Looking for good friends
By Ali Zerriffi July 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Our public library needs friends. It has gone through its growth crisis and emerged as a solid and reliable organization. It needs its old friends back and it needs to make new friends. In this community, there has always been a deep sense of ownership of the Biblioteca, even when it was in trouble and the feeling was more like bitterness than love.

Now that it is working well, it is time to rise up and be counted as supporters and friends. Decisions have to be made regarding the future of the library and its various programs because there is a very serious and immediate risk that the library will not be able to sustain all its activities and keep pace with the growing and increasingly modern needs of the community.

The board works well, the staff is enthusiastic about the various changes that have been implemented in their respective departments, long overdue upgrades to the 300-year-old building have been done over the last few years, and new equipment was purchased to provide people with the right tools for their jobs. Atención got the right computers and software to publish an improved product, the library received a new software system, the theater purchased a new projector and lighting system, the Café received a new espresso machine, the dangerously old electrical wiring system was changed and the bathrooms were renovated.

All this was achieved thanks to a handful of donors who supported these various projects, and a couple of legacies from lifelong library friends who passed away recently. These programs of renovations and internal reorganization could not have been achieved without this timely financial help because, as we all know, our membership is not large enough that a 50-peso annual fee per person would allow us to spend over 5,000,000 pesos in services for the community and 800,000 pesos for the scholarship program. There has been some help from the Mexican National Library Network for the computers in the children’s room and the present board has been able to link up with a nonprofit organization in the US to provide the administration and the newspaper with legal and up-to-date software so the library can continue as a modern and efficient operation.

In San Miguel, we have a wonderful institution, a 50-year old library that started in the home of a visionary and morphed over the years into a bicultural community center which offers not only the second largest bilingual book collection in the country but also presents plays, concerts and lectures, a high quality movie program, a choir, various educational activities for children from computer instruction to chess and science clubs.

I hear around town that the library is “rich,” the library has all these internal enterprises that generate income, specifically Atención and the House & Garden Tour. Yes, we do and without these social enterprises the Biblioteca would have closed its doors a long time ago because, apart from a few individual benefactors, that is all the financial support the library has to cover its overhead and still provide all the services it is expected to provide. There are no government subsidies, there is no portion of your taxes earmarked for it and there are no corporate sponsors.

San Miguel needs the Biblioteca Pública to continue existing, to continue improving its services as a cultural and educational center because many of us, Mexicans and expatriates, enjoy its programs and support its mission, a mission that has become more crucial in these times of economic hardship and scarce employment.

The Board of Directors has launched many appeals over the years to all community members to come and help in any way they can—as volunteers, as board members, as financial supporters and as friends of the library.

In order to help the Biblioteca garner that support, a new organization is being formed, aptly called “Friends of the Library.” As an association, its mission will be similar to the hundreds of Friends of the Library groups that exist in the US, Canada and most likely in many other countries.

The San Miguel Friends of the Library Association will support the Biblioteca by advising the Board of Directors, developing public relations efforts to increase community awareness of the Biblioteca’s programs, fundraising for the general development and growth of the activities of the library and the creation and ongoing support of an endowment fund.

For more information on Friend of the Library groups, please visit the US organization at www.folusa.org.

For more information about our efforts to launch a local association, please contact Ali Zerriffi, azerriffi@gmail.com.

Ali Zerriffi is a former president of the Biblioteca Pública and a great friend to the Biblioteca.

Rocking with the Angels
By Kay Miller

Art Auction
Artists’ rocking chairs
Sat, Aug 9, 6–9pm
Casa de los Angeles
Enrique Velazco Ibarra 9

“Rocking with the Angels” is a new fundraiser auction in association with the opening of the second family center of Casa de los Angeles. In eight years, Casa has grown to be a community center in which mothers find the support they need to make a better life for their families.

Besides help with their children, the families receive medical care, home and bathroom construction, transitional housing, summer camp, food bank—all in a relationship of mutuality that respects the dignity of each individual.

As part of the opening of the second family center, which will serve 100 children and their families, Casa hosts a silent and live auction of 30 wooden rocking chairs which have been creatively decorated by 30 of San Miguel’s well-known and aspiring artists.

San Miguel artists have enthusiastically volunteered time and materials to decorate the most creative, functional and artistic rocking chairs ever seen. Media used include painting, ceramics, decoupage, metal, fabric and a variety of other materials that make these chairs one-of-a-kind collectors’ items. The variety of artists ensures a wide range of media and prices at auction. The chairs will be displayed for silent-auction bidding at 7pm at the grand opening. Chairs which do not achieve the estimated “gallery price” established by the artists will then go to live auction beginning at 8pm.

Artists in the community have been enthusiastic about the Rocking Chair Project, including the design team of Atención, Joan Elena Goldbert and Lulu Torbet. A well-known San Miguel jeweler said, when asked to participate, “I love this idea and I think other artists will want to participate as well. I don’t think anything quite like this has been done in San Miguel.” Lisa Simms was so enthused about the project that she called artist colleagues Peter Leventhal and Keith Keller.

Many Fábrica la Aurora artists eagerly signed up to create chairs—in fact, many Fábrica artists are competing for the most creative chairs. Participants include not only Peter Leventhal, but also Merry Calderoni, Mary Rapp, Juan Ezcurdia, Cati Demme of Generator Gallery, Edgardo Kerlegand of Barro Galería, and Marrisa Boullosa of Atelier, Brian Care and Edina Sagert. Mary Breneman of Zoho Gallery was out of town when chairs were distributed, called the project organizers to ask for a chair, and was told they were all spoken for. “I’m heartbroken,” said Breneman. “I really want to do a chair. I think this is a great project for a wonderful cause.” Enough artists felt the same, so additional chairs were fabricated to accommodate all the interested artists.

Friends of Casa de los Angeles and amateur artists also signed on. Jennifer Butz, local owner of the Bagel Café, is creating a decoupage “travel” chair of places any armchair traveler would want to visit. Heidi LaVasseur, co-owner of Casa de la Cuesta Bed and Breakfast, said, “I love to have a project with a deadline. That’s the only way I ever finish my many ‘in progress’ projects.”

The opening of the new Casa de los Angeles and the Rocking with the Angels chair auction will be a stimulating and fun-filled evening. Mothers of the children who attend Casa will prepare food and provide entertainment. The public will have a chance to view the new child care and family center which will have an on-site medical clinic open to the community.

Kay Miller is a Casa de los Angeles volunteer.

Hospice San Miguel announces Community Caregiver Award
By Carol Ross

Award Ceremony
Community Caregiver Award
Howard D. Haynes
Thu, Aug 21, 6–9pm
La Loma

Hospice San Miguel, now in its ninth month of providing compassionate care for those suffering a life-limiting illness, announces its first annual Community Caregiver Award. The prestigious award will be presented to Howard D. Haynes at a benefit event. Tickets are available at Border Crossings, La Conexión, Solutions, La Victoriana, Casa de Papel and Allende Properties.

“Caregiver” is a very important word in the hospice community and is used in one form or another all over the world. In England, Australia and New Zealand, that person who unselfishly gives time and energy to look after another is referred to as a “carer.” In the US, Canada and Mexico, the term used is “caregiver” and can refer to either a professional or a volunteer who provides assistance to a family member, friend, or another individual.

The term has become so universal that even Marvel Comics introduced a character in 1992 called “The Caregiver,” who “nurtures those beings she defines as ‘cosmically significant.’”

Expanding on the hospice definition of a caregiver, a Community Caregiver is one who “adopts” the local community and provides compassionate care to it. A Community Caregiver can see various needs, and works with generosity and determination to improve the community. A Community Caregiver leads by example and habit, and inspires others to become involved with community projects. In many cases, Community Caregivers are able to provide the financial assistance to help solve the problem. Even more important than money is their insight and drive to “get the job done” alone or with the help of others.

Perhaps the most significant quality of a Community Caregiver is that they show initiative without a desire for personal gain or acknowledgement. They offer quiet service that changes lives and attitudes and, to steal a line from Marvel Comics, nurtures those “cosmically significant” aspects of a community.

Howard Haynes has spent a major portion of his life—both time and money—nurturing aspects of the communities in which he has lived. He served on the Board of Planned Parenthood in his hometown of Kansas City during the Roe vs. Wade era and became very acquainted with bullhorns and name-calling. Howard was the headmaster of the Grafton School in Berryville, VA, a school that specialized in educating children who suffered from dyslexia. 

He founded “Questover” in KC, a residency program for first-time juvenile offenders who were also retarded. He co-chaired, with the mayor’s wife, the first AIDS benefit in Kansas City which raised US$85,000. Working with two friends, he co-founded the North American Riding School for the Handicapped and was president of the school for its first three years.

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lived for 18 years, he was president of the board of the Wheelwright Museum for three years and director of the Old Santa Fe Association.

Haynes moved to San Miguel in 1997, living first in colonia Guadiana where he and his partner, Bill Harris, restored Guadiana Park and helped maintain it during the time they lived there. Haynes served on the San Miguel Community Foundation for 10 years and has recently returned to that board for another term. He led the way and inspired others to work with him to restore 23 of the 43 historic fountains in San Miguel. Financing was supplied by Bob and Judy Spencer and the SMCF. Jorge Pena and Francisco Titoy were the tireless workers who completed the project. Haynes provides funding to several women who are completing their college educations and also to several young people who are in language school.

Hospice San Miguel is proud to celebrate Howard Haynes, his generosity and the selfless contributions he has made to the communities in which he has lived.

Pathways to excellence
By Reverend Dr. Cynthia Lynch

First Annual Nonprofit Conference
Thu–Fri, July 31–Aug 1, 8:30am
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
500 pesos

San Miguel is renowned for its commitment to service and civil participation. Mexicans and expats alike contribute to the thriving service organizations. All these organizations, regardless of size, influence the quality of life in San Miguel for those who receive the service and equally for those who volunteer. Their contributions are so important that when a nonprofit dissolves or can no longer deliver the service they previously provided, the whole community suffers.

The Biblioteca in partnership with UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México) and the San Miguel Community Project is committed to helping nonprofit and service organizations continue the great work they do by hosting an historical two-day event—the First Annual Nonprofit Conference, “From Good to Great: Pathways to Excellence for Nonprofit Organizations.”

Who should attend?

Anyone currently volunteering in a nonprofit organization, thinking of joining one, or serving on the board of one should attend this conference. Organizations sending the maximum four-person teams will have the per-person registration fee discounted. Lunch and coffee are included in the registration fee, which is 500 pesos per person, or for organizations, 450 pesos each for a two-member team, 400 pesos each for a three-member team, or 350 pesos each for a four-member team.

Please register in advance with José Louis at Teatro Santa Ana or register on Thursday, July 31, at 8:30am. The first session begins at 9am in Teatro Santa Ana.

Major topics covered

The conference will offer 11 special topic sessions and two general plenary sessions. Some of the major topic sessions run concurrently, so participants will have to choose the session most applicable to their organization. Sessions are cumulative, building on one another, so plan on attending both days to get the most out of the conference. Special topics include: To be or not to be a 501(c)3, Strategic Planning, Best Practices for Nonprofit Management, Program Planning & Evaluation, Budgeting & Financial Management, Accountability & Sustainability, Board Development, Grant Writing & Fund Development and three information technology sessions on Creating Electronic Newsletters, Interlocking Spreadsheets and Managing Databases.

Professors and consultants

The four instructors are generously donating their time and expertise to this project.

Dr. Sharon Parsons is a professor at Southern University, Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She teaches nonprofit management, program evaluation and ethics in the Masters in Public Administration program. She also has many years of experience serving on nonprofit boards in Florida and Louisiana and as a practitioner working in and for nonprofits.

Reverend Dr. Thomas Lynch is a professor emeritus at Louisiana State University and executive director of University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) in San Miguel. He has more than 35 years’ experience teaching budgeting and financial management. He is a long-time (part-time) San Miguel resident and has worked with several local nonprofits to develop their strategic plans and their budget and accounting documents.

Reverend Dr. Cynthia Lynch is an assistant professor at UTPA where she teaches organization development, ethics and nonprofit management in the Masters in Public Administration program. Along with her husband, Tom, she has long been a part-time resident and regularly offers grant-writing courses at the Biblioteca.

Mary Hubbard is an information technology consultant in south Florida. She offers private and group instruction in how to maximize one’s computer knowledge. 

For more information, call Cynthia E. Lynch at 154-5254 or Vonage (956) 467-5292, or email clynch@UTPA.edu.

Home & Garden tour benefits Jardín in Pozos
By Teresa Martinez

Pozos Home & Garden Tour
Sat, July 26, 11am
Plaza Zaragoza
Mineral de Pozos
Bus: Liverpool parking lot, 10am
250 pesos tour & bus; 100 pesos tour only

Many of you familiar with Pozos know that the Jardín has needed attention for a long time. In February of this year, the kiosk received a much-needed facelift with new roof, paint and cast-iron railings. Cantera (local limestone) steps were replaced and lighting was re-installed, but the local municipal budget did not include the garden areas surrounding the kiosk.

Our local nonprofit organization, Mineral de Pozos Turismo y Cultura, decided to step in and help with a Home & Garden Tour in Pozos. Proceeds from ticket sales will help pay for the landscaping of the green areas in the Jardín.

The history of the Jardín is hard to trace, as is other history of this mysterious ex-mining town. The Jardín dates back before 1910, prior to the Revolution. In the mid-seventies the Jardín area received adjustments and improvements. Now 40 years later, we want to resurrect the beauty of this garden area for all to enjoy.

The Home & Garden Tour departs from Plaza Zaragoza in Pozos at 11am and visits five homes, all within a five-block radius. This easy walking tour will take about 1 1/2 hours (with refreshment break), giving you time to enjoy a leisurely lunch and then visit the galleries and do some shopping. Be sure to stop by the Jardín to see the progress so far, and if you have ideas and suggestions, they are most welcome.

Tickets can be purchased at the Biblioteca Pública in San Miguel. The bus departs San Miguel at 10am from the Liverpool parking lot and returns from the Jardín in Pozos at 5pm. If you are driving to Pozos, tour tickets are 100 pesos, also available at the Biblioteca, or you can purchase them in Pozos at Posada de las Minas.

Mineral de Pozos is 35 miles northeast of San Miguel. The town had a Summer Art Walk two weekends ago featuring photography exhibitions by the children of Pozos which are still on view. A dozen galleries/artist’s studios are open to the public, along with artisan shops specializing in pre-Hispanic musical instruments and other local crafts. Most recently an article in the popular travel magazine Mexico Desconocido labeled Pozos as “Pueblo/Galería” because of the emphasis on art.

For information, call 01 (442) 293-0213, 01 (442) 293-0014, or email pozosmex@yahoo.com.
 

Taste of San Miguel: 20 culinary delights
By Cathy Cooper Long

Taste of San Miguel
Mon, Aug 11, 5pm
Benefit for Feed the Hungry
Acuario Salon de Fiestas
Salida a Querétaro
US$65 or 650 pesos

Taking a lead from many popular events in the US, Feed the Hungry (FTH) presents a fun-filled smorgasbord featuring most of San Miguel’s best restaurants, caterers and food preparers, serving samples of some of their famous bestselling dishes starting at 5pm when the cash bar opens. Food service begins at 6pm and entertainment follows throughout the evening.

From cocktails and frozen drinks, to appetizers and soups, to main dishes and desserts, there will be plenty to eat and drink at the event. Taste of San Miguel is being held at the Acuario Salon de Fiestas, located behind the Chrysler dealer on the road to Querétaro. Tickets are available at many places in town and each ticket sold helps FTH feed a hungry child.


Among the drinks, you can enjoy “to die for” frozen margaritas and other delectable alcoholic concoctions, Corona beer, wine and soft drinks. Fabulous A or B-52 Burgers and many more tantalizing foods from San Miguel’s best chefs will be featured, followed by delicious baked goods, chocolates and ice cream. Feed the Hungry cooks will offer tastes of the meals they prepare for 4,000 children every school day. The meal always includes fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, pasta and/or beans, tortillas, cheese, soy and other proteins.


Feed the Hungry raises money to build kitchens attached to primary schools in San Miguel and surrounding ranchos, and provides hot, nutritious meals every school day. Four kitchens were added this year, bringing the total of FTH kitchens to 35.

Feed the Hungry has identified another area in need of its services—the San Francisco community and surrounding ranchos. FTH plans to use the proceeds from Taste of San Miguel to build a new kitchen at the local school to serve another 130 children.

Feed the Hungry is not a government agency, but coordinates with several agencies to identify and serve the areas that have the greatest need. It is a nonprofit organization run like a for-profit business—professionally, with fiscal responsibility, oversight, flexibility and dedication. FTH, and the children and families they serve, depends primarily on private donations for 75 percent of the money FTH receives annually. Combined with fundraising events and appeals, Feed the Hungry is able to maintain their program and expand it each year. If you would like to help feed hungry children, visit one of their kitchens, help prepare food for delivery each week, or deliver food to a kitchen, call the office at 152-2402 or visit www.feedthehungrysma.org.  

Taste of San Miguel tickets can be purchased at most of the participating restaurants (see below), at La Conexión, Aldama 3; Border Crossings, Mesones 57; Monex, Mesones 80; online at www.feedthehungrysma.org;  or by calling FTH at (415) 152-2402.

Cathy Cooper Long is a volunteer with Feed the Hungry.


Featured vendors for Taste of San Miguel

Feed the Hungry offers grateful thanks to the following sponsors, restaurants and vendors whose delicacies will be featured: Ambrosia Ice Cream, Ann King Catering, Casa Payo, Chocolates Johfrey, Dila’s Restaurant Gallery, Feed the Hungry, Food Factory La Aurora, Four Fingers Bread, Gustos, Harry’s, La Azotea, L’Invito, Petit Four, Planta Baja, Pueblo Viejo, Romanos, Spanglish Café, The Bagel Café, The Restaurant, Vivoli and more!

Research interns report on progress
By Lydia Carey

Lecture
Center for Global Justice 
Research Internship program findings
Mon, July 28, 10:30am–1:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25

After two weeks of “participatory research” initiated by cooperatives near San Miguel, a dozen students from the Research Internship program of the Center for Global Justice will present their findings. In its third year, the 2008 program has 21 students from eight countries who work in four nearby communities.

A successful sewing cooperative in El Moral invited students to produce a community map and census. Cienegilla, where a women’s artisanal cooperative is centered, asked for similar investigations. An organic tomato-growing co-op in Peñon de los Baños asked for an inventory of community resources. At a rural development center in Dolores Hidalgo, students will prepare for a solidarity economy fair. The four research groups will present written reports to the communities. 

“The program will be challenging for the Mexican students as well as the foreign ones,” said program coordinator Norma Suarez. 

The campo visits are the second half of a month-long program whose first two weeks brought economists, sociologists, urban planners and a “deprofessionalized intellectual,” Gustavo Esteva, to San Miguel for intensive seminars on corporate globalization and its effects.

Countries of origin and the number of participants represented in the program are: US (10), Mexico (3), Turkey (2) and one each from France, Chile, Guatemala and Spain. Equally divided between undergraduate and graduate students, universities represented include Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Querétaro, Zacatecas, Istanbul and Smith College.

“We have been honored this year by the participation of a truly outstanding group of students,” said Betsy Bowman, research associate at the center.

Lydia Carey works with the Center for Global Justice.

Our thoughts are with Phyllis

Longtime Atención columnist Phyllis Burton Pituga (Celestial Lights) was in a serious car accident in May in Illinois, and is currently recuperating in the US. Our thoughts go out to Phyllis in hopes of a speedy, full recovery.

Any notes or “get well” wishes can be sent to edit@atencionsanmiguel.org,  and we can forward them to Phyllis. Her column will be on hiatus until she returns to San Miguel in October.



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