Weird and wonderful

Lecture and slideshow

“Weird and Wonderful: Images of San Miguel”
By Robert de Gast

Fri, July 6, 3pm Teatro Santa Ana Biblioteca Pública Insurgentes 25 50 pesos

For the last dozen years the photographer and writer Robert de Gast has been exploring many aspects of life in San Miguel. Three of his nine published books have been about our fair city: The Doors of San Miguel; The Churches and Chapels of San Miguel; and Behind the Doors of San Miguel. He also uses his camera almost daily as a sort of journal, recording both the beautiful and the bizarre scenes and situations that make life in San Miguel so agreeable and interesting. 

On Friday, July 6, at the Teatro Santa Ana, de Gast presents hundreds of photographs from his collection with a slide show he calls, “Weird and Wonderful: Images of San Miguel” and talks about his experiences getting to know the town.

A professional documentary photographer for 50 years, Robert de Gast was born in the Netherlands, worked in Europe and the US for corporate clients, educational and cultural institutions, and has been widely published in scores of magazines.

A full-time resident of San Miguel, he tutors and conducts small photography workshops.

A recent issue of The Independent Traveler made enthusiastic mention of the popular speaker: “Don’t miss Robert if he’s giving a lecture!”

The admission charge to the hour-long presentation benefits the Biblioteca’s many programs.

“Heaven is Within and Without” By Rev. Dr. Thomas Lynch

Tues, July 10, 3:30pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25


The spiritual wisdom literature of all faith traditions tells us that “heaven” is really a state of mind. It is a “place” of goodness where one finds eternal happiness. Spiritual wisdom teaches us that we create our own happiness through our thoughts as we live our lives. Heaven is inside us. Our worst enemy is often the person looking back at us in the mirror. We create our own hells and we can create our own heavens with our thoughts.

Our thoughts are not enough; we are known by our actions and they do make a difference in the world around us.

Heaven is inside and outside of us. Once you recognize this universal truth, others will recognize your new spirituality. The awareness that your positive thoughts and actions, no matter how small, do make a difference to the goodness and happiness that is in the world.

You can begin to understand that you are a child and agent of the divine within you.

Next week, we shall explore the spiritual wisdom that says you can learn spiritual wisdom even from an infant. For those who believe that spiritual wisdom is interesting and wish an in-depth discussion, you are invited to attend a weekly group discussion on this topic at the Biblioteca on Tuesdays. Rev. Dr. Thomas D. Lynch guides the group discussion. For more information, please contact José Luis at the Biblioteca.

Benefit Lecture For Suzanne Ludekens

Certainly, residents of San Miguel de Allende know that the Atención editor, Suzanne Ludekens, recently suffered a near-fatal medical condition. We are happy to report that she has survived and is recuperating. However, her considerable medical expenses are a concern that the Biblioteca Públic would like to help eliminate. On Wednesday, July 11, at 3pm, in the Santa Ana Theater, the first Ancient Cultures of Mexico lecture of the summer season will be offered as a benefit for the Medical Expenses Fund of Suzanne Ludekens. The Biblioteca Pública and lecturer Guillermo Méndez are donating all proceeds to the fund. The usual lecture donation fee is 50 pesos. For this lecture no entrance fee will be charged. After the lecture, the audience will be asked to donate what they can to Suzanne’s Medical Expenses Fund. Seating is limited, so come early.

The Four Major Pre-Hispanic Mexican Cultures

“Ancient Cultures, Part I”
Wed, July 11, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
50 pesos


“Aztec, Toltec, Mixtec, Zapotec”—we know they were some of the great cultures of ancient Mexico, but “how the heck can you tell one ‘tec from another?” Retired Professor of Humanities Guillermo Méndez examines four major pre-Hispanic Mexican cultures described by one Mesoamerican scholar as the four “unifying forces” in ancient Mexico. They are the Olmec, Teotihuacán, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations. The lecture is illustrated with over 200 digital images of the art, artifacts, and architecture of the four cultures.

For each culture a distinguishing concept is given and discussed. The concepts are defining concepts that help to differentiate one group from another.

For example, the concept for the Olmecs is “The Mother Culture,” for that is the role they played in Mesoamerican history. Most of the salient characteristics of later cultures were present in the Olmec several centuries before the year zero in our Gregorian calendar.

The ancient cultures of Mexico shared a unique calendar that combined a 365-day solar calendar and a 260-day ritual calendar. This combination of calendars did not repeat until 52 years had passed. Thus 52 year “centuries” acquired considerable importance in the cosmic expectations of the Aztecs, for example, demanding vital rituals like the “new fire ceremony.” Every 52 years all the fires in the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlán, were extinguished. On a hilltop outside of the city a “new fire” was started on the chest of a soon-to-be-sacrificed person. From the new fire all the extinguished fires of the city would be reignited.

Each of the four cultures had its own style in art and architecture. Again, distinguishing visual images are presented that characterize each culture. In the case of the Olmecs, the colossal heads carved of basalt are discussed and the unique were-jaguar images, many carved from jadeite, will be examined and interpreted.

A second lecture next week, using the same format, presents the Zapotec, Maya, Classic Veracruz, and Mixtec cultures.

Oaxaca in Times of Cholera
By Holly Yasui


With Gustavo Esteva
Thurs, July 12, 3pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
50 pesos

Sanmiguelenses will have the rare opportunity to hear one of Mexico’s foremost activists and intellectuals, Gustavo Esteva, author of dozens of books and hundreds of articles and essays. He recently published a scathing analysis in English of the current political situation in Mexico, “The Other Campaign and the Left: Reclaiming an Alternative,” in Z Magazine. As part of the Center for Global Justice’s summer program for university students from the US, Canada and Mexico, Esteva comes to San Miguel from Oaxaca, a cauldron of activism and grassroots organizing.

The unusual demographics of Oaxaca—predominantly indigenous and composed of numerous small municipalities governed by communal assemblies—make it a unique breeding ground for alternative social movements. In the spring of 2006, the Popular Assembly of the Oaxacan People (APPO) burst into world headlines when it took over the capital city, demanding numerous reforms and the ouster of the corrupt governor and his administration.

As Luis Hernández of La Jornada wrote:

APPO synthesizes the local political culture, born in the popular assemblies, the teachers’ union, indigenous communalism, municipal autonomy, religious outreach, the radical left, the regionalism and ethnic diversity of the state. It also expresses new forms of association that were created in Oaxaca based on the peaceful popular uprising: the organizations of poor neighborhoods of the city of Oaxaca and its suburbs, the libertarian youth networks, and the barricades.

At that time, Esteva, an activist not only in APPO but also in the Zapatista movement, commented: “… what is being built in Oaxaca anticipates our future and carries a great burden of hope.”

During the highly contested July elections and their aftermath, APPO maintained barricades on all major thoroughfares of Oaxaca City, surrounded all the government buildings, and broadcast information about the movement 24 hours per day on Radio Universidad. The governor and his staff were reduced to meeting in hotel rooms and sending the local police out at night to skirmish with APPO. At the end of October, US citizen and Indymedia journalist Brad Will was shot and killed at one of the barricades, and the federals sent in troops with tanks and gas and clubs. APPO decided to resist non-violently, and in the face of the increased use of brutal force, went underground.

Esteva championed APPO on the barricades as well as on the airwaves (including the internet) and describes himself as a grassroots activist and “de-professionalized” intellectual. Having graduated summa cum laude from the Universidad Iberamericana, he held high positions in both private business and government and seemed destined for a distinguished career within Mexico’s establishment. But in the turbulent ’60s, he realized that solutions to social problems could come only from the people themselves. Since then, he has dedicated himself to working with and representing a variety of Mexican grassroots organizations and communities. Based on his seminal work, Grassroots Postmodernism: Remaking the Soil of Cultures and Escaping Education, he founded the Universidad de la Tierra in Oaxaca, a “school without walls” that provides self-directed educational opportunities for independent study.







Grace & Gratitude Gatherings

Sundays, 5:30–8pm
Potluck followed by intentional circle
Tuesdays, 9:30–10:45am
Intentional circle
Jaime Nuno 24b

Law of Attraction in Action classes

Introductory class
Fri, July 13, 5–7pm
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25

Introductory class
Mondays, 11am–1pm

Advanced class 
(Intro or previous experience required)
Thursdays, 11am–1pm
LifePath Center
Recreo 80

Is there something that keeps you from being as joyful as you think you can be in every moment or from enjoying your life even more fully? 

“Law of Attraction in Action” classes and “Grace and Gratitude” gatherings facilitated by Donna Stevens are designed to bring positive, like-minded people together to explore implementing the universal principles of the law of attraction, the art of allowing, and the powerful tool of deliberate creation into every day life. Donna’s classes give further insight into the world of cause and effect for ‘manifesting veterans’ and a wonderful learning experience for new comers. The movies The Secret and What the Bleep have painted the broad strokes for many of us; in these classes you will learn and practice exciting, educational, and effective tools to create more of what you intend in life. By turning your focus to what is wanted and away from that which is not, we create not only more of what we desire, but heighten our ability to walk through life with more joy, happiness and ease. Please go to www.futureforwardcreations.com  for more information or email donna@futureforwardcreations.com  if you have any question
s. Is it not worth investing two hours of your time to improve the quality of your life?

The lady of the legends

Every Sunday at 12:30pm María Luisa Moreno mounts the stairs of the gazebo in Parque Juárez and waits for children of all ages to gather around. It doesn’t take long. She is a master storyteller.

In her clear and elegant Spanish, Maestra Moreno casts her spell, telling indigenous tales, keeping these ancient stories alive. She hopes to instill in these children a sense of pride in their heritage and a knowledge of their history. Even children just beginning their study of Spanish are sure to enjoy the delightfully dramatic stories, myths and legends performed by María Luisa Moreno.