San Miguel de Allende is like a beautifully refined woman with bright red lipstick. I think of her as the lady in red. There was a time, though, around the beginning of the last century, when this lady had few admirers. Enter then, in the late 1930’s and 1940’s, artists and writers from far away places (U.S., Canada, Europe). These artists established two important and still vital schools, the Instituto Allende and the Escuela de Bellas Artes. After World War II, American veterans, taking advantage of the GI Bill, came to San Miguel to study. After that, they returned to live. Attracted by the new cosmopolitan and cultural nature of the city, even more came, adding new life to the city. Â
Whatever was done, the lady was the same. Beautiful, refined, now painted in red.
Instituto Allende
We did what we usually do our first night and wandered the streets aimlessly and without expectations. Actually, this is how we came across the Instituto Allende one night, without knowing where we were. http://instituto-allende.edu.mx/. We entered and were struck by the murals and courtyard. There was a party going on at the back of the building with musicians and laughter. From this vantage point we had a view to the lights of the city and the cathedral. Completely taken, I came back another day in the afternoon to explore and see the murals in daylight. Â
Markets of San Miguel
Our last full day in San Miguel de Allende we took a cab from our hotel to the market. After that we walked the long length of the Calzado de Aurora. This is a street of many antique shops that will lead you to the Fabrica Aurora.Â
Fabrica La Aurora
 Fabrica La Aurora was once a textile factory. http://fabricalaaurora.com/ The building is interesting in itself. It is also nice that they have kept old industrial machinery. used when textiles were being made. It’s filled with artist studios now and stores of antiques, artist made jewelry, clothing, art. Careful! You might get lost in there. I did. So have as much fun as I did, if you do.
Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel
Of the several times we found ourselves in the square, the large doors of the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel were always closed. I finally found the doors open on our last day, a Saturday. I was told that there are at least 17 destination weddings in San Miguel de Allende on any given weekend. So I waited to see the bride of the afternoon as she entered and walked down the long aisle.
