most gratefully for this project as well as for the ongoing expenses of maintaining the facility. I can be reached at 152.8178 or
jbcare2learn@aol.com.
Brian Care
Editor,
On February 12th my husband Saul and I were honored at the Rotary meeting with the First Annual San Miguel Rotary Citizen of the Year Award. We would like to thank Gordon Logan , President of Rotary, the Nominating Committee, and Rotary.
When Gordon came to the house to tell us that we had been selected as Rotary San Miguel Citizens of the year, this unexpected honor moved us to tears.
When we first visited San Miguel over 4 years ago, ours was the same quintessential story of so many others who come to magical San Miguel. We came for a visit, we fell in love, bought a house in a week, went home sold our house, retired and moved here all within a year. Of all the things we fell in love with in this community, the most important for us was the tangible spirit of generosity and the visible acts of giving back. We were impressed, moved and felt at home with the degree of selflessness and volunteerism in San Miguel. As teachers, this was our lifestyle. San Miguel is full of warm, generous souls who feel the need to and are lucky enough to be able to give thanks to San Miguel and to our community for our rich and satisfying lives.
The mission of Rotary is to provide service to others, to promote high ethical standards, and to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. It is an honor to receive this award from an organization with such a mission. This is an event we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We are happy and proud to accept this award on behalf of all the other hardworking and selfless volunteers in San Miguel who help to make such a loving community.
Linda Whynman
Editor,
With all the articles and letters about traffic congestion I have not see any mention of the 600-car capacity parking lot on Cardo. It sits virtually empty.
The original concept was to have a free shuttle bus to take users into centro. The shuttle bus was never provided and the lot rarely has a dozen cars in it. If a shuttle was available (something half the size of the monster red trolley ) and the lot was used to just half its capacity, that would remove 300 cars from centro.
That, and Charles Miller's suggestion that substantial fines , or immediate towing, be imposed immediately, would go a long way toward making centro a more civilized place.
Gordon Jett
Editor,
Among radical groups like the Center For Global Justice (CGJ), attacking the “messenger” is a far better strategy than attacking the “message.” The four letters in Atención in the February 22 issue attacking my article DID YOU KNOW in the Feb. 15 issue is a case in point. It’s interesting to note nobody is questioning the content of my OPINION article. I would like to hear from Pedro Anillo Guevara who called me a “fascist.” He does not seem to exist. Surely Atención knows who he is.
Beldon Butterfield
Editor,
I have to respectfully disagree with many points Mr Butterfield made in his criticism of the Center for Global Justice [CGJ]. To keep it short, I will just mention a few.
1] "anti US rhetoric": Dissent and free speech are the hallmarks of a great democracy. I applaud the CGJ for challenging US government policies that undermine our freedoms such as torture and unwarranted wiretapping.
2] "Mexicans simply want Americans to leave them alone and stay out of their affairs.": What a presumptuous and dogmatic statement. My experience with Mexicans here is that most are very appreciative of my attempts at learning Spanish, their culture and history and by interacting with them, not "leaving them alone". I applaud the CGJ daytrips to the campo to actually listen to Mexicans and help out based on their needs. Did Mr Butterfield ask these rural Mexicans if they want the CGJ to "leave them alone"?
3] "What is happening to San Miguel?": I like the San Miguel where Americans are studying and learning Spanish, immersing themselves in the Mexican culture and interacting with Mexicans. I like the San Miguel where Americans realize what a privilege it is to live in this beautiful town in Mexico. I like the San Miguel that has the CGJ and I am especially proud of the Center for Global Justice and the education they provide and the work they do.
I imagine Mr Butterfield is one of those "love it or leave it" kind of guys when it comes to folks in the US criticizing our government. So how about loving San Miguel or leaving it, Mr Butterfield.
Susan Goldman
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