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Conde' Nast Traveler Says:
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The Condé Nast Traveler for November 2000 again on its front cover lists San Miguel de Allende as one of the Top Ten Best in the World! San Miguel de Allende is right up there with Sydney, Florence, Rome, Paris, Venice, Salzburg, Vienna, London and Vancouver
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Quoted from Concierge.com
"Rich with the history of Mexico's revolution, the heartland is a treasury of colonial towns—Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Querétaro, Morelia, and Pátzcuaro, among others—whose residents lead quiet, largely traditional lives. Even in San Miguel de Allende, an American art colony and home to a well-known language institute, women wash their clothes and gossip at the local lavandaría as they have for hundreds of years. Mexico's heartland, so named for its central position in the country, is known for its well-preserved colonial architecture, fertile farmland and surrounding mountains, and its leading role in Mexican history, particularly during the War of Independence (1810–22). The Bajío (ba-hee-o), as it is also called, corresponds roughly to the states of Guanajuato and parts of Querétaro and Michoacán. In the hills surrounding the cities of Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Querétaro, and San Miguel de Allende, the Spanish found silver in the 1500s, leading them to colonize the area heavily.
Three centuries later, wealthy Creoles (Mexicans of Spanish descent) in Querétaro and San Miguel took the first audacious steps toward independence from Spain. When their clandestine efforts were discovered, two of the early insurgents, Ignacio Allende and Father Miguel Hidalgo, began in earnest the War of Independence. One of the bloodiest skirmishes was fought in the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, a mammoth grain-storage facility in Guanajuato that is now a state museum.
When Allende and Hidalgo were executed in 1811, another native son, José María Morelos, picked up the independence banner. This mestizo (mixed race) mule skinner–turned–priest–turned soldier, with his army of 9,000, came close to gaining control of the land before he was killed in 1815. Thirteen years later, the city of Valladolid was renamed Morelia in his honor.
Long after the War of Independence ended in 1821, the cities of the Bajío continued to play a prominent role in Mexico's history. Three major events took place in Querétaro alone: In 1848 the Mexican-American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; in 1867 Austrian Maximilian of Hapsburg, crowned Emperor of Mexico by Napoleon III of France, was executed in the hills north of town; and in 1917 the Mexican Constitution was signed here.
The heartland honors the events and people that helped shape modern Mexico. In ornate cathedrals or bucolic plazas, down narrow alleyways or atop high hillsides, you'll find monuments—and remnants—of a heroic past. During numerous fiestas, you can savor the region's historic spirit. On a night filled with fireworks, off-key music, and tireless celebrants, it's hard not to be caught up in the vital expression of national pride.
Tourism is welcomed in the heartland, especially in these hard economic times, and tourists for the most part do not disrupt the normal routines of residents. Families visit parks for Sunday picnics, youngsters tussle in school courtyards, old men chat in shaded plazas, and Purépecha women in traditional garb sell their wares in crowded mercados (markets). Unlike areas where attractions have been specifically designed for tourism, the Bajío relies on its historic ties and the architectural integrity of its cities to appeal to travelers. Although this is an interesting area to tour by car, there is frequent inexpensive bus service from one city to the next throughout the Bajío.
San Miguel de Allende first began luring foreigners in the late 1930s when American Stirling Dickinson and prominent local residents founded an art school in this mountainous settlement. The school, now called the Instituto Allende, has grown in stature over the years—as has the city's reputation as a writers' and artists' colony. Walk down any cobblestone street and you're likely to see residents of a variety of national origins. Some come to study at the Instituto Allende or the Academia Hispano-Americana, some to escape the harsh northern winters, and still others to retire.
Cultural offerings in this town of about 110,000 reflect its large
American and Canadian community. There are literary readings,
art shows, a yearly jazz festival, psychic fairs, aerobics and
past-life-regression classes, and a lending library. International
influence notwithstanding, San Miguel, declared a national monument
in 1926, retains its Mexican characteristics. Wandering down streets
lined with 18th-century mansions, you'll also discover fountains,
monuments, and churches—all reminders of the city's illustrious,
and sometimes notorious, past. The onetime headquarters of the
Spanish Inquisition in New Spain, for example, is located at the
corner of Calles Hernández Macías and Pila Seca. The former Inquisition
jail stands across the way. Independence day is celebrated with
exceptional fervor in San Miguel, with fireworks, dances and parades
on September 15 and 16, and bullfights and cultural events for
the remainder of the month, including the running of the bulls,
Pamplona style." |
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