San Miguel de Allende

A few years ago in Vienna I lived near a British shop that I may or may not have bought Wotsits from on a regular basis. That, however, is beside the point. In their window, the shop proudly displayed the top 25 requests for British and American ex-pats. Bizarrely, the top choice was SMA powdered baby milk. Who knew? I'm in the wrong category to be talking about that, but I can tell you about another SMA highly rated by ex-pats, and that's San Miguel de Allende, a town near to Queretaro in the Colonial Heartland of Mexico. San Miguel is quite an unusual place because it's smack, bang in the middle of Mexico but has a large resident ex-pat population, and is ...  Read the complete review

San Miguel De Allende is a small colonial town located in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, which is in the center of Mexico. San Miguel has attracted many artists from North America, and Europe, because of the colonial streets and buildings, which provide an inspireing atmosphere for the artists, and painters. Alot of these North Americans live in San Miguel, and are not meer tourists. You might be supprised by the number of whites (or gringos) in San Miguel. I am a gringo myself, but as a result of the many foreigners, it seems to spoil the Mexican atmosphere, and feels more touristy. Aside from my complaint, I can see why many Americans would want to live there. San ...  Read the complete review

San Miguel de Allende is one of those cities that every Mexican teenager wants desperately to visit. It has nothing to do with art, culture or history but rather with the "Festival Cervantino". This festival (named after Miguel Cervantes the author of Don Quijote) is a showcase of music, dance, art and theater and it is very popular. Unfortunately it is popular because, for the duration of the festival, drinking and clubbing seem to be the most popular forms of artistic expression and everyone seems to be pretty drunk most of the time. Outside of the Festival times, San Miguel goes back to being pretty much what it is famous for: a haven for (mostly) ...  Read the complete review

Although I'm posting under the Mexican banner, San Miguel de Allende isn't Mexico at all. The mostly Indian population, including the children, smile and greet you and seem genuine in their friendliness. This huge, ancient city stretches for miles, up and down mountainsides trodden by the soldiers of Maxmillian, way back when. No McYellow arches mar the landscape - in fact NO building, old or brand new, is allowed to be constructed in other than classic 18th or 19th Century styling. The vision is of a great Arabian or Castillian capital of yore which will make you catch your breath as you first come over the rise from Queretero and start down the steep ...  Read the complete review