On the Road Again

My in-laws Angela and Richard arrived this week and we are now traveling in the central México highlands, a hilly and dry landscape that has been beautiful to view out of our bus window. Our first stop was to the famed city of San Miguel, which is very pretty, and- as my friend Katie so aptly put- is definitely the cool kid's table of México. 10,000 people from the United States have made their homes here, many of whom were wealthy in the U.S., and even more so in México. Thus the town can support upper-scale restaurants and shops, where a designer shirt might cost $150 and an entree is around $20. The cobblestone streets are free of trash, the colorful historic buildings are untouched by graffiti. Traffic stops for pedestrians.

There is art galore here and shop after shop with hand-woven rugs, tin ornaments, silver jewelry, ceramic dishes. Real estate prices are comparable to the U.S.. At one real estate office there were advertisements featuring places like this:
"17th century 8,900 square foot home with courtyard. 7 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms. Swimming pool and gardens." No indication of price. But our friend Jose told us that there are places around the city that people rent for around $10,000 a month. Meanwhile there are elderly women begging on street corners. This is one aspect that makes San Miguel more like the rest of Mexican cities.



Though it has been terrific to see this colonial city, I could not see living here. Going back to the cool kid analogy, the Americans we encountered on the streets were not those that we necessarily felt inclined to interact with. And it has been quite different to be "just another American" when in Guadalajara we often spark interest. People don't travel to Guadalajara like they do to San Miguel. This is something that makes me like Guadalajara even more.

Some other notes of interest on San Miguel. The cathedral in the heart of downtown is like no other that I have seen. It is pink! And has the most striking spires.


There is an art center much like the one that I attend painting classes at in Guadalajara. The Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez once housed a girl's school, and was then converted into an art school in the 1930's. From that point forward classes ranging from ceramics and print to guitar and dance have been held in this enormous stone building.

Last night we went to a fun new restaurant with my in-laws and our friends from Querétaro, Jose and Naomi. It was a sweet way to end our time in this city. Onward to Guanajuato.