In recent years, however, the city has begun to see a dynamic shift. While there are still water aerobics classes, yoga and book clubs, there are also rock concerts featuring teenaged bands, skateboard parks and special clubs designed just for teens.

With more and more younger families arriving, San Miguel is gaining a reputation as not just a great place to retire but also as one that is evolving into a capital for kids.

Musical theater for kids

Teen Connect SMA (SMA stands for San Miguel de Allende) is a club that puts on theatrical music productions and sponsors “unplugged” — i.e. no phones allowed — adventure camps for kids. The founder, Kirsten McCormick, moved to San Miguel five years ago.

“I’m a mom of five kids. We moved to San Miguel as kind of an experiment,” McCormick tells me. “To see if it was a good fit for my family. I fell in love immediately, but my teenagers were less impressed. 

“It seemed like there wasn’t much for them. I realized [that] if I wanted the whole family to stay, I needed to do something. I started Teen Connect SMA in January of 2021 with a socially distanced outdoor meetup. We played icebreaker games with the kids, and I saw how much they lit up at being in person instead of online.

“I knew my kids needed this. I decided to do it once a week. And now we have this high-quality children’s theater, classes, clubs and social events.”

Today, Teen Connect SMA comprises over 100 families, and its musical theater program puts on a big production twice a year.

Drum teacher launches teen concert series

Yet another music program for children and teens started in 2023, when San Miguel native Luis Flores moved home after spending 15 years in California.

“I got my first drum set when I was only eight years old,” Flores says. “I’ve been hooked since then. Punk rock and skateboarding culture always caught my attention, and that’s how I discovered the bands that became my inspiration.”

Flores now teaches drums and percussion to over 50 students in San Miguel aged two to 19.

“In my classes, we learn about all music styles, but we definitely focus more on rock ‘n’ roll. From the very first lesson, my students play along to bands like Black Sabbath, AC/DC or the Beatles,” Flores says.

In Flores’ program, kids can do regular live gigs: He arranges concerts in public parks for special occasions, and the teenagers play at local cafés and restaurants.

“I always encourage my students to perform in front of audiences,” says. “This helps build self-esteem, and it gets them excited about future presentations. Some of my students are now forming their own bands: Cat Litter, Toxic, Indigo, Vestige and Music Machine. These young bands have already been performing in local venues like Café Rama, Tupinamba, Amapola and El Sindicato.”

‘A fertile environment for kids’

These young bands include students taught guitar and piano by local music professor Mario Moya. Born and raised in San Miguel, the classically trained Moya plays harpsichord, piano and guitar.

Moya has recently noticed a recent change in the town’s personality.

“The musical scene of San Miguel is moving. More people are coming. Not just Americans but also Mexicans from Mexico City, from Monterrey, from Guanajuato. It is becoming a better place for young people,” Moya says. “Once, it was mainly retired people. There was even a saying that people came here to die happy,” he says with a laugh.

As a boy, Moya earned part of his music class tuition by accompanying his teacher to perform in rural communities and orphanages. To this day, he remains passionate about bringing art and music to financially challenged families. His perception of the evolving music scene in San Miguel is positive.

“Due to our economic situation, my father was not sure about music. Probably he would have rather had a teacher or a lawyer,” Moya says. “To become a musician was just a dream.” 

“But now I see the way that music is developing here,” Moya adds. “There is the desire of the kids to play, but there is also support from the parents. The families moving here are finding it a very fertile environment for kids. San Miguel has a better infrastructure for youth. I mean, we have the teen club that puts on musical productions, Luis Flores with 50 kids playing drums, the youth orchestra, new music stores, skateboarding parks. Look at all the possibilities.

“People often want to say that the past was better. And, yes, there are a lot of people moving to San Miguel. But it’s very cool to think how the city has developed from a touristy retired international community to what I consider a multicultural musical scene. Because of the demand, there is so much to offer. It is amazing to me that so many kids here have access to art.”

Demand for youth activities higher than ever

The private-sector demand for youth activities also provides more opportunities for lower-income families. Moya offers scholarships, while McCormick’s unplugged teen adventure camps spend part of their experience teaching younger kids in the countryside.

“The camp is free for [the rural kids], and it gives the teens a chance to do service, immerse themselves in the communities and give back,” McCormick says. “It feels good for everyone. It’s an awesome integrated experience. Overall, I’d say San Miguel has become a great place for teens.”

Flores’ student bands played a sold-out show at a popular nightspot in downtown San Miguel in late July.

“This change in the music scene for San Miguel is very exciting,” Flores said. “It will be very beneficial to the community to have a nice mix of retirees and young families at these events. When the kids play live, there is great energy in the crowd. It turns into an amazing time, and everyone enjoys the show.”

Anne Richards is a San Miguel de Allende-based author.

The post Retirement mecca San Miguel de Allende changes its tune with increasing youth activities appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Simply named The Tea Room, it has everything an Anglophile could hope for: tiered trays filled with classic teatime fare, including finger sandwiches, scones, crumpets, sausage rolls, chicken salad, quiche, clotted cream and lemon curd. And, of course, authentic English tea. 

An early call to the culinary arts 

This is also a love story.

Once upon a time, a youngster named Ryan McNab was raised by his grandparents in Leeds, England.

“My grandma taught me how to cook,” McNab says. “All of my earliest memories are helping to make food for the family on a Saturday. Just sandwiches, but I’d make faces on the bread with olives.”

Ryan began working in pubs at 16.

“I went through the school system, but it failed me, or I failed it. I don’t really know. At 18, I started serving drinks at a bar. Quickly got into pub management. I realized it wasn’t for me. The stress. Dealing with drunks. I decided to go back to school.”

Back at university in Leeds, Ryan met a young Mexican woman named Julieta Moreno.

“I was 17, living in the U.K., and attending design college,” Julieta said. “One day, this cute English guy offered to lend me one of his colored pencils. That was it. Like Ed Sheeran’s lyrics: We were just kids when we fell in love.”

During those early years, Ryan continued to work in pubs to put himself through school.

“Pub management taught me that you have to be prepared for the chef not to show up, so I would step in. Wash dishes. Do prep work. If you do that for long enough, you learn the ropes.”

Then, Julieta had to return to Mexico to complete her education.

“Of course, being so young, we had no idea how to make the relationship last the hardships of ‘adulting,’” she said.

With Julieta gone, Ryan focused on baking and became a successful pizza chef, opening several restaurants and a food truck. He also spent six months running high tea in the kitchen at the Castle Howard Estate, a private home set in 1,000 acres of sweeping parkland within the North Yorkshire countryside

“It was a 300-year-old property, and most of the people who worked there also lived there. It was a bit like working in ‘Downton Abbey,’” Ryan said.

But Ryan and Julieta struggled to keep in contact.

“I was working full-time and had very little vacation,” Ryan said. “This was in 2006, before Facebook, or even iPhones. We had to meticulously plan our calls. ‘You have to be by this particular phone on Mexican time, and I need to phone at exactly the right time English time.’ It was just really hard.”

Estranged sweethearts reunite

Ryan and Julieta eventually drifted apart, not speaking for 15 years — until a cat photo on Instagram reconnected them.

“What brought me to Mexico was — well, weirdly, it was a cat,” Ryan said. ”I had a Maine Coon named Abby, a beautiful cat that I was given for my birthday during COVID. I was locked down in this tiny cottage, and I posted a picture of Abby on Instagram.”

Julieta’s mom, in Querétaro, saw the picture and commented. She and Ryan began chatting. A few days later, Ryan “plucked up the courage” to reach out and ask Julieta how she was doing. Was there a husband? Kids?

“Fifteen years later, after no communication, Ryan decides to send me a message just saying, ‘Hi, how are you?’” Julieta said with a laugh.

A few months later, after many texts and voicemails, the pressing question became: “Are we back together?”

Ryan visited Julieta in San Miguel de Allende the following November for Day of the Dead. Three weeks after being together again, he proposed.

“A new adventure began,” Julieta said. “It was my turn to show him the way of life in my country. He [quickly] embraced this culture and began adapting his love for cooking to new ingredients and a new altitude. Good thing his wife loves eating!”

The English crumpet arrives in San Miguel de Allende

Julieta’s parents, who once lived in the U.K., missed a few hard-to-find specialties in Mexico.

“One day, Julieta’s mom asked me if I knew how to make crumpets,” Ryan said. “They had a list of things they missed, crumpets being the main thing, but also lemon curd and shortbread. I thought maybe if I perfected crumpets, I could sell them. There’s an organic farm called Chinaberry here with a website where people can order fresh fruit and veg, but also items from different vendors. They said I could work with them.”

Ryan started a small business and called it Señor Crumpet.

Business was initially good, but during the tourism low season that year, Ryan found himself lacking customers. Julieta mentioned that the upscale San Miguel de Allende French bakery Marulier was hiring an assistant baker.

Ryan applied.

“I thought, ’It can’t hurt to try.’ I went in and had a chat with the owners and head chef, and they were really lovely. The interview turned into a ‘When can you start?’ situation.”

It was while Ryan was splitting his time between Marulier and Señor Crumpet that Eve Mickendrow (the southern belle) entered the story. Eve had relocated to San Miguel from South Carolina, where for 25 years she’d owned Time Well Spent, an English teahouse.

Ryan and Eve joked about the fact that she’d operated a teahouse and that he was a British baker. One day, Eve said to Ryan, “Can I take you somewhere?”

That “somewhere” was the spot she had chosen to open a new tearoom in town.

The location was a quaint, a charming, upper-floor space not far from downtown. Eve’s vision was to create an inviting traditional British tearoom in the Mexican mountains.

‘It felt like fate’

“The initial idea,” Ryan said, “was that she would open the tearoom and I would supply her with crumpets and scones. The more we talked, the more it seemed like we should partner up. Eve and I have both said all the way through the process that it was never stressful. It just felt like fate.”

“Eve did everything,” Ryan continued. “A color palette, chinaware, vintage teapots, a fairy theme with a tea party room for kids. But we agreed it should never be too flashy. It needs to be about people sharing tea. We want people to go and feel like they could sit for however long, have tea and a natter. If you sit down and want to stay for three or more hours, that’s great.”

“I love the concept,” Julieta said. “It’s a space that invites coziness, the warmth of friendship and the tranquility of reading a book with a nice cup of tea.”

The Tea Room:

• Location: Salida a Celaya 6, Interior 5, Zona Centro, Guadiana, 37760 San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato
• Hours: Thursday–Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Closed Monday–Wednesday)
• High Tea Service: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Flexible for parties)
• Reservations: Call +52 415 200 7200

Anne Richards is a San Miguel de Allende-based author.

The post Victorian-style high tea comes to San Miguel de Allende appeared first on Mexico News Daily

“Throughout the centuries, Atotonilco’s extraordinary energy has made it possible for hot waters to flow and spiritual fervor to buzz,” says Camino Al Arte’s founder Monica Contreras, referring to Atotonilco’s well-known natural hot springs. “In 2020, I decided this would be a site where artists, writers and creative minds could gather to produce works of ingenuity and beauty.”

In October 2023, Contreras’ vision of a dedicated space for imagination and invention became a reality when the Mexican and U.S. nonprofit residency welcomed its first artist. Since then, the architecturally modern grounds surrounded by mesquite trees have fostered the work of 23 creatives from Canada, the U.S., Mexico and South America.

One of these artists is Antonio Castro, a professor of art at the University of Texas-El Paso.

“I believe that Camino al Arte’s mission is about creating opportunities for both emerging and established artists from around the world to connect with the artistic community in San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding areas,” Castro says. “But more than that, it’s also a space that encourages meaningful conversations — especially about the issues affecting society — and, in turn, influences how we create.”

With a unique philosophy that welcomes women artists with their children, senior artists over 70 and emerging artists fresh out of school, Camino al Arte aims to be an inspirational presence in the community.

Visiting artists hold onsite educational events on topics of local importance. Contreras works closely with the surrounding schools, teachers and families.

“Thanks to the artists, we are able to sponsor a community arts education program called Somos El Arte,” she said. “We [give] about 20 workshops, classes and demonstrations per year to primarily youth, women and teachers.”

Internationally recognized artists

It seems Contreras is achieving her original dream, which she says is “to improve people’s lives through their immersion in and exposure to the arts.”

“We are just getting started,” she says, “but in five years, Camino al Arte will offer an even more robust residency program, scholarships and stipends for emerging artists, and expanded infrastructure for programs for our community’s art education activities.”

Though Contreras has a special place in her heart for both emerging and senior artists, Camino al Arte has also been an escape for those with well-established careers, such as Professor Castro.

This April, the artist-in-residence was Danielle Trussoni, a New York Times, USA Today and Sunday Times Top 10 bestselling novelist. Her most recent novel, The Puzzle Box, recently won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category.

Danielle says she came to Camino al Arte seeking peace and quiet. 

“I had a book come out last October and spent that entire month touring. During that winter, I wrote the proposal for a new book that just sold. It was an intense four months. And now I need a finished manuscript by July. I have a tight deadline.”

Danielle, who has a seven-year-old daughter, laughed.

“There is a lot of noise in my house. This is the first time that I have been able to calm down. I meditate in the morning. I’ve been able to get into the natural rhythm of my work. I take walks, and, if I want to, I write in the middle of the night.”

Castro found his time at Camino al Arte to be a life-changing experience. Already a successful graphic designer with many significant awards, he came to the residency to do something distinct and personal — to commemorate the memory of his mother.

“My mother had passed away the previous year after battling Lewy Body Dementia, a vicious and degenerative disease,” he says. “Watching her forget her children and her husband was devastating, not just for her, but for our entire family.

“As heartbreaking as it was, I found the strength to document her final years through photography, intending to use those images as the foundation for a new body of work. Over three intense weeks of creation at Camino al Arte, I found myself not only confronting her illness but also reflecting deeply on what it meant to be her son. The process brought back memories of joy, love and resilience. It reminded me that her legacy was not defined by her disease but by the life she lived and the joy we experienced together.”

“Being in such a secluded place gave me the space and focus to process everything I’d been through,” Castro added. “In a way, it became a personal kind of mourning, but through the eyes of an artist.” 

 A positive community impact

One of Contreras’ hopes for the future is to focus even more on beneficial interactions with families in the Atotonilco community.

“Last summer,” she said, “Uruguayan resident artist Serrana del Castillo decided to expand her cultural exchange experience by spending time at the home of Carmen Muñoz, a community leader. Serrana’s goal was to learn how to cook like the locals do, and Carmen taught her the basics: from gathering vegetables and grinding corn to cooking mole and making fresh tortillas. I love this memory because it really exemplifies the magic that happens at Camino Al Arte: Local and visiting talent meet, joining hands to produce something extraordinary.”

Contreras has recently launched a new program called the Community Impact Residency. Made possible by the organization Fomento Educacional A.C., this scholarship offers a unique opportunity for emerging artists and graduate students from the United States to interact with Mexican communities through art. 

Residents are selected to create impactful projects that address important social issues, such as forced migration, water scarcity, teen pregnancy and gentrification.

“Camino Al Arte has a special focus on mitigating the effects of living without access to arts and culture in some of our most vulnerable communities,” Contreras says. “Our goal is to stimulate people, especially our youth, to develop skills that help raise their optimism, creativity and productivity levels and overall quality of life.” 

The social impact of the nonprofit is made possible thanks to donations and contributions from patrons and artists alike.

Fostering multicultural understanding

This sanctuary, where artists from around the globe come to live, create and volunteer together, is a rare opportunity to learn about other cultures.

“I was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua,” says Castro. “And like many border dwellers, I split my young years between Juárez [Mexico] and El Paso, Texas. Spanish was my first language, and the duality of life on the border became a defining part of who I am.” 

Living at the intersection of two nations is a unique experience, says Castro 

“Yet, rather than being a source of confusion or conflict, this duality enriches us. Border people are not splintered by these influences; we are made more whole, more resilient,” he says.  “I’ve found that those who grow up along the border are remarkably adaptable, often thriving in situations that might challenge individuals from the interior of either country.”

Camino al Arte is in many ways a revolutionary new addition to the ever-evolving cultural offerings in Mexico. And, as Castro points out, being immersed in other cultures and languages is a source of enrichment and understanding. 

“There is a palpable confidence that comes from navigating multiple worlds daily. It becomes a strength, a way of seeing, a way of being — and in my case, a way of creating.”

Camino al Arte offers two-, four-, six- and eight-week residencies, with flexibility for those who wish to stay longer.

To apply, contact Camino al Arte at:

info@caminoalarte.org
+52 415 167 1255 (Mexico)
+1 646 327 3774 (U.S.)

The post At this San Miguel artists’ retreat, creatives forge a link with locals appeared first on Mexico News Daily