“Our mission,” says director and cofounder Henry Miller, “is to do everything possible to prepare society for climate change. Over the last 15 years, we’ve worked with Indigenous communities throughout Mexico, collaborating with local, national and international organizations, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.” 

“We’ve had the opportunity to develop an understanding of the problems facing children, parents and teachers, and with that understanding, we have created an educational model for climate change adaptation.”

The organization’s current initiative is called the Learning and Transition Laboratory for Climate Change (labAT). This educational tool helps teachers conduct community diagnostics, identify key problems, and develop school projects that address local circumstances.

“We have just completed our first full school year in the state of Querétaro,” explains Miller, “specifically in the Sierra Gorda region, where we work with teachers representing 26 schools in 26 communities.” 

“This tool is designed to help teachers work with students and parents to identify community problems, risks and vulnerabilities, as well as areas of resilience and available resources. Teachers are then able to bring this hyper-local information into their lesson plans for the development of school projects that address these specific community situations.” 

Think globally, act locally

While Miller affirms that the labAT educational model aligns with international standards such as the Paris Climate Accords, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as Mexico’s national educational standards, he also stresses that centering local conditions is its strength.

“I want to underline the importance of local information for climate change adaptation. Our work aligns with the Paris Accords and the UN 2030 agenda, and these international frameworks are very important — but the key is that adaptation has to happen locally. People need options at the local level, they need access to knowledge, and they need access to power structures.”

The organization’s diagnostic and educational tool, which has received certification from Mexico’s National Copyright Institute (Indautor), focuses on three reference points: each family’s domestic economy; the community’s territory, such as the local watershed; and good governance.

Empowering educators and re-centering them as community leaders 

El Maíz Más Pequeño aims to support and empower teachers, re-centering them as community leaders and sources of information and resources. “We definitely want to contribute to strengthening teachers,” says Henry Miller. “We remind them that they can be agents of change and that they are not alone.”

“Along those lines,” he continues, “our tool has an element of social cartography: we begin by asking students to draw their community, putting the school in the center as the information source. Then we ask them to note places or elements of their community that are considered resources and others that are considered dangerous or risky.”

Miller described seeing mosquitos drawn for the first time, and marked as a risk, on the community map created by a group of primary school students in the remote village of La Barranca in Pinal de Amoles, Querétaro. This community is located at such a high elevation that they’d never had to worry about mosquitos before. “But because of climate change, they’re now dealing with mosquitoes, a biological indicator showing that temperatures are warming. The increase in mosquitos in many areas has led to more outbreaks of dengue fever all over the country.” 

These children and their parents also identified forest fires, illegal logging and violence as threats to their community. Not only do these diagnostic exercises provide critical information, they also develop a language with which to talk about the problems, as well as uncover knowledge of actors who can help.

In today’s world, parents have less certainty about the future their children will face, notes Miller. “We no longer have the luxury of certainty, so we have to build resilience, in the form of knowledge, emotional intelligence and the ability to work with other local actors for the common benefit.”

The organization then helps teachers systematize their integration of climate change adaptation content into their lesson plans by defining climate-related vulnerabilities and sources of resilience in each layer of the community: at the level of a family’s domestic economy, in the physical territory and in government. “We exist to bring climate change into the national curriculum in a user-friendly way,” Miller says.

Building networks to support climate change adaptations

By working with parents of students in each school, El Maíz Más Pequeño aims to improve the quality of information available to community members, support healthy community decision-making and identify and expand networks of actors working to support climate change adaptation projects. 

Miller explained that the organization also hopes to contribute to a critical national risk management atlas, working with the National Institute for Ecology and Climate Change (INECC) and Civil Protection. This initiative aims to improve the quality of information available to national policymakers as well as local actors, enhancing the national government’s ability to prepare citizens for climate change adaptations. 

“Climate change adaptation is a form of risk management,” Miller says. ”It is crucial to reduce the time needed to respond to local climate-related problems and bring better tools to the fight.”

Support the innovative work of El Maíz Más Pequeño

Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, the organization hopes to greatly expand their reach in the coming years. In particular they plan to digitize their educational tools as an application and thereby make these valuable resources more accessible to teachers, parents, students and community leaders across the country. They are currently looking for corporate support to make this possible. To learn more about El Maíz Más Pequeño and support the organization’s important work, visit elmaizmaspequeno.org.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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In this series of artworks, Colín, based in Cuernavaca, uses satellite imagery and cartography to produce works that demonstrate the devastation wrought by open-pit mining while creating art of great beauty, a paradox that his fans find both entrancing and thought-provoking. 

Colín’s new exhibition, “Geological Spiral: Archives of a Transformed Landscape,” is currently on display at the San Miguel Art Loft in San Miguel de Allende.

Art that documents a transformed landscape

At the exhibition’s opening, gallery owner Debra Broussard discussed how Colín explores the impact upon the land of both natural forces like volcanos and the human-wrought destruction of strip mining. 

“While the volcano is a vital pulse of geodynamics,” she noted, “an open-pit mine is a human scar in its most voracious form. Jaime’s body of work does not explicitly seek to condemn or idealize but to explore that point of tension where the landscape reveals its fragility, its power and its capacity for regeneration. To look at these landscapes is to look at the ways we inhabit the Earth, transform it and perhaps repair it.”

Colín further explained that the Anthropocene era has been defined by scientists as beginning in the 1950s, at the time of the first atomic explosions. 

“They call it the great acceleration,” he said. “In some of my work, I have compared the craters left by volcanic eruptions with those created by atomic explosions… While I typically cannot know what a viewer takes from my work, I hope to plant seeds, to stimulate dialogue.”

Human contradictions

Much of Colín’s work subtly explores the contradiction between our horror at the environmental degradation of mining and our reliance on the products and modern conveniences that come from it — our complicity. But Colín is quick to clarify that he does not consider himself an activist. 

“I’m not an activist, nor am I a journalist,” he said. “Those on the front lines risk their lives — a number of young activists from the communities surrounding open-pit mines in various parts of the country have been killed — while I work safely and comfortably in a studio.”

Exhibition guests expressed their appreciation for the subtlety of Colín’s work. 

“Jaime’s art is so beautiful,” said one attendee. “I really love and respect what he’s doing. His sensibility reaches more people, I think, precisely because it’s not so in-your-face.”

Broussard agreed.

“I find it interesting how his work explores this extractive process, but he makes these spirals of the excavations appear beautiful. It’s this wild conflict, perhaps making us uncomfortable — in a good way.”

A childhood spent among mines

Colín’s fascination with the impact of mining on the environment stems from his childhood. Colín grew up in the 1980s in Santa Fe — which is now one of the wealthiest areas of Mexico City — when it was still a village. Open-pit mines were excavated there, and his father worked as a miner. The family lived in simple housing between the mines and huge garbage dumps. With a child’s innocence, he thought it normal to hike through the dump to get to school. He and his siblings even played in the mines. 

Eventually, the government resettled the community in another place, with little compensation, only for Santa Fe to be developed into the expensive neighborhood that it is today. Ironically, some of those expensive homes now have to be propped up on stilts because they’re sinking into the landfill ground where Colín once played.

Colín earned a bachelor’s degree in visual arts at the Morelense Center for the Arts and a master’s degree in visual arts and design from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The two-time winner of competitive federal grants, he has also been invited to exhibit at the Mexico City annual art fair Zona Maco as an emerging artist. He now teaches at the Morelense Center for the Arts.

Viewing the exhibit

Colín’s work may be viewed at the San Miguel Art Loft. To learn more, visit www.sanmiguelartloft.com or contact Debra Broussard at info@sanmiguelartloft.com to schedule a private viewing. The artist may also be contacted directly through his Instagram account @jaisme_colin.

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Patterson arrived in Mexico in 1970 at the age of 27, inspired by the opportunity to study with the esteemed sculptor Lothar Kestenbaum at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende. Kestenbaum gave Patterson his first book about the Maya, which sparked a life-long fascination and course of study.

At the Instituto Allende, Patterson earned a Masters in Fine Arts. He also gained a wife — less than a year after arriving in San Miguel, Patterson married the beautiful Marisela García de la Soto. They have one daughter, Jessica Patterson. After graduating, he was offered a job teaching painting and life drawing at the Instituto Allende, while fascinating discoveries of pre-Hispanic artifacts in the local area drew him inexorably to archaeological work.

Discovering the throne of Bird Jaguar III, Lord of Yaxchilan

The Yaxchilan project was one of his favorites because of the site’s storied history — and because of the incredible discovery he made there.

“I can recall with great clarity the days excavating and the subsequent nights drawing and photographing the throne of Bird Jaguar III,” said Patterson. “In the world of the classic Maya, Bird Jaguar was the Lord of Yaxchilan during the eighth century after Christ. Roberto [García Moll, the site director] gave me the opportunity to excavate the northwest exterior corner of Structure No. 7. Known as “Templo Rojo de la Rivera,“ it was famous because Teobert Maler spent nights in this building during his renowned explorations of the late 1890s.”

Patterson continued. “As my brush began to reveal the undulating surface along the sides of the first of two large stones beneath the soil, my excitement rose. At moments like these, controlling your impulse to attack the dirt like a dog looking for a bone is very difficult. The next hour seemed like an eternity before enough dirt was removed around the edges and the full-figure glyphs were exposed. I was ecstatic.”

“At that time there were few places apart from Copan, Honduras, and Quirigua, Guatemala, where full-figured glyphs had been found on carved stone. When the complete throne was freed and I saw the glyph for Bird Jaguar, I thought there would never be another moment in my life such as this. But of course I was wrong.”

A new golden age in Mexican archaeology

For centuries, the looting of archaeological sites — in Mexico and throughout the world — had been out of control. Then in 1973, an important law was passed in Mexico. As Patterson explained, this critical legislation “gave the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) decisive power in the determination of the national patrimony. Those who looted and trafficked in [objects from archaeological sites] were now subject to very stringent laws and severe punishments.” Importantly, the legislation “gave INAH a mandate to conserve, protect, investigate and diffuse the archaeological patrimony of Mexico.”

And it worked. “Compared to many other countries in Latin America, Mexico virtually stopped the massive looting that had been taking place for centuries… Moreover, during this period there was a resurgence of pride in the national patrimony unheard of since the golden epoch of Manual Gamío, Alfonso Caso and Jose Vasconcélos, one consequence being the swelling up of nationalistic fervor. Of course, this was augmented within and outside INAH by the discovery of the huge Coyolxāuhqui stone and the subsequent excavations at the Templo Mayor.”

Joining INAH to work on the Templo Mayor

Patterson knew he’d received a big break in 1978 when the National Institute of Anthropology and History’s highly respected general director, Professor Gaston García Cantú, referred him for a job at the Templo Mayor, where his use of a “camera lucida” technique enabled him to be highly efficient and effective in documenting the many exciting discoveries being made at the site. Only two gringos worked for INAH at the time.

“I was extremely lucky that my first paying job for INAH, in 1978, was at the Templo Mayor… it was an exciting place to be working. Every day something new was brought to light in the excavations. Academics, kings, presidents, congressmen, ambassadors and movie stars from around the world came to see the Coyolxāuhqui, whose dismembered body, weighing eight tons, lay at the bottom of the stairs to the temple of Huitzilopochtli.”

Monte Alban and Chichén Itzá

“Monte Alban was the first project I coordinated for the INAH general director’s office. During that time, we documented the carved monuments of Monte Alban, Dianzu, and Yagul, Oaxaca. After a few more years of labor, the work at Monte Alban evolved into a reference book, ‘Los Monumentos Escultóricos de Monte Albán,’ in Spanish and German.”

Patterson loves that his daughter, Jessica, has memories of playing among the ruins of Chichén Itzá as a child while her dad worked there on a six-year project. Some of his other fondest memories are of the talented and dedicated people he worked with.

For example, Patterson spoke highly of Don Eugenio May, an experienced leader of the excavation team at Chichén Itzá, who, “having worked the better part of his life at the site, knew the location of every mound in the 22 square kilometers that encompassed the great center of Chichén. All 64 Mayans I hired, from three villages around Chichén Itzá, treated Don Eugenio with great respect and referred to him as El Abuelo.”

While identifying chultuns (artificial storage units dug into the bedrock) at Chichén Itzá, Patterson felt like he and his crew were facing tests from the lords of Xibalba, the underworld depicted in the classic Maya text the Popol Vuh: in one day, the first chultun they explored contained a rattlesnake, the second a wasps’ nest, and the third dozens of bats! A few days later they also found a “three-meter-long boa appropriately coiled in the mouth of one of the stone serpent heads in the main plaza.”

Coming home to San Miguel: Río Laja and the Cañada de la Virgen project

Also during this time, Patterson’s team began a settlement pattern study along the central portion of the Río Laja in Mexico’s Bajío region, which led to fascinating results. As Patterson explained, “Wherever we found a present-day rural community, or ranchería, there was sure to be at least one pre-Hispanic settlement nearby. In other words, the present-day farmers are utilizing the same alluvial soils that their predecessors had a thousand years earlier! As well, nearly every ranchería has an 18th century chapel, while a few were built around the structure of colonial haciendas. This was convenient and facilitated our documentation of the colonial heritage as well, since we could accomplish it simultaneously with the pre-Hispanic.”

Once their survey was completed, they began to analyze the data. “The density of the sites with standing architecture in this northern frontier valley of Mesoamerica was nearly one every ten square kilometers. We presumed that the site density would surely be greater as one traveled south toward the heartland of Mesoamerica. If this was true, then Mesoamerica contained potentially more archaeological sites than previously suggested.”

With these compelling results, Patterson’s team made a strong case for the creation of a national registry of sites, a National Archaeological Atlas.

Patterson’s last project was in his own proverbial backyard, at the Cañada de la Virgen archaeological site near San Miguel de Allende. “For four and a half years, for 48 hours per week, we worked at the site in an unbroken chain of field seasons” from December 1995 through January 2000.

After the Cañada de la Virgen project, Patterson worked as the Director of Ecology for the municipality of San Miguel.

In closing, Patterson explained a guiding principle of archaeology: Beyond economic limitations, “an important reason for not excavating any structure completely is the professional obligation to preserve as much data as possible for future research. With proper funding and the rapidity with which technology and other sciences like physics, chemistry, biology and botany were becoming involved in archaeological projects, it was more important than ever to maintain this time-honored ethic.”

Journey to Xibalba: A Life in Archaeology

The legacy of this feisty gringo’s contribution to Mesoamerican archaeology is impressive. The collection of books that he either wrote, edited, or was extensively cited in fills several bookshelves. I can personally confirm that Patterson’s memoir, “Journey to Xibalba: A Life in Archaeology,” is a fantastic read, and he would want me to also encourage you, dear reader, to study the Popol Vuh in order to hear from the classic Maya in their own words and perhaps even embark on your own “journey to Xibalba.” 

Don Patterson passed away on June 2 in San Miguel de Allende.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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Three college friends of mine came to San Miguel de Allende on vacation. They’d heard me talk over the years about an incredible nonprofit organization I work with, Casita Linda, which has built more than 160 homes for families living in extreme poverty. So, during that visit, they painted a Casita Linda house and their teenagers volunteered alongside my sons as camp counselors at a bare-bones summer camp for Casita Linda kids in a rural indigenous community near San Miguel—and they brought suitcases full of enough art supplies to run the camp and stock the local primary school, too, with the leftovers.

Teens motivated by Casita Linda’s mission: “Building Hope One House at a Time”

At that point, the teens really dove in. Then and there, the kids committed to raise enough money in their communities of San Diego and Northern Virginia, to pay for an entire Casita Linda home, and, once they had the money, to return to Mexico to help build the house.

One of them, Sonia Whittle, filmed interviews on that visit with Casita Linda staff as well as prior recipients of houses. Afterward, at home in San Diego, she and her twin brother Sameer used the footage to create two powerful documentary films which formed the foundation of their online social media and fundraising campaign.

Another student, Andrew Drake, immediately began recruiting friends across several Northern Virginia schools to work for the cause. This group of teens included Will Harrison, Harry Patrick and Shiloh Hicks at South County High School, Rhesa Hicks at Thomas Jefferson High School, and Alexis White at The Trinity School. Naming their group Juntos 4 Casita Linda, these students planned a performing arts gala. This was an entirely student-driven fundraiser; they managed the event’s marketing, planning, set design, and choreography. Alexis even recruited additional youth from the Metropolitan School of the Arts to dance, sing, and play music, thereby utilizing others’ talents as well as their own to inspire donations for Casita Linda.   

“Growing up in Virginia, I’ve always had what I needed and lived a life of comfort — something I now understand is a privilege,” explained Will Harrison. “Volunteering with Casita Linda opened my eyes. It’s been humbling to see how much hope and joy a safe home can bring. I hope others get the chance to experience something like this, because it has the power to change lives—both for those being helped and those helping.”

An inspiring life story that leads from India to the US to Mexico

Meanwhile, in San Diego, the Whittle siblings — Sameer, Sonia and Jayen, who attend Canyon Crest Academy and Torrey Pines — so inspired their Great Uncle Vishnoo Shahani with their commitment to the cause that he provided a very substantial donation, putting the kids well over their goal of US $20,000, the cost of constructing an entire three-bedroom Casita Linda home. The group decided to name the house Casa Kathy in honor of Shahani’s late wife, who throughout her life was both a patron of the arts and a strong believer in the power of community service.

Shahani explained that he came from very humble beginnings in India. “Along with my two brothers, we had to move twice to restart our lives, first from Sindh to Bombay right before Partition and then to Ahmedabad for work, and later we settled in the United States. I am now delighted to support my niece and nephews in their efforts to help another family that is struggling and working hard for a better life in Mexico.”

Building the entire walls of a Casita Linda house in two days 

With the money raised, during the Spring Break of the teens’ senior year of high school, they converged on San Miguel de Allende last week to help build the house that they had paid for and to meet the family whose lives they are changing: mother Hermelinda Ramírez Pastor and her three children, Guadalupe, Christian, and Ramiro.

“To meet them,” said student Rhesa Hicks, “and see the impact of my work on others’ lives was a blessing. I hope more people see this organization and are encouraged to help in any way they can.”

“I liked being part of a group where everyone wanted to help,” noted Jayen Whittle, “even the family who was receiving the house. Whatever needed to be done, everyone pitched in.”

How it’s possible for volunteers to help build Casita Linda homes

Volunteers are able to construct the walls of Casita Linda homes thanks to the use of Armados Omega interlocking concrete blocks, which fit together almost like Lego and are the ingenious, eco-friendly invention of a husband-and-wife team of architects from Puebla, Jorge Capistrán and Sylvia Zambrano.

“As the granddaughter of two Latin American immigrants to the US, I have witnessed the struggles and sacrifices my family made to build a better life. Casita Linda gave me the opportunity to serve families like mine, and to help bridge communities internationally. It is my hope that others feel encouraged to do the same,” said Alexis White.

“On our first visit, we painted a Casita Linda house — purple, which seemed an interesting choice,” mused Sameer Whittle. “But when the mom told us she had always dreamed of living in a purple house, I realized it was the perfect color and just how important every step of the Casita Linda process is. That experience inspired us to fundraise. When we arrived at the building site this time, I could see the excitement in the family’s eyes, how much they wanted this opportunity to live more securely and improve their quality of life, which inspired us to work harder.”

These teens worked very hard, and I never heard a complaint from them about the heat, the dust — or where else they might have spent their final high school Spring Break. If that doesn’t give you hope for the next generation, what would?

And they aren’t the first teens to do this. Previously, Karina Knizek, the daughter of other Stanford friends of mine and a high school senior at the time, led a group of students from Holton-Arms School and St. Albans School in Washington, DC, who also raised the entire amount needed to build a “casita linda” and traveled to Mexico to help construct the home. And Colin Kitzman, son of former Casita Linda volunteer coordinator Tracey Kitzman, will bring his third team from the Loyola School in New York City to San Miguel this summer!

“As parents,” noted Annik Whittle, “you look for opportunities to raise awareness in your children and instill a sense of civic duty as a global citizen. This was one of those special opportunities where we received as much, if not more, than we gave. My kids learned that fundraising takes time and a strong connection to the people or cause, I learned how my kids think about social media and online fundraising, and together we achieved our goals. The experience we had building, in the community and with the community, brought everything together. We left with full hearts and vivid memories.”

Similarly, companies such as Momentum Factor of Austin, TX, have also donated the cost of a house and brought their employees to San Miguel to build as part of an executive team-building retreat. If you are interested in supporting Casita Linda in this way or would like more information, visit casitalinda.org.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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Yousefian’s work beautifully reflects the dislocation in her life

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1978, Yousefian immigrated to the United States at the age of 16. Her work, as highlighted in the eight series represented in “Memory in Layers,” illuminates challenging aspects of contemporary life and universal themes such as dislocation, loss, alienation and reinvention, with a particular focus on cultural identity, socio-political repression, and the immigrant experience.

These themes clearly resonated with guests at the March 7 “Memory in Layers” exhibition opening, where many of the attendees appeared awed by Yousefian’s work.

“Today we’re so used to viewing countless faces photographed flawlessly — and carefully filtered — that seeing the artist’s series of violently, asymmetrically altered self-portraits for me provided a powerful reminder that beauty doesn’t lie in perfection,” said M. Vega, a museum guest. “Shadi’s work is rich in technique, creativity, and emotion — knowing that these artworks are made from small fragments of real photos, letters and diary entries from the artist’s own life is very moving.”

“A tour de force,” agreed another attendee. “Daring, evocative, and simply stunning.”

Antonio Arelle Barquet, the museum’s director, also agrees. “With mastery and a resolute spirit, Yousefian… has achieved a body of work that is intimate and profoundly personal. Now she transforms these expressions into universal declarations of the experiences and memories of human migrations across our planet.”

Connecting her personal experience of migration to the universal

As Yousefian explained, “Much of my work to date reflects my desire to capture and distill some essence of my life as an immigrant and connect it to a more universal experience. My art suggests and builds upon a kind of fragmentation and dissolution but also celebrates the endeavor to reinvent and reconstruct a self in a new social and cultural context.”

In addition, she noted that she sometimes feels unable to adequately express herself through language and therefore uses her art as a vehicle to convey meaning. She sees this as an analogy “to the inability of people to express their true identity due to restrictions and moral codes imposed on them by governments or society.”

Yousefian has exhibited her work throughout the United States and internationally in Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom and Austria. Her works have been acquired for the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA) and the San Diego Museum of Art.

Finding an abundance of inspiration in Mexico

Yousefian embraced the opportunity to exhibit her work at the Museo de Arte de Querétaro because of her love for Mexico. “I admire this country so much for its culture, from its rich and vibrant pre-Hispanic traditions to its progressive and forward-thinking contemporary art scene — and of course for its kind and welcoming people.”

“As an artist, Mexico inspires me in so many ways, one of which is the daring attitude towards color. Another aspect which more directly inspires me,” she continued, “is the modern art and architecture. I’m highly impressed by the variety of modern architectural styles, especially the residential apartments and homes in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Merida.” 

“And of course, the variety and number of museums and galleries consistently offering fantastic exhibitions by renowned Mexican and international artists, as well as avant-garde works and art installations by lesser-known contemporary artists, helps me stay connected and up-to-date with the art world.”

“Mexico not only inspires me as an artist but helps me grow and have a more optimistic view on life as a human being. Family is highly valued, even by the younger generation. In Mexico one can still witness a teenager walking hand-in-hand with her grandmother. I also appreciate the supportive attitude of artists here. Instead of the hostile rivalry common in many other places, artists in Mexico are often inspired by each other and enjoy seeing their peers grow and be successful.”

“Memory in Layers” will be on display at the Museo de Arte de Querétaro through June 8. To learn more about Yousefian’s work, visit www.shadiyousefian.com.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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“In addition, we effectively combine a writers’ conference with a literary festival, which is more rare than one might think. Literary festivals serve readers, with famous authors giving talks, while writers’ conferences feature classes on the craft of writing. Our conference offers both— at a world-class level! We have incredible faculty coming to teach writing workshops, as well as not one or two but eight top-tier authors as keynote speakers.”

A star-studded keynote speaker lineup

This year’s keynote speakers in San Miguel are Percival Everett, John Irving, Jorge F. Hernández, Ruth Reichl, Kaveh Akbar, John Vaillant, Jennifer Clement and Deepa Rajagopalan.

“When we invited this year’s keynote speakers, we didn’t know that three of them would be finalists for the National Book Award and one of them would win it!” Susan Page told me. Percival Everett is the winner of the 2024 National Book Award for his novel “James,” which retells “Huckleberry Finn” from the point of view of the enslaved man, Jim.

An award-winning poet, Kaveh Akbar’s debut novel “Martyr!” was shortlisted for the National Book Award, while John Vaillant’s “Fire Weather,” an unsparing account of the Alberta Sands fire, was a finalist for both this year’s Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.

John Irving is the author of sixteen renowned novels including “The World According to Garp” and “A Prayer for Owen Meany.” Jorge F. Hernández is a well-known novelist, columnist, short story writer, magazine editor and radio show host. Ruth Reichl, former editor of Gourmet Magazine, is the author of cookbooks, memoirs and novels. Jennifer Clement is the author of five novels, two memoirs and several poetry collections and was the first female president of PEN International. Deepa Rajagopalan, winner of the 2021 RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award, will be in conversation with Merilyn Simonds in the Giller Spotlight presentation.

“What an incredible opportunity for all of us to learn from these authors, all of whom are renowned at an international level—eight of them at one time, in one place,” noted Armida Zepeda, Director of the conference’s Spanish track.

Pulling out all the stops for the 20th anniversary

In addition to the keynote addresses and writing workshops, the conference also offers a diverse range of activities, such as agent pitch sessions, open mic events, discussion circles on relevant topics, a community “big read,” opening and closing receptions, excursions, and wellness activities such as yoga and reflection sessions. “The goal is to create a retreat-like atmosphere, fostering inspiration and connection among attendees,” explained Conference Executive Director Jodi Pincus. 

“We are also launching affinity group lunches for emerging writers, seasoned writers, LGBTQ writers, et cetera,” noted Pincus. “With people coming from as far afield as Dubai, New Zealand and India, who may not know anyone and may be unfamiliar with San Miguel, it will be helpful for them to have a connection point on day one. We’re really trying to cultivate connection and community.”

Deepening local connections

All Mexican nationals are eligible for free tickets to conference events. “This is our way of saying thank you to Mexico and especially to local residents of our host city, San Miguel de Allende,” said Pincus. Mexicans do still have to reserve seats, which are going fast, so she recommends registering as soon as possible.

Page noted that the Spanish-language track of the conference has grown significantly under the leadership of Armida Zepeda, whose deep knowledge and connections in the Mexican literary community are crucial for the conference’s success. “This year we went together to the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, the second-largest book fair in the world, where she generated amazing buzz for our conference. We’re extremely fortunate to work with her.”

Zepeda is particularly proud of the conference’s teen program. “This year, 60 local teenagers get to participate in the conference. They will meet the Mexican keynote speaker, participate in other sessions and learn creative writing techniques. And three lucky students will win computers and the opportunity to present their work in front of our keynote speakers, including a winner of the National Book Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize— what an amazing experience for them!” said Zepeda.

This year’s bilingual workshops for teens include “A Look at Lyrical Poetry through Rap with Oscar Plazola” and “Future Avatars and Meta Types in the World of Comics with Isis Rodríguez.” For more information and to purchase tickets to the 20th annual San Miguel Writers’ Conference on Feb. 12 to 16, visit sanmiguelwritersconference.org.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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Mexico News Daily reporter Ann Marie Jackson had the pleasure of continuing the conversation with both Fletcher — who is also a Mexico News Daily trustee — and Atwood,  probing deeper into issues of importance to Mexico.

Atwood receives the San Miguel Writers’ Conference Award for Literary Excellence

Susan Page, Founder and President of the San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival, and Executive Director Jodi Pincus launched the evening by presenting Ms. Atwood with the conference’s first annual Award for Literary Excellence.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that Margaret Atwood is a pioneer of the written word,” noted Page. “Her work transcends genres… and explores virtually every facet of the human experience. In addition to her extraordinary literary output, Margaret Atwood… uses her platform to speak out against injustice. She challenges us to think, to question norms, and I believe she is a model for a future in which literature serves as a guiding light in troubled times… We are grateful for her stories, courage, and relentless pursuit of truth.”

Martin Fletcher shares his ‘Margaret Atwood moment’

Martin Fletcher, former NBC Middle East correspondent and Tel Aviv Bureau Chief, current commentator for MSNBC and PBS NewsHour, and author of eight books, resides in San Miguel. Early in the conversation, Fletcher shared his own “Margaret Atwood moment,” which happened in Afghanistan.

After the first Taliban government fell in 2001, he went there to do a story on a women’s art class. “After living for years under extreme restrictions, these women were finally able to leave their houses unchaperoned by a male relative,” he explained. “And it was amazing. Their paintings were quite good, but what struck me was that half of them essentially showed the same image: dark edges all around and a little strip of the world showing in the middle — which was all they had been able to see through the eye slit in their burkas.”

“That sent a shiver down my spine. I thought wow, this is Margaret Atwood’s world in real life.”

Dystopian fiction from a female perspective

“Is it true,” Fletcher asked Atwood, “that you wrote The Handmaid’s Tale from a woman’s point of view because 1984 by George Orwell and most other works of dystopian fiction were written from a male viewpoint?”

“Nearly all,” Atwood responded. “There were some female-written utopian works early on, but not dystopian ones. Utopias were popular through the 19th century into the early 20th, but then there was a turning point… After World War Two, it was just not possible to write utopias for a while.” Ray Bradbury and others wrote powerful dystopian works in that era.

“I started thinking about writing The Handmaid’s Tale after the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. He immediately began dismantling the progress made by 1970s second-wave feminism as well as the social contract of the New Deal. A friend of mine who escaped from Poland as a child, both from the Nazis and the Communists, could see a dystopia coming. She recognized one when she saw it. And she said to me, are you aware that the extreme, so-called ‘religious right’ is now refashioning itself as a political power, and one of the things they are saying is that women should be back in the home?”

“Whenever anyone says ‘women should,’ I always think about how they could implement it. Well, thanks to second-wave feminism, many women had jobs outside the home. They were earning money; they had credit cards; they had some freedom. How could those in power stop that, I wondered — and the answer I found was by obliterating the jobs and thereby cutting off the money.” 

To write The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood also knew she needed to fill in a gap in her knowledge of American history by studying Puritanism in the New England colonies. “So I studied that quite thoroughly, and I’m here to tell you that America did not begin as a democracy. Sorry, but it didn’t. It began as a theocracy — and if you have something like that in your background, it’s quite likely to recur.” Fletcher concurred that the current Christian nationalist movement in the United States is frighteningly influential.

American dystopia: false nostalgia and the belief in a golden past

“There’s a recurring tendency in human history,” noted Atwood, “to believe in a Golden Age and that there’s some way of returning to it. That goes all the way back to the Greeks, and it’s the same with Make America Great Again. Okay, which period of time are you thinking about? The 1950s? We actually don’t know when the supposed brightness was; it’s false nostalgia, a recurring human thing, and it’s very attractive.”

“The inauguration has not even taken place yet. Give it three months, and we’ll know what movie we’re in — is it Game of Thrones? Macbeth with Mrs. Vance playing Lady Macbeth? Or Julius Caesar? Will Mr. Trump have an unfortunate fall down a flight of stairs? All of these are intensely possible.” 

“We’re watching a pitched battle for power amongst the billionaire courtiers, too, with Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and others who hate each other. I think we’re in the Machiavellian Renaissance,” said Atwood. Fletcher agreed, noting that the present political situation in the United States appears to be uniquely difficult in part because of the historic rise in the influence of unelected billionaires.

He also shared his concern with Jackson that Mexican immigrants in the U.S. will be targeted during the early months of Trump’s second term. Many of the new president’s campaign promises to the MAGA base will be impossible to fulfill, but sweeping up some undocumented immigrants is both possible and politically appealing.

When asked by Jackson about Mexico and America’s joint dystopian reality around illicit drug use and cartel violence, Atwood responded, “It’s a vicious spiral. The real solution I suppose is to remove the appetite for drugs, but you can’t do that without making life more attractive for those who consume them. America right now is a deeply unhappy nation — and the more drugs, the more unhappy.” 

Prophet or not: Atwood on activism

Fletcher noted that as the writer of the incredibly prescient Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood, an astute student of the past, is now treated by many people as something of an oracle or prophet. Her deadpan response to his question of just how much could actually come true? “Well, I don’t think we’ll get the outfits.”

Fletcher and Atwood then more seriously discussed the responsibilities of writers as activists. Atwood volunteers with a group called the Theater of War that puts on Greek tragedies for targeted groups of people, such as veterans suffering from PTSD. She plays Tiresias, a know-it-all prophet who is always right. “I love playing that role, but it’s not who I am in real life. I am not a prophet. I cannot predict the future. If I could, I would have every horse race thoroughly covered.”

Atwood insisted that she is not a “real,” full-time activist, but acknowledged the importance of using her platform to speak out against injustice. “Real activists tend to have jobs, while I’m a self-employed writer who can’t be fired. Also, I’m so old; I’m not worried about my future. People can’t get at me the way they could if I had a job and were younger. So when I frequently get called to speak about these things, there’s no reason I can’t.”

Atwood also shared with Jackson her respect for Mexican activists and journalists covering narcos, impunity, and government corruption. “They’re amazingly brave people,” she said.

However, when asked about calling others to activism, Atwood responded, “I can’t tell other people how they should be called upon to behave. Their circumstances are different; they could be a lot more vulnerable. They could be supporting a family or they may be part of a community that’s quite censorious and punitive. There are all kinds of reasons why people can’t answer their inner conscience publicly. So it’s not up to me to tell people what to do. People will tell themselves what they can afford to do and should be doing.”

Attend the 20th annual San Miguel Writers’ Conference, February 12-16

This fascinating event raised funds for the San Miguel Writers’ Conference student scholarship program. For more information and to purchase tickets to the 20th annual San Miguel Writers’ Conference on February 12-16, visit https://sanmiguelwritersconference.org.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

The post In conversation with Margaret Atwood in San Miguel de Allende appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Lowrey’s body of work encompasses vibrantly colorful paintings and collages that lift the spirits of the viewer. Many incorporate lyrics, poetry, puns and elements of graphic design. They offer a provocative dose of irony or punchy humor, often with a Southern U.S. lilt. Some are abstractions featuring tactile explorations with paint, while others are explosions of geometry and still others are illustrative. At age 91, Lowrey paints for approximately four hours per day.

Building a dream home in Mexico

How did this couple, originally from Alabama and Tennessee, whose careers led them over the decades to various universities and artistic communities in the U.S. South, and who ultimately established themselves in Los Angeles, suddenly decide to move to Mexico?

“Lida had a friend who talked incessantly about a special Mexican town,” explains Lowrey. “We decided we had to see San Miguel de Allende. We came down in 2010 and immediately fell in love with the people, the architecture, the quality of the art scene and the sophistication of the design ethos here that we saw epitomized at YAM Gallery and Skot Foreman Fine Art. Within days, we bought a colonial-era house on Canal Street.”

“We named the house Casa de los Tíos in honor of the inheritance we had each received from beloved uncles, which enabled us to buy it.” The couple worked with Barboza Arquitectos to create a multiple-story, light-filled interior.

Then they set about building their dream home in the countryside on the outskirts of San Miguel. Working with another Mexican architect, Luis Sánchez Renero, they designed a truly spectacular house that would provide each of them with a gorgeous studio. The house consists of three glass pavilions connected by glass corridors. The stunning home has been featured in various international magazines, from Italy to Brazil.

“My parents were ahead of their time in the way they moved between the disciplines of art and design. They both had a profound, intuitive curiosity about the connections, overlap and points of mutual inspiration in the art and design worlds,” noted their daughter, artist Sheridan Lowrey, who has added numerous dramatic, intriguing art installations to the landscape surrounding the home. She uses locally-made tiles and displays Mexican vernacular pottery.

Making artistic connections in San Miguel de Allende

“I love L.A. and miss many things about the South — the waterfalls and mountains, the places I danced in my youth — but I have found fresh inspiration and beauty here in Mexico,” noted Lowrey. 

In San Miguel, the Lowreys discovered a thriving community of art- and design-oriented expats and found that noted L.A. artists such as Lari Pittman and Roy Dowell had homes here. San Miguel’s art scene has certainly evolved over the years. For decades, art students have come to study at the Instituto Allende and Bellas Artes. Now those storied institutions are somewhat less central to the scene, with many established artists working out of Fabrica la Aurora and creating their own studio spaces throughout the city and its environs.

Pilgrimages to San Miguel by Lowrey’s former art and design students

Lowrey received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Auburn University in graphic design and fine art. He was a career professor of graphic design at the University of Georgia, Indiana State University and last and longest at North Carolina State School of Design.

In each place Austin and Lida lived, they established architecturally interesting live-work spaces for themselves. They did this in the university towns of Raleigh, North Carolina; Athens, Georgia; and Terre Haute, Indiana. In Terre Haute, for example, Lida bought an old church in a blue-collar neighborhood and turned it into a gallery and antiques store named Revival.

Eventually, they moved to San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, where they became well-established in the local artist community. They had conjoined 3,000-square-foot spaces; Austin’s space was decorated with early American art pottery, flea market objects and outsider art and design, while Lida’s was a white cube gallery.

Lowrey’s students keep in touch with him, and a number have journeyed to San Miguel to visit him, including, most recently, the previous design director at Appalachian State University.

Lowrey even taught his daughter Sheridan at North Carolina State University. “My parents have always been my best friends,” she said, “because we share a love for art and design.”

Lowrey’s other daughter, Elizabeth, is a designer named to Boston Magazine’s list of Most Influential Bostonians for six consecutive years.

Lida, who passed away in 2020, described herself as “a prolific artist, working in various paint and print media exploring both abstract and representational imagery with conceptual and technical vigor.” Her work, she wrote “is also knowingly referential and witty in subject matter and form.”

Debra Broussard, Lowrey’s current gallerist, noted that “Both the artist and his art are not only deeply sophisticated and moving but also approachable and welcoming.” Lowrey’s work may be viewed at the San Miguel Art Loft.

To learn more, visit sanmiguelartloft.com. To schedule a private viewing of Austin Lowrey’s work, contact Debra Broussard at info@sanmiguelartloft.com. 

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

The post Austin Lowrey: Still creating provocative art at 91 appeared first on Mexico News Daily

This remarkable initiative is led by an American expat who recently returned from San Miguel de Allende to New York City. For six years, from 2016 to 2022, New Yorker and anti-trust lawyer Tracey Kitzman lived with her young son and daughter in San Miguel de Allende, where the kids became bilingual and the whole family regularly volunteered in the community. Kitzman was the president of women’s microlending organization Mano Amiga and the volunteer coordinator for Casita Linda, which builds homes for families living in extreme poverty. Kitzman and her family continue to work with Casita Linda by leading service trips for groups of students and volunteers who have raised money to fund a Casita Linda home.  

In 2018, migrant caravans traveled through central Mexico, and Kitzman joined volunteers who donated food and other critical supplies. She was particularly inspired by a friend, fellow San Miguel expat and attorney Rebecca Eichler, who traveled to join the caravan to provide pro bono legal assistance, an effort chronicled in the award-winning documentary film Las Abogadas.

The family returned to New York City in fall 2022 for Kitzman’s son to attend high school. At that time, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas had started sending busloads of migrants to New York, so Kitzman and her children immediately volunteered with a nonprofit organization called Team TLC NYC. Their role was to greet and assist people coming off the buses at the Port Authority terminal, putting their Spanish skills to good use. At that point, the Port Authority allowed Team TLC to work out of an old American Greetings card store in the terminal. “It was chaotic but wonderful,” said Kitzman. “I was proud to see New Yorkers stepping up to help people in need.”

Kitzman quickly offered to organize volunteer lawyers to assist the asylum seekers. She teamed up with Jethro Eisenstein and Michael Barkow, retired attorneys with pro bono experience in immigration law. They started running a triage table at the Port Authority and soon realized that what people needed most was assistance in filing for asylum applications and work authorization. Given the huge influx of migrants, particularly from Central and South America and West Africa, the capacity of other pro bono providers was maxed out.  

So they offered their first legal clinic in June 2023 at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights, where Kitzman is a member of the congregation, and they have been running them weekly since September 2023.

“The people we work with are anxious about the future, eager to comply with the rules of a system that they don’t understand, and grateful for our assistance. It is a pleasure to work with them,” said attorney Jethro Eisenstein.

“It’s rewarding to give people hope when they are facing an intimidating, somewhat arbitrary system,” Kitzman continued. “I have to say it’s challenging for anyone to navigate a bureaucracy in a new country while learning a new language. I am a lawyer myself, but when I lived in Mexico I found myself needing to hire a local advocate to assist me in applying for residency visas for my family. Even basic biographical information is difficult to provide when you have to do it in another language.”

The legal clinics offer only pro se (self-representation) assistance because of the volume of applicants. The advocates focus on the critical step of getting the asylum seekers’ applications correctly submitted, but they unfortunately do not have the resources to then support each applicant throughout what is often a multi-year adjudication process.

One key form of assistance that Team TLC NYC volunteers provide is helping individuals apply for work authorization. Being able to work legally in the United States is a primary goal of many of the migrants that attend the clinics, according to Kitzman. “I receive so many wonderful photos from people when they get their work authorization cards. There is such joy in the photos.”

Team TLC NYC volunteers also assist migrants with filing for changes of venue and updating their address with the court and immigration service.  Because many migrants are initially housed in city shelters that require people to reapply for spaces every 30-60 days, address updates are all too frequently needed. The group also provides monthly training sessions on the asylum process and work authorization for their own volunteer advocates and for volunteers from other organizations.

“The triage operation spearheaded by Tracey Kitzman has helped scores of people to navigate the immigration system,” noted Eisenstein.

Team TLC NYC, founded in 2019 by Ilze Thielmann, also runs the Little Shop of Kindness, a boutique where migrants can shop for free. The store offers clothing, toys, toiletries, and other necessities. 

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

The post Former San Miguel expat starts migrant legal aid clinic in New York City appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Animalitos SMA (or YoAnimalitos SMA), was founded by Crystal Calderoni in 2022 and is currently run by Hannah Hoch and Michellene Kandert.

Teams of volunteers work three-hour shifts four days per week at Control Canino, providing food, medications and supplies for all the animals, bathing and exercising them, and seeking private veterinary care when needed. They also undertake vigorous outreach efforts to place as many of the animals as possible in loving homes before they must be put down 10 days after their arrival at the pound.

These volunteers’ efforts are especially significant because there has historically been a fraught relationship between San Miguel’s Control Canino and previous volunteers, with some volunteers finding themselves banned from the facility for questioning the welfare of the animals. The municipal government and YoAnimalitos SMA are working to improve that relationship for the good of the dogs — and the few cats — in their care.

YoAnimalitos SMA continues to lobby for a higher standard of care, including the regular provision of food, veterinary care and exercise on the days volunteers are not at the facility and for humane euthanasia methods for those animals who sadly are not adopted before the 10-day limit is up. A liaison officer, Yanis Romero, from the office of the Director of Public Services, Laura Flores, now regularly joins the volunteers at the facility to troubleshoot problems.

“We’re moving in the right direction, due to the strength, passion and heroic efforts of our volunteers,” noted organizer Michellene Kandert.

To the best of the nonprofit’s knowledge, 514 dogs landed at Control Canino from January through October 2024. Of those, the group managed to rescue 212. The majority of the rescued dogs have been adopted, while some are now living in foster care awaiting permanent adoption. Also, 17 dogs (4% of the total) were returned to their owners. 

YoAnimalitos SMA has achieved this huge increase in adoptions through a concerted social media campaign on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and through other outreach efforts. To learn more about the animals currently available for adoption, visit the group’s Facebook page, YoAnimalitos SMA SMA – Los Voluntarios de Control Canino. 

YoAnimalitos SMA has invested approximately US $17,000 in improving the facilities at Control Canino on land generously donated by Arno K. Naumann, an expat who also founded the nonprofit organization Amigos de Animales de San Miguel de Allende to address the overpopulation of dogs and cats in the area through spay and neuter campaigns. Naumann was a tireless advocate of animal welfare until his death in 2021. Amigos de Animales recently began providing partial reimbursement to YoAnimalitos SMA to defray the expense of sterilizing each animal adopted from Control Canino.

“We hope that someday the government will utilize the building on this land that was intended to become a spay and neuter clinic,” noted YoAnimalitos SMA founder Crystal Calderoni, “because making sterilization a municipal priority is the only effective way to mitigate the need for a kill shelter.”

YoAnimalitos SMA also works with various local groups and individuals such as Lucky Dog and Jessica Princess Pea. By combining their efforts, they find more homes for more dogs.

The organization has developed strong adoption protocols, accompanying new owners on initial required veterinary visits — and paying for the veterinary services if the adopter is of limited means.

Another important improvement that YoAnimalitos SMA is currently pushing the government to adopt is the use of red biohazard bags for euthanized dogs (since they are not cremated due to lack of a cremation facility). The corpses are currently disposed of in standard black garbage bags which creates a potential biohazard for trash pickers at the municipal dump who scavenge for valuables in the garbage.

How readers can help

YoAnimalitos SMA eagerly welcomes volunteers, who can be helpful in a variety of ways, from directly caring for the animals at Control Canino to hosting fundraisers for the organization. The annual budget required is a minimum of US $25,000 for food, veterinary care, equipment, and some of the transport costs for dogs who are adopted by people living in the U.S. and Canada.

Readers can also support the organization’s efforts with in-kind donations of dog and cat food, collars, leashes, blankets, treats, sweaters for the winter, flea + tick shampoo, and cleaning supplies, and through PayPal donations. Two of the volunteers also host a monthly yoga class in San Miguel de Allende as a fundraiser. To donate, volunteer, and attend or host a fundraiser, contact the organizers through YoAnimalitos SMA SMA – Los Voluntarios de Control Canino.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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