August 28, 2009, Plans for municipality’s microregions made public, By Jesús Ibarra, San Miguel firefighters celebrated, By Jesús Ibarra, Committee begins transition to new administration, By Jesús Ibarra

The consultants came up with a development plan for each microregion, including complete descriptions of the topography, natural resources, climatic characteristics, population, historical background, economic activities, tourism potential, and problems in each area, as well as possible solutions to the problems.

In 2007, the government organized an open forum for San Miguel residents to disclose the group’s initial findings.

Now, the development plans have been completed, and the Urban Development Department organized a series of informational sessions from August 17 to 21. The 11 development plans and a separate plan focusing on the archeological area of Cañada de la Virgen were shown and explained to those who attended.

Angel Gastélum, head of the Urban Development Department, said that the development plans are “a map of what we really have and how we live in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, a guide to our strengths and weaknesses.

Through them, we can see which areas lack infrastructure, equipment and services and which communities have water and which do not. They are the basis for short-, medium- and long-term development. Future administrations can use them to address needs in the entire municipality.”

The 11 microregions

According to Gastélum, the main problems in the urban area, Region 1, are a lack of housing and traffic and parking problems.

Region 2, the northwestern region of the municipality, includes 23 communities such as Cruz del Palmar and La Cieneguita. Region 3, near the same area, includes Atotonilco, Los Galvanes and 55 other communities. The colonial chapels along the Laja basin and the hot springs (balnearios) are included within these two areas and are potential sites of tourism development. One of the main problems the architects noted in these microregions is the isolation of some communities during the rainy season, when the level of the San Damián River rises.

Region 4 is located in the northeastern area of the municipality and includes Los Rodríguez and the surrounding communities, a total of 80. This is mainly an agricultural area. One problem in this area is contamination produced by the many small dairy farms. Region 5 includes Corral de Piedras and Clavellinas, in the southeastern part of the municipality between the road to Doctor Mora and the road to Querétaro. Region 6, also along the road to Querétaro, includes the communities of Santas Marías, Puerto de Nieto, Cerritos, and Guadalupe de Támbula, along with 48 other communities. This region contains a number of old haciendas that, according to the development plan prepared by architect Martínez Hernández, should be preserved and restored. His assessment also suggests that this is an appropriate area in which to develop businesses to generate jobs and income for the inhabitants.

Region 7 includes the hillside communities along the southeastern border with Querétaro. This region is characterized by a number of natural resources and wild flora and fauna, and the communities, including Jalpa, La Campana, El Tigre and El Pinalillo, are spread out and isolated. Murillo mentioned that the church in Jalpa should be considered part of the cultural heritage of the municipality.

Region 8 includes the communities surrounding the Los Picachos mountains, among them Alcocer and Don Juan Chidó (Cabras). According to the development plan, one of the problems in this area is irregular population growth owing to the difficult topography, which also leads residents of this area to move into the urban area.

The main problems in Region 9, which includes the communities surrounding Presa Allende and those near Cañada de la Virgen, are air pollution from stockyards and open sewers and traffic accidents on the roads leading to Celaya and Guanajuato.

Region 10, at the southwestern point of the municipality, includes the rural community of San José de los Allendes and, according to the plan, is biologically rich, although the ecosystem has been modified by human activities. The plan suggests that caring for the environment in this area is a priority.

Region 11, in the western part of the municipality, is potentially rich in natural resources, but the topsoil has been eroded.

Cañada de la Virgen

Gastélum said that one of the main objectives of the development plan for Cañada de la Virgen is to avoid the development of housing and businesses in the area surrounding the archeological site. “There will be a visitors’ center where residents of the nearby communities will be able to sell their goods and arts and crafts. Cars will not be allowed near the pyramids. Visitors will have to park at the center, which will be about 500 meters away from the road to Guanajuato,” he said. He added that the goal is to make Cañada de la Virgen a sustainable and well-planned source of income for the nearby communities.

Low public turnout

“According to the Urban Development Law of Guanajuato, making the findings public is mandatory before the city council authorizes a development plan.

Unfortunately, not many people attended the presentations,” said Gastélum, who interpreted the low attendance as a lack of public interest. Gastélum added that the development plans will be available to the public at the Urban Development Department after the city council has authorized them.

Juan Manuel Ramírez, the planning office coordinator, and Jimena Flores, planning office assistant, met with members of the public in the former presidencia building from August 17 through 21. “We met with seven or eight people a day, most of them from the rural communities; almost no one came from within the city,” said Ramírez. “Besides showing them the plans for their respective communities we also asked them about the problems they have in their villages, so that they could be added to the plans if they were not already included.”

Ricardo, a resident of La Cieneguita (Region 2), went to the former presidencia to see the plan for his region. He said that although there are schools in his community sometimes the teachers do not show up, so Ramírez and Flores took note of the problem. He also said they need more police because there are frequent fights among young men who have been drinking. Doña Juana, from La Huerta (Region 9), said she came because she heard about the plan on the radio and wanted to know what it was about. She said the major problem in La Huerta is the lack of medical services. The delegate from El Xotolar (Region 9 and Cañada de la Virgen) said that in their community they are developing a program of alternative tourism and are not interested in having water and electrical services, since they want to set up systems for rainwater harvesting and solar energy.

Microregiones

Microregion 1: San Miguel (city)

Microregion 2: Cruz del Palmar–La Cieneguita

Microregion 3: Rancho Viejo–Atotonilco

Microregion 4: Los Rodríguez–San Martín del Paredón

Microregion 5: Corral de Piedras–Laguna Escondida–Clavellinas

Microregion 6: Puerto de Nieto–Guadalupe de Tambula–Cerritos

Microregion 7: La Campana–Jalpa–Charco de Sierra

Microregion 8: Alcocer–Don Juan Chidó–Estancia de Canal–Guadalupe de Canal

Microregion 9: Calderón–La Huerta–San Marcos–Presa Allende

Microregion 10: Manantiales–Cimatario–La Esperanza

Microregion 11: Don Francisco–Peña Blanca–La Tinaja

By presidential decree, firefighters have been officially recognized on August 22 in Mexico since 1951.

This date was chosen to commemorate the creation of the first Mexican fire department, in Veracruz, on August 22, 1873.

The San Miguel Firefighters celebrated the day with a parade and a mass at Las Monjas church. After the mass, some of the firefighters were honored for their years of service.

Juan Antonio Pérez Solís, captain and president of the fire department board, said that there are currently 70 members in the department, both men and women, in addition to dispatchers and those who mentor children, teaching them about fire prevention, first aid and related issues. “The children in the kids’ club will be our future firefighters,” said Pérez Solís.

The fire department has its own training institute, the Jim McHoney Academy; training lasts eight months. Pérez Solís said that the firefighters are volunteers and do not receive any payment for their services. “Maintaining the fire department costs around 70,000 pesos a month, and we only receive a small contribution from the local government,” said Pérez Solís, who added that the department needs to constantly renovate its equipment.

“People who wish to help us with donations or equipment or to volunteer their time can call 152-8888. We will come to their homes to pick up any donations, and we have tax deductive receipts” said Pérez Solís.

Firefighters recognized for years of service

5 years
Mayra Alejandra Enríquez Galeazzi
Germán Estrada Bustamante
Verónica Ramirez Mendoza
Captain Daniel Díaz Aboytes

10 years
John Wesley Burke González
Daniel Zapatero
Carla Monzón Tapia
Darío Pérez Jáuregui

15 years
César Emilio Zarazúa Reyes

20 years
Captain Francisco Olavo Pérez Urbina
Captain Juan Antonio Pérez Solís
Captain Roberto Pérez Solís

25 years
Ernesto Martínez García

The Firefighters of San Miguel de Allende

In the 1970s, following a large number of fires in which several lives and homes were lost, the lack of emergency services in the city was addressed by a group of volunteers who formed the National Commission for Emergencies.

On September 11, 1983, with the support of the Salamanca Fire Department and thanks to a fundraising campaign that collected more than one million pesos, a group of volunteers organized themselves as the San Miguel Volunteer Fire Department, headed by a board formed by Samuel Mercadillo, Jesús Mercadillo, Conchita Mercadillo, Roberto Pérez Manzano, Rolando Carbajo, Ignacio Barajas, Javier Gutiérrez and Colonel Phil Maher, the US consul in San Miguel. They established their headquarters in the Grúas Mercadillo Garage on Salida a Celaya.

A later mayor, Luis Ferro de la Sota, donated a chassis with which the Salamanca Fire Department constructed the first fire truck for San Miguel. At the beginning they worked only with this improvised truck, two vans that served as ambulances and an old fire hose.

On April 3, 1985, the city of La Habra, California, donated three tons of firefighting equipment to the San Miguel Fire Department.

In 1988, thanks to management by the board and the support of Mayor Ferro de la Sota, the local government donated one hectare of land on Salida a Querétaro to the bomberos for a fire station, which was built in 1990. In 1993, the city council recognized the San Miguel Fire Department as “the honored, historic and heroic fire department.”

The municipal government transition committee, headed by Mayor Rodolfo Jurado Maycotte and mayor-elect Lucy Núñez, was officially formed on August 19 and began work at the mayor’s office in the administration building on August 21.

The transition committee is designed to permit a seamless transfer of power to the current to the next administration.

Jurado Maycotte acts as the committee’s president and city secretary José Antonio Hernández Rodríguez as secretary. The rest of the committee members include, from the current administration, Ramón Correa, head of the juridical department; Tomás Ramírez, assistant mayor; Raúl Barrera, head of the Public Works Department; Ángel Gastélum, head of the Urban Development Department; José Alfredo Orduña, city administrator; José Luis Téllez, head of the Social Development Department; and Eduardo Soria, city treasurer. Members of the transition committee from the incoming administration include Lucy Núñez and members of her team and future city council: Hector Sáenz de Viteri, Claudio Mayer, Jaime Martínez Tapia, Luz María Ramírez, Laura González, Martín Salgado Cacho, Alonso Tomasini, and Luis Manuel Rosas.