Summer Art For Teenagers

san miguel de allende It was two and a half years ago that I first encountered the magic of San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Nestled in the temperate colonial highlands three hours north of Mexico City, it has become a haven for expatriate artists and writers for decades now. With retirement looming closer, many baby boomers are beginning to sink their life savings into properties which allow a relatively luxurious lifestyle by comparison to an equivalent US cost of living.

Building homes alongside (and sometimes above, in gated communities overlooking the small city) these foreigners have become a source of love and enmity to the local people, who thrive on the economic investment, but sometimes chafe at gringo-ish intrusions.

My own introduction to the city came by way of my daughter's attendance at an immersion Spanish and art summer camp, called Mexart. It is run by a delightful, young, US born woman named Carly Cross, who altogether creates, coordinates, and runs the program, (along with a variety of other music and arts programs for adults, custom tailored to particular interests and needs). She chaperones and befriends the campers, and in the end reassures anxious parents who oftentimes are suffering their first major separation from their teenager.

Combining daily Spanish lessons with an intensive exposure to a variety of artistic pursuits, students gain a deepened appreciation of the language, culture, art, and people of San Miguel de Allende. At the same time, they learn to cohabit with their peers and practice their independence in this remarkably safe and respectful community.

Actually, safety is a relative and contextual phenomenon. While it is true that physical crimes, such as muggings and rape, are extremely rare, once you depersonalize the goods from the body, robbery becomes commonplace. I learned this on my second trip there, when I placed my laptop on the sidewalk while loading my other bags into the trunk of the cab. A mere turn of the head and a twist of my body gave enough space for the computer to be whisked away, with not a single eyewitness in an entire crowd of bystanders.

Such is the paradox of life in San Miguel de Allende. Always lock your doors, never leave a gate unlatched, but don't think twice about walking to the jardin at 10 PM with a few girlfriends to listen to the mariachi and sip coffee with the locals. People are universally polite and generous, friendly like neighbors and kind like family members should be.
And for those who might be more politically activist in their interests, San Miguel de Allende is also home to The Center for Global Justiceor Centro para la Justicia Global. This organization is an interdisciplinary research and learning center oriented toward exploring the dialectic between theory and practice around social action and the creation of new social orders. The center is host to annual workshops and conferences open to people all around the world.

When it comes to fun, San Miguel de Allende is primo! Besides celebrating some saint or icon practically every other week, with parades and dancing, the city also offers nearly endless shopping possibilities, from the local artisans, to the "Tuesday Market" to high end fine art studios.

On the outskirts of town, there are several natural hot springs to choose from, as well as hiking in the botanical gardens.

Besides all that, there is just hanging out, and enjoying the breezes, the delectable smells, and the eclectic music...not to mention the people themselves, the Mexican mix that is unique to a person, given the rich ancestral variety of cultures, along with a purely positive attitude that embraces life and whatever amount of joy that is available.