As part of the 140th anniversary celebration of the Angela Peralta Theater, the Director of the Department of Education and Culture Acacio Martínez announced that Henry Vermillion will be the artist featured in the Theater gallery for the celebration festivities of the 140th anniversary of the local landmark in downtown San Miguel.

Art
Henry Vermillion at the Teatro Ángela Peralta
Within the celebrations for the Teatro’s 140 anniversary
Sat, May 18, 5-7pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta

Vermillion, a painter who has lived and worked in San Miguel for over 20 years, will show new oils, drawings and an ongoing series of small watercolors called “French Postcards”. Some of the paintings will be based on theatrical subjects (the painter is also active in local theater). The work will be up for two weeks, and opens Saturday May 18 with a reception for the artist and the public at the theater, from 5 to 7 pm.

Vermillion’s work is generally figurative–a mix of character studies, social and political themes and works he calls “Notes on the human comedy”. Another concern is the matter of clichés. “Clichés are what hold society together. Without old familiar images, we’d feel disoriented, lost. Think of John Wayne, beautiful sunsets, valentines. But in art, to me, clichés quickly become hackneyed and deadly, no matter how well done. About the only thing Warhol contributed to art was that he recognized that we’re saturated with commercial images: familiar clichés, and he reproduced them. Little critical or creative effort was involved. It’s much more interesting to start with what may be a familiar idea or image and make it into something different. Abstraction can do this, but leaves us, the viewer, with just color and composition, which is fine, but not enough. Art—painting–can do much more than that.”

Vermillion and his artist wife Britt Zaist are co-founders of Galeria Izamal, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, and he owns Galeria Vermillion, also downtown in the Plaza Colonial at Canal 21

Artist Jose Luis Arias is presenting new work today, May 17, at the Buena Vida gallery in an exhibit entitled “Fragmentos Poéticos” (“Poetic Fragments).”

Art Opening
“Fragmentos poéticos” by José Luis Arias
Fri, May 17, 6pm
Galería Buena Vida
Aldama 42
152-4990

This large group of pieces comprises several different techniques. Bringing together different methods of painting, Arias mixes styles and materials and reinterprets iconic images in his own creative way. The content covers a large range of subjects, from well-know local landscapes to paintings evocative of Baroque, Classical, Impressionist, Cubist and Abstract styles.

He seeks to communicate how mysterious and surprising life can be, by refashioning images from various sources such as fashion, commercial fabrics and historic artworks; the work unites current political and aesthetic themes to express a way to own the modern and cult figures and the role of art in the articulation of a visual language.

Arias is a versatile artist from Mazatlán, Sinaloa and has lived in San Miguel for over seven years. He has experimented in several media, and his work has been collected by art lovers both locally and abroad. He has also been teaching art at the Instituto Allende, Universidad de Nuevo León and the Universidad de Morelos.

Currently, his work is on display at the Museum of Latin American Art in Phoenix, Arizona. His plans for the future include a trip to show his work in Spain, visiting the cities of Malaga, Barcelona and Valencia.

The exhibition will be up through June 15.

By Elsanne Barrows

An evening of belly dance at the Teatro Santa Ana: —“Una Noche de la Danza del Vientre” — features dancers from Sonora, Queretaro, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi and the United States in a varied, sumptuous spectacle of dance as taught at Libelula dance studio in colonia San Antonio. Belly dance teachers and professionals from these diverse areas of Mexico come to San Miguel’s Libelula studio once a month to learn the studio’s signature tribal style, which will be the crown jewel of the evening. Rounding out the show will be more classic belly dance styles and a palette of colors and sounds, infusing spectators with the mystical movements and compelling rhythms that characterize dances from the Middle East.  “A Night of Belly Dance” comes to San Miguel to the Teatro Santa Ana on Saturday, May 25, at 7pm. Tickets are 100 pesos and are available at the Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50A.

Dance
Bellydance show
“A Night of Bellydance — Una Noche de la Danza del Vientre”
Sat, May 25, 7pm
Teatro Santa Ana
La Biblioteca
Reloj 50A
100 pesos

By Leonardo Rosen

At its regular Monday meeting of April 29, 2013, the City Council of San Miguel de Allende voted unanimously to bestow a great honor on the Club de Danzón “Mercerina.” This legislation gives our group a special status as the official representative of our city to the danzón in all of the Mexican Republic. We express our deepest appreciation to Lic. Mauricio Trejo, Presidente Municipal (Mayor), Lic. José Luis Chagoyán, Síndico Municipal (Deputy Mayor), and Prof. Acasio Martínez, Director de Educación, Cultura y Tradiciones for proposing this and to the City Council for approving it.

Dance
Danzón
w/Club de Danzón “Mercerina”
Sun, May 12, 1-3pm & 5-7pm
Jardín Principal
Free

At this writing, some of us are about to travel to the biggest national danzón event of the year in the port of Veracruz, May 2-May 5. On June 15, the Club de Danzón “Mercerina” will perform at the Muestra Nacional del Danzón de San Luis Potosí 2013. From now on wherever we go, we will proudly carry this badge of honor. We have always represented San Miguel de Allende to the best of our ability. Now, we have a wonderful new incentive to do this even better.

Since the danzón did not travel intact from Cuba and Mexico to the US and other countries, many people in the world do not know what an important tradition it is in this country. Since it arrived here from Cuba more than 130 years ago, it has been a source of pride and joy for the Mexican people. It is a national treasure. You may not know that the Tango Argentino is a Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad de UNESCO. (This status is not only granted to places.) One of my dreams is to see the danzón also receive that prestigious award. It would be very well deserved.

Please join us for “El Danzón y Otros Ritmos Bailables con el Club de Danzón Mercerina” on Sunday May 12, 1pm-3pm and 5pm-7pm in the Jardín Principal of SMA at the Kiosco. Admission is free. We are now in San Miguel’s low season, so we especially appreciate your support and participation. We play the best Latin music for your dancing pleasure, as well as present dance exhibitions. ¡Rico y Suave!

By Nick Hamblen

Paola Uribe Gaudry and Luis Gaudry are sister and brother. Both artists work in the same interesting, though not well-known, medium of ink and resin, yet each very much in a style of their own. It is the great pleasure of Galería 6 to present their work together for the very first time.

Art
Paola Uribe Gaudry & Luis Gaudry
Sat, May 4, 1-5pm
Galeria 6
Jardín Principal 6
Mineral de Pozos

Returning after her very successful 2011 show at Galería 6, Paola exhibits her distinctive abstract work that exudes color and motion and texture. The finished work appears so wet that one cannot help but want to touch it to prove that it is not.

Luis’ exuberant paintings range from abstract to others more figurative, usually of organic and floral subject matter. A lyrical quality of motion paired with a dreamy use of color draws one in to gaze deeper and deeper into the work.

Both Gaudrys are Mexican artists, Paola living and working in Leon and Luis in Mexico City. The work being presented here is reasonably priced starting at US$150 for framed work, so there is something for everyone.

On Saturday, April 20, the sun was shining in San Miguel; we had a great day with 40 children from the campo of Palo Colorado who were bused to el Centro for their first art field trip. Most of them had never been out of their community.

They dressed in their best prim and proper uniforms and with big smiles on their faces headed to the Presidencia where the exhibit “101 Artists of San Miguel” is located, and where their weekly art class would take place on this Saturday. Their teacher was the young artist David Vazquez Cedeno, whose favorite subjects are children and cats. They set out for two hours of work crumbling paper, drawing and painting.

After they had finished their work there was lunch, which they devoured quickly as there was so much more to explore. Their minds were certainly not on creating art or story writing but on exploring. First to the beautiful bathrooms. For the first time in their lives, they saw one that functioned with an automatic sensor for flushing water, an automatic tap and an electrical hand dryer (designed for world dignitaries when they come to visit the Mayor of San Miguel).

Curious little girls asked if they could go up the stairs and touch the beautiful gold banisters that lead to the second floor of the Palace where Allende and his cabinet used to hold their meetings, I said, “No, don’t! There are ghosts upstairs!”

They laughed and giggled for a while but stopped asking. They wouldn’t want to take the chance of finding some ghosts lurking behind the big ancient doors.

After class a team of teachers, the school principal and enthusiastic leaders took the children across the Jardín in small groups of eight to the Parroquia’s inner court and then to Gelato Dolce on Cuna de Allende for an ice cream experience.

The kids looked at everything with big round eyes, soaking in everything that was happening in town that afternoon in front of the Parroquia. The 14-member mariachi band all dressed up for a wedding performance, the wedding guests in their finery, the shoeshine men and the funny looking kind-faced gringos around the Jardín. The children gathered in the band shell in the Jardín for a group photo, thumbs up for the happy time they had, then boarded the bus at 2pm to return home and prepare for their next art assignment. Who knows what dream they might have had that night.

For the 10th anniversary of MACO, the Mexico City International Art Fair, the organizers went all the way, inviting over 350 special guests from all over the world, including collectors, museum directors and curators.

There were 131 art galleries from 21 different countries presenting a wide range of what is loosely termed modern and contemporary art. As is often the case in these huge events (i.e. the Venice Biennale) the collateral exhibitions or events prove to be as interesting if not more so.

Monday and Tuesday were set up dates for the Wednesday, April 10, opening, which was by invitation only. On Tuesday morning there was a guided tour for the fair’s participants to the National Museum of Anthropology followed by a quick visit to the X Biennale Monterrey FEMSA at the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso with a brunch afterwards. As is always the case, few people attended as most were busy setting up their stands. At 2pm the same day, a walk to the Centro Cultural de España in Mexico CCEM, for a guided tour of the collective exhibition of works by Spanish artists Israel Torres Rangel, Máximo González, Verónica Toscano, Gitte Bog, Eder Castillo, Luís Ese, Pía Vázquez, Chloé Fricout, Javier Toscano, Kotik Villela, Hugo Leautaud, Alumnos 47 and Edgar Endress under the title of “This is Not a Museum.” Tapas and drinks were offered.

Guests were then taken back to their hotels to freshen up before a guided tour to the most fashionable art galleries in the various areas of the city. At 6pm there was the presentation of the Bucareli Act: a series of happenings of contemporary art which united more than 25 international artists which took place in several different spaces in Av. Bucareli, in the Colonia Juárez, (a street with a series of beautiful Belle Epoch, rather run-down and semi-abandoned buildings). At 9pm there was a fantastic party at the artists’ hangout, the Covadonga.

On Wednesday morning there was a private preview opening of the fair for special guests, collectors, etc. The fair then officially opened at 4pm for those of the public with invitations: mostly dealers, artists, curators, etc. The fair closed for the day at 9pm and those with VIP tickets moved on to the Ex Convento de San Hipólito for a welcome dinner.

For the next four days, the fair continued from noon to 9pm with many collateral activities for before and after such as a visit to the JUMEX Contemporary Art Collection and by VIP invitation only to the Jumex gala dinner in the evening held at a fabulous disco club until 2am; guided tours to the MUAC Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo; a visit to the exhibition “El Museo Sin Edificio” with Yona Friedman; Proyecto Sexta Sur with Laura Lima; “Ahi Estas” with Juan Sebastian Lach; “Elite del Escuro in MUAC. A brunch was offered after the tour. The group then moved on (in special chartered buses) to the Museo Anahuacalli where there was the James Brown exhibition “My Other House.”

At 8pm, an hour before the fair ended for the day, a tour was arranged to visit Museo Rufino Tamayo for a private tour of the “Tamayo/Trayectos, Olinka o donde se crea el Movimento, Una Utopia de la Comunicación” by Juan Downey.

By Jim Corcoran

Lucas Rise

On a recent visit to the studio of Lucas Rise, I immediately realized this is a young man who is totally obsessed by his passion for art. Over the years he has excelled in graphic design, drawing, painting, photography and more. This is evidenced in the many awards bestowed on him.

Art
“Lucas Rise”
Fri, May 3, 2-8pm
Galería O.M.O.
Fábrica la Aurora

His background is probably best told in his own words “I’m the product of an Austrian-Italian immigrant generation that was mobilized to search for a physical that could contain their souls. I’m a lover of movement and discontinuity in art that open new spaces through the freedom of action and choice. I spent my entire childhood with nature, armed with pencils and brushes, which led me to the construction of murals-first inside my house, and then within the city. In my childhood, attending children’s cultural events was important. The figure of my grandfather features in all of this. as a producer of fruits and vegetables, he generously provided feed for the animals of these traveling shows, and in return he received privileged tickets for his grandchildren. Here is where my fascination for visuals and spectacles in motion started. In my early life, all of the influences and stimuli were based on recreational activities. As the years passed, marked by a growing maturity, the beginning of my university studies and the richness of travel, I was able to find much inspiration in the geometry and dynamics of art.”

With his latest group of paintings, now on display at Galería O.M.O., we see a culmination and distillation of all he has done in the past while still, as always, moving forward. It is a small group that is mostly executed on a small scale, making each piece an intense little gem.

Reinas

Though living and working in Mexico City, I think of Jeanne Saade Palombo as a citizen of the world. Not to say that she physically is always on the move, but with her fantastic imagination she can be in France, Italy, England, or points beyond at any given time.

Art
“Reinas” by Jeanne Saade Palombo
Fri, May 3, 2-8pm
Galería O.M.O
Fábrica la Aurora

With “Reinas,” her latest collection of paintings at galería O.M.O. all of this “travel” is evident. “Reinas” is an extraordinary group of paintings depicting queens through the ages…some recognizable, some not. They are all executed on a relatively large scale in Jeanne’s inimitable style. Over the years she has perfected the use of mixed media. While studying these works you know that you are basically looking at an oil painting, but also so much more.

After showing her work internationally over the past number of years, this will be her first exhibition in San Miguel.

San Miguel de Allende is a magical place that inspires painters, musicians and writers. Every year in May, thanks to the Literary Sala, a handful of talented authors come together to read from their “Works in Progress.” This year, on May 9, the Sala is proud to present an evening of authors reading their newest works.

Literature
San Miguel Literary Sala presents:
“Works in Progress”
Twelve writers read from their current work
Thu, May 9, 5-7:30pm
Hotel Aldea
Ancha de San Antonio 15
70 pesos (50 pesos for Literary Sala members)
Includes wine reception

Frank Thoms will be reading Bystander, a nonfictional philosophical work about the power of stillness, which emerged from Thoms’ discovery as a teacher that doing, doing, doing often leads simply to more doing, rather than reflecting and contemplating, and invoking wu wei, doing without doing. Thoms’ piece Bystander is from Teaching That Matters: Engaging Minds, which is seeking a publisher.

Jim Knoch, a native of Missouri and retired antiques dealer from Colorado, is writing his first novel. He will be reading a selection from his historical fiction work, The Last Waltz, in which Henry Wilkins, a six-foot-seven medic, dejected after being wounded in the Civil War, travels west and settles on the Santa Fe Trial in Council Grove, Kansas.

Mark Johaningsmeir grew up in a small city north of Chicago, once the home of Jack Benny and Ray Bradbury. Johaningsmeir was a United Methodist minister and worked with congregations in Minnesota and Colorado. He will be reading from his memoir, Scenes from Life with My Father, an autobiographical collection of vignettes revealing parts of his father’s character that Johaningsmeir can see more clearly now than when they were unfolding.

Judith Jenya is a visual artist, painter and photographer. After a career as an art therapist and psychotherapist, she studied law and practiced for 12 years, becoming a peace activist. She founded Global Children’s Organization and was honored as International Humanist of the Year in Europe in 2002. She will be reading from a collection of her poetry entitled Life, Loss, Love. One poem deals with the sadness and renewal of war-ravaged Bosnian children, while other poems describe her joy in finding love and marriage in San Miguel.

Evie (E.E.) King also is connected to Ray Bradbury, who calls her stories “marvelously inventive, wildly funny and deeply thought provoking. I cannot recommend them highly enough.” King has worked with children in Korea, California and Bosnia, crocodiles in Mexico, frogs in Puerto Rico, egrets in Bali, mushrooms in Montana, archaeologists in Spain and butterflies in South Central Los Angeles. She will be reading selections from her anthology, Another Happy Ending, being released by PMM Press in October, 2013, a work of science fiction/fantasy, and so called because there really are no happy endings.

Beldon Butterfield’s latest book, Mexico Behind The Mask, was published in January 2013. Beldon, who came to Mexico in 1962 with Time Life International, calls himself an “Anglo-Argentine,” born and raised in Buenos Aires to British parents. He will be reading from his memoir, Once Upon a Time, a narrative historical work which tells of the time Argentina was a British colony. As Beldon says of the British influence in Argentina “un argentino habla español con acento italiano, se viste de francés y quiere ser inglés.” (An Argentine speaks Spanish with an Italian accent, dresses like the French, and wants to be English.)

Lee Bellavance’s articles, poems and short stories have appeared in dozens of publications, including the Atencion. Before discovering San Miguel in 2009, she was a producer, a publicist, an events coordinator and a journalist. On May 9 she’ll be reading from DogVille, a novella set in San Miguel that may morph into a novel.

Cynthia Huntington grew up in Yorkshire, England. After becoming a registered nurse, she joined Pan American World Airlines, flying to Europe, Mid-East, Africa and Hong-Kong. She is the author of Through Her Eyes – An Infidel’s Perspective, a book about her life in Muslim Turkey. Her reading will be an accounting of a memorable event entitled, “Jet Flight to Karachi 1962: The man in the bathroom.”

Grover Ellis has written articles, poems and short stories for the Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, Texas Monthly, Sierra Club Bulletin, True and other literary publications. He will be reading a short chapter taken from his novel, An American In Texas, a coming of age story centered on a difficult and troubled father-son relationship.

Sara Fasy arrived in San Miguel in 1977 with savings from her year on the Alaska Pipeline to study drawing and printmaking at the Instituto Allende. Fasy will be reading “Yellow,” a chapter from her memoir A San Miguel Story, a tale of the clash of cultures, the exploration of the other, and the love-hate that characterized her romance with both Mexico and the tall, curly-haired future husband from Xalapa, Veracruz. It’s a tale of births and deaths and all the glorious and aggravating extremes of raising children in a foreign land.

Matthew Carroll, once a San Miguel restaurateur, will read from his yet-untitled autobiography in which he describes the life story of a conflicted orphaned only child trying to understand and live with abandonment. His selection, “Sahara,” describes one of several life events where he has placed himself, with questionable motive, in harm’s way. It is written as he wishes his father had left such a chronicle. Also reading on May 9 will be Cynthia Simmons.

By Robin Loving Rowland

Sylvia Brenner, a US photojournalist and collage artist, tried to capture a store window display photographically and accidentally created a photo collage of it, creating her latest artistic expression, Windows of the Soul.

Art
“Windows of the Soul”
Photographic Art Closing Reception
By Sylvia Brenner
Tue, Apr 30, 1-4pm
Cafe MuRo
Loreto 10B
152-6341
Free

“What began as a creative accident led me to discover in of The Castro and Mission Districts of San Francisco, Mexico City, and San Miguel magical images,” said Brenner. “I can’t take credit for these, which are not photo-shopped or otherwise digitally enhanced; they are one-shot images that the camera saw when I sought to take simple photos,” she continued.

Brenner will explain what she understands about how her Windows of the Soul — including The Holy Spirit, the Flight of the Phoenix, The Tree of Life, and The Colors of The Castro, Flag Crossing, Crosary, Supper in the City, and Row, Row, Row Your House — came to be. But, more intriguing, is what she can’t explain, such as how a rainbow of color dripped across a photo of a window of white shoes in a gay district of San Francisco. “All I can say is that magic really happens. Come and be amazed with me.” Brenner concluded.

Colored greeting cards of images from this show and other photographic works of Brenner’s will be for sale in addition to the matted and framed images from under $5 dollars to under $100 dollars. “I believe in art for everyone,” said Brenner, who also participates in Free Art Fridays (see FaceBook).

The show has its closing reception April 30 from 1-4pm at Café Muro, Loreto 10B. “Come enjoy the sangria and stay for the magic,” concluded Brenner. The artist will be available at the reception.