March 07, 2008, cont. from front page, Annual pilgrimage returns Our Lord of the Column, By Jesús Ibarra, International Women’s Day in San Miguel, By Gabriela Blanco, Ban Ki-moon blows the whistle on violence against women, By Lucina Kathmann, Wait! Do not change your clocks yet

Rodolfo Rubio, head and founder of the festival, Jim Dolan, manager-partner of the Coates/Dolan real estate company and sponsor of the festival, Guillermo González Engelbretch, head of the Tourism Council of San Miguel, Jorge Lerma Nava,

assistant secretary of tourism for Guanajuato, and Gustavo Calderón and Juan Carlos Escalante, chefs at local restaurants Dos Casas and Nirvana, announced the activities and benefits the festival will bring to San Miguel at a press conference held February 21.

Rubio said he thinks this was the appropriate moment to organize the festival in Mexico. “We have a wonderful, historical gastronomy, probably one of the richest and most diverse in the world. Mexican gastronomy has become more sophisticated and people want to share in it,” said Rubio, who added that the festival, besides being a tourist attraction, will give local chefs the chance to exchange ideas with guest chefs.

Entrance to Sabor San Miguel, held at Fraccionamiento Vista Antigua on Libramiento a Dolores, will cost 500 pesos per person per day. “The fee includes the tasting of most of the dishes exhibited at the festival, so it is worth the money,” said González Engelbretch. “The organizers are expecting a large number of visitors,” he added. According to Rubio, Vista Antigua can host 1,000 visitors a day.

Dinners with vintners, wine and food tastings, conferences, cooking classes, workshops and photography and art exhibits focused on food and wine are some of the activities announced for the festival, which promises to be a rich, delicious experience.

Savory San Miguel

Rubio said that his company, which publishes Sabor magazine, has long been interested in this undertaking. “Our magazine, which first appeared almost a year ago, is different from other gastronomy magazines;

we not only give recipes, we also bring food experiences to people who like good food,” said Rubio, who added that he is intending to organize this festival each year and to anchor it in San Miguel. He announced that this year’s theme is “Mexico and its kitchen around the world.” He explained that Mexico was chosen to be the guest country since this is the first year of the festival. “We will basically have Mexican food, but also examples of Mexican food movements in other countries and foreigners who have done excellent things with Mexican food abroad,” he said. Rubio added that he is already in talks with the guest country for next year’s festival, but he preferred not to name the country.

“The festival is a combined effort by several renowned national and international chefs and enologists, such as Patricia Quintana, Paola Garduño, Roberto Santibáñez, Roberto Solís, Don Miller, and the culinary writer Diana Kennedy.”

On opening day, March 7, a gala fundraising dinner to benefit Feed the Hungry, a nonprofit organization that provides breakfast for children at rural community and poor neighborhood schools, will take place. Rubio said that Feed the Hungry was chosen over other nonprofits because of its ties to food and nutrition.

Why here?

Rubio explained that San Miguel was chosen for the festival because of its organized tourism infrastructure; Valle de Bravo and Puerto Vallarta were also considered. “It was not an easy decision, but when we arrived in San Miguel, it was irresistible. We decided that it had to be here,” said Rubio. “It is a clean city, close to Mexico City and relatively close to Guadalajara, and many people from Monterrey have properties in San Miguel. It has an interesting local community, and there are large numbers foreigners who live here most of the year and would be familiar with such a festival. Another reason is the warmth and enthusiasm of its people.” Rubio added that the idea of holding the festival in San Miguel was well received by local restaurant owners, the foreign community, the Tourism Council and local and state governments.

The sponsors

The main sponsor and host of the Sabor San Miguel Festival is Coates/Dolan, a real estate company that manages residential developments in the city, including Vista Antigua, where the festival will be held. Jim Dolan said that he is very happy to sponsor a festival of this kind “because it will bring tourism and economic benefits to the city.” His company is the first real estate business to support an event like this, and he added that it will probably support the event next year.

Other sponsors are Viking, a company specializing in kitchen appliances and accessories, the cheese factory La Esmeralda, Banamex and the state and local governments, among others.

Activities during the Sabor San Miguel Festival

· Ten Mexican chefs from Mexico City, Ensenada, Monterrey, Mérida and New York will present their creations in local restaurants.

· Conferences by international chefs and Mexican food specialists Diana Kennedy, Rick Bayless, Patricia Quintana and Roberto Santibáñez.

· Conferences on enology by wine specialists and enologists, including Sandra Fernández, Reynaldo Robledo, Don Muiller and Deby Beard.

· Wine tastings guided by renowned enologists such as Hugo D’Acosta (Casa de Piedra), José Luis Durand (Icaro), and Hans Backhoff (Monte Xanic).

· Culinary exhibits by more than 30 restaurants and wine producers.

· Cooking classes at Sazón, the cooking school of Casa de Sierra Nevada Hotel.

· 12 winemakers’ dinners prepared by guest chefs at local restaurants Harry’s, Dos Casas, Planta Baja, La Azotea and Nirvana, among others.

· Culinary and travel photography workshop with renowned photographer Ignacio Urquiza, an exhibit and sale of his culinary photography and an art exhibit by Iñaki Beorlegui.

Tickets for sale in San Miguel de Allende:

Sazón
Correo 22
(415) 154-7671
www.sazón.com

Librería El Tecolote
Jesús 11
(415) 152-7395

Mexico City and elsewhere in Mexico:
Venta de boletos en el Call Center
Within Mexico: 01-800-522-4466
From the US: 1-866-890-5331

Sabor San Miguel website: www.festivalsabor.com

This Sunday, March 9, the return of Nuestro Señor de la Columna (Our Lord of the Column), a statue credited with miraculous powers, marks the start of the Easter festivities in San Miguel.

Accompanied by hundreds of faithful on a 12-kilometer pilgrimage, the revered statue of a beaten and bloodied Christ is borne overnight from Atotonilco to the San Juan de Dios church.

Traditionally, the first hour of the fifth Sunday of Lent (the Sunday before Palm Sunday) marks the time when Nuestro Señor de la Columna is carefully removed from its protective glass case in the church of Atotonilco. Women of the parish tenderly cover the statue with hundreds of scarves, handkerchiefs and pieces of cloth to protect the statue on its journey. After the festivity, the cloths are kept for their miraculous powers and are highly sought objects to cure the ill.

The procession then begins, and the statues of Nuestro Señor de la Columna and the shrouded figures of the Apostle John and the sorrowful Virgen de Dolores (Virgin Mary) are borne on biers. The journey is made in silence, only lit by lanterns and torches. At La Cruz del Perdón, the halfway mark about six kilometers from the city, a mass is held by the Atotonilco parish priest, Father Fernando Manríquez.

It ends with rockets and fireworks. The priest at the church of San Juan de Dios, Father Jerónimo Cabrera Muñoz Ledo, accompanies Father Fernando in the procession.

Around 6am, the procession arrives at the outskirts of San Miguel. At the entrance to Avenida Independencia the shrouds are removed from the statues.

In anticipation of receiving the revered statues, neighbors decorate the street with colored tissue paper, purple and white balloons, rose petals, flowers and fragrant herbs such as fennel and chamomile. Hundreds of people, gathered since early morning or the night before, watch the procession while rockets explode, prayers are murmured and songs and hymns of praise are quietly sung. Around 7am, the procession can be seen at the corner where Calzada de La Luz, Avenida Independencia and Avenida Guadalupe converge; it continues along calle San Antonio Abad.

The procession reaches San Juan de Dios about 8am and comes to a halt outside the temple, where a solemn mass is performed before a huge crowd. Then, the statue of Nuestro Señor de la Columna is placed in the high altar, where it remains until Easter Wednesday at 12am, when it is carried back to Atotonilco in another similar, but smaller, procession.

Security is heightened to ensure the safety of those in the procession. According to Alan Álvarez, head of the Civil Protection Department, 20 members of his staff and eight vehicles accompany the procession during the journey, along with officers from the local police department on foot and horseback, the fire department, the Red Cross, and federal officers. He said that the main problems that arise during the journey are caused by intoxication and bonfires that get out of control.

History of the procession

The history of the procession from the Shrine of Atotonilco to San Juan de Dios dates back to 1812 when a plague epidemic threatened San Miguel’s population.

The statue of Jesus Nazarenus (also at the Shrine of Atotonilco since the time of Father Luis Felipe de Alfaro, who built the shrine) was taken to San Miguel by Father de la Helguera, hoping the statue would miraculously eradicate the plague. The statue was taken to San Juan de Dios, which housed a hospital. Since then, every year the venerated statue of Nuestro Señor de la Columna is brought to San Miguel before Holy Week.

International Women’s Day in San Miguel
By Gabriela Blanco

Crafts Fair
International Women’s Day
Fri, Mar 7, 10am–7pm
Plaza Cívica

International Women’s Day is celebrated March 8 to recognize the efforts women make to create a better world—mothers, daughters, workers, secretaries, teachers, writers, doctors, volunteers, artists and scientists. The day’s celebrations are made possible by the spirit and effort of many years of asserting the rights of women around the world.

This year, organizations worked jointly on events for March 3–7 in different parts of San Miguel. Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF), the municipal family agency, worked with civilian associations CASA Center for Adolescents and Fundación de Apoyo Infantil (FAI, Save the Children). Director Francisco Peyret of Turismo Fomento y Relaciones Internacionales Turismo Económico y Desarrollo, the city tourism board, coordinated with Aracely Martínez, director of Instituto de la Mujer (INAM, Institute for Women). Activities were diverse and included a mural called “Voices of Women,” a walk, sporting events, film discussions, exhibitions of crafts and a workshop on body awareness.

The 10 programs offered by DIF annually serve 1,910 San Miguel women. INAM supports four to five women daily through attachment, coordination and counseling. In a short interview, director Martinez said that INAM was founded in San Miguel on August 2, 2004. Since then their goals have been centered around creating space for women in the public, economic, educational and political sphere. “It is becoming increasingly easy to know that women are getting recognition and active participation in our society,” said Martinez. INAM helps women who suffer abuse, provides legal advice and psychological support, and supports confidence for the future.

Unfortunately, San Miguel still does not have a shelter for battered women; the nearest shelter is in Guanajuato. Local groups try to help by referring them to relevant agencies or INAM.

Crafts Fair

On Friday, 60 spaces at the Plaza Cívica will feature women artisans who produce or sell products. Five spaces were donated to rural communities and five more for migrant indigenous women who live in the area. Spaces normally cost 150 pesos, which covers supplies for the event.

In a press conference, IMAM director Martinez invited the media and public to come and support this event. Tourism board director Peyret urged all women craft producers to participate in the exhibition and sell handicrafts produced by sanmiguelenses.

Ban Ki-moon blows the whistle on violence against women
By Lucina Kathmann

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was on hand today to address the opening meeting of the 52nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. He used the occasion to announce the beginning of a worldwide campaign against violence against women. In his speech he said, “One third of women are beaten, abused or coerced into sex during their lifetime. They are our sisters, mothers, daughters and friends. This is a campaign for them to reclaim their lives.”

He noted that the systematic rape of women has become a war tactic, and he called for a mechanism to be created under Security Council Resolution #1325, which mandates the full participation of women in all peace processes, in order to monitor violence against women in conflict situations.

Besides pledging help from the United Nations, the Korean Secretary General called for individual governments to criminalize all forms of violence against women, for non-governmental organizations to step up the fight and for individuals to help wherever they can. He suggested that it should particularly become an emblem of pride for men and boys to denounce violence against women.

The campaign is planned to continue through 2015, the timeline of the United Nations’ Millennium Goals for Development, because, as Mr. Ki-moon said, “The eradication of violence against women is a necessary condition for the development of society.”

This is Mr. Ki-moon’s first appearance at the Commission on the Status of Women since he took over from Secretary General Kofi Annan, who retired in 2007. Kofi Annan, from Ghana, was the first Secretary General to address the Commission on the Status of Women. Nan, his Swedish wife, was active in the work of the Commission itself. Since Ban Ki-moon arrived in person on the first day of the session, the first time an United Nations Secretary General has ever appeared at the opening, it appears that he intends to continue or even intensify Annan’s policy of giving more importance to issues affecting women.

Ban Ki-moon’s speech was short and clear. All the same, should anyone have missed his message, at the end of his speech, he took out a little whistle and blew on it loud and long!

Lucina Kathmann is a longtime resident of San Miguel and an International Vice-President of International PEN. For the last 12 years she has gone to New York during this season to attend the session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as PEN’s representative.

Wait! Do not change your clocks yet—in Mexico
By Phyllis Burton Pitluga

Mexico does not change to Daylight Saving Time until the first Saturday in April, contrary to countries to the north that are changing clocks on March 9. Why the difference?

First, most of the population of Mexico is far west in the Central Time Zone. Thus the sun rises rather late in the morning (compared to Mérida in Yucatán, which lies in the same time zone). For example, on March 9 in San Miguel, the sun rises four minutes before 7am. If we were to “spring ahead” our clocks now, the sun would be rising at 8am and children would be going to school in the dark. By waiting until April 6 the sun rises at 6:32am—or 7:32am with the time change. With half an hour of dawn light, it is easy to see by 7am.

Secondly, Mexico is farther south, close to the equator. Thus, the number of hours of daylight is nearly the same from winter to summer. In the winter in San Miguel we enjoy 11 hours of sunlight. In the summer we have 13.5 hours of sunlight. By comparison, Chicago has 9 hours of sunlight in the winter and 15.5 in the summer. People are eager to have as much sunlight as possible during their active hours.

The dates for this change should fall a symmetrical number of weeks before and after the June Solstice in order to have an equal number of hours of daylight on the first day as the last day of the Daylight Saving Time (DST) period. But the government makes these decisions, seemingly without consulting astronomers. The new law adopted by both Canada and the US started in 2007. The second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November were chosen because on any given year these two months start on the same weekday. This will always give 34 weeks of DST of the 52 weeks in a year. However, this gives 15 weeks of DST before the June solstice and 20 weeks after! The mornings will be dark very late in October and November.

Here in Mexico, in 2008, we change our clocks ahead on Sunday, April 6 at 2am to Central Daylight Time (CDT). We return to Central Standard Time (CST) by turning back our clocks an hour on Sunday, October 26 at 2am.