Faces of San Miguel de Allende

Greg is getting fat on the good food here. There are three parrots in the garden that get really geared up to talk at sunset. One can say “Puerto Rico” like a human. The other gives a great wolf whistle but he doesn’t know when to use it.

Talk to any gringo who has been to SMA before, or who lives here, and you will be told that it ain’t what it used to be. The starving artists and hippies that used to provide color and interest have been priced out of the market and have moved on. No one seems to know to where. Those that came and bought houses at low prices several years ago, some say, think they are upper crust and have taken on airs. Some who come now have read about SMA in House and Garden and are looking to become a part of that scene. They carry their bottled water with them and are trying to make SMA a part of middle America as fast as they can with phones that work and water you can drink. Those on relatively short visits are driven to see everything in their time, are constantly on the go, and worried that they won’t get it all done. If they do stop they are too quick to tell you what you should do with your time. All this drives those who fancy themselves “old” SMA hands, nuts.

Talk to local Mexicans on the other hand, and they mostly agree that SMA hasn’t changed. Yes it has gotten bigger with new building and more tourists but by and large it remains the same. They mix socially with gringos only on occasion and in any case their lives revolve around family. Their home and their friends and family are still here and all doing much the same as always.

I went on the house and garden tour that is offered Sundays by the Library. They charge a lot ($15) because the profits are plowed back into the institution. They say they have 300 houses on their list and typically do 3 a week. We saw 2 houses as well as a boutique B&B. The houses were for sale – one for $1.1 million the other for $1.2 so I’m thinking there may be more here than meets the eye. There were about 300 people on the tour, (mostly Texans and other Americans but a sampling of folks from around the world although not a single Mexican), and we wore name tags and were carted around in buses. The houses were nice but not that nice. Both were loaded to dizziness with furniture and artifacts and “art”. This is not SMA.

I ran into a couple of young “builders” who apparently make a living building houses one at a time and then selling or renting them. Their target is a more affordable $2-300 thousand. I also ran into a Mexican farmer who has a “ranch” close to town. He is looking for investors to buy cattle that he would feed on his place. He has about 100 acres and says it will hold 300 cattle. He is currently growing alfalfa and says he gets ten cuts a year! I indicated no interest in his cattle proposition.

I talked to the gardener that comes by the hotel twice a week to tend the large garden here. He says there is no planting season in this zone. Anything will grow at any time, although non-native plants may not set seed or bare fruit – such as apples. He says, however, it is a great climate for growing marijuana and buds can get to 4 inches. Do I look like I need this advice, I ask myself. My New York City friends say he recommended stuff for them to grow and it all died.

Those planning a visit may wish to ignore this part. McGregor caught a scorpion this morning – or should I say he frightened one and it gave him a lick. He yelped. It was small, black, about two inches long, and more frightened than aggressive. Greg was impressed with the speed with which I dealt with it. (That is why I’m the Alpha around here.) He seems none the worse for wear. I must remember to shake out my shoes in the morning. When was the last time you heard of anyone dying, or even getting very sick, from a scorpion sting?