In and around San Miguel de Allende

It is easy to see why people fall in love with San Miquel de Allende (SMA). The weather is ideal even if a bit chilly in the mornings, the air crisp and clean, and always some warm sun in the daytime - some days more than others. The flora is particularly bountiful at present, probably due to the close of the “rainy” season. Lots of bougainvilleas in bloom along with dozens of other plants I don’t recognize. The Hotel Quinta Loreta, where I am now is particularly nice with dozens of fruit trees at the height of their season in the large garden surrounded by various flowering shrubs. In spite of its small size, the town boasts all the services of a large city while retaining its small town character. The town itself is an architectural antique and a great deal of attention is paid to keeping it that way. There are virtually no commercial signs cluttering the streets with usually only a small placard over the doorway of commercial establishments indicating their name and trade – be that artifacts, hardware, hostellery or washing machines.

Aside from the world-renowned Allende Institute, which teaches in all of the fine arts and attracts students from everywhere, there are two other large fine arts institutions. At every turn there is a studio flogging endless varieties of arts and crafts, none of it all that inexpensive I might add. At every turn there is also a new vista of interesting old colonial style houses, churches and institutional buildings all of which appear to be well maintained or in the process thereof.

The tourism is low-key. One is rarely hassled on the street by urchins or others wishing to flog something. There are no loud hawkers on street corners. There appears to be little or no real poverty although there are folks living on the “edge” on the outskirts of town. But there are no great expanses of tin roofs, cardboard siding and the like, either here, or for that matter in any part of the country I have been thru. There are lots of kids, from K to High School on the streets going to school in the early morning, usually in freshly laundered uniform. The center of town, “el Jardin” is a beautifully kept plaza a block in size surrounded by box elder, well trained to a height that allows one of average height to walk under it unhindered. The magnificent San Miguel cathedral anchors one side while art shops and restaurants flank the other three sides. The plaza itself has a large central bandstand and hundreds of park benches scattered throughout where every sort of humanity can be seen at some part of the day from young lovers entwined, to teenage boys in baggy jeans following girls of the same age in tight ones, to ranchers in cowboy hats discussing the weather (I presume), to young parents wheeling their offspring, to old Texan hippies in deep political debate. In spite of some evidence of tourists this plaza is clearly for people of the town and is, above all, Mexican. Taco stands spring up in the evening exuding exotic and appetizing aromas. The ubiquitous jalipinos roast on the hot plate beside onions and meats of all kinds that are expertly scooped into tacos or buns and served up, with a good dollop of salsa, to hungry clients.

Alas, it may in the end prove to be a bit too rich for me I am afraid with rental and purchase prices well into the stratosphere for many of the places advertised, many over a million US. Prices however, do go down quite rapidly as one moves out of walking distance of the antique center core. Be advised to bring sturdy walking shoes in any case as all of the streets are cobbled, and while I have yet to find any serious holes or breaks in the walkways or streets they are uneven and the town is hilly. Some streets are so steep they are one way – down hill only.