México is a mountainous place. I spent a week in the city of San Miguel de Allende, which is in the state of Guanajuato, and its 6700′ elevation (2042 m) had me out of breath the entire time.

The view above is from just a few miles east of the city center, on the walk back from the botanical garden (El Charco del Ingenio). And yes, it’s cobblestones the entire way.

This region of the country is known as the Bajio which strangely enough means “lowlands.” As you can see there are high mountains surrounding the broad plains the people inhabit. Thus, lowlands. The Bajio was the economic and cultural center of colonial México and gave birth to the country’s independence movement. Places like San Miguel de Allende and Santiago de Querétaro (the nearest airport) are sort of equivalent to our own revolutionary Boston and Philadelphia. Much of the modern Mexican economy is centered in the region as well as the traditional industries of agriculture and mining. México produces about one-fourth of the world’s silver.

San Miguel de Allende is named for a priest (Franciscan friar Juan de San Miguel) and a patriot (captain-turned-general Ignacio Allende y Unzaga). It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and a popular tourist destination for Mexicans as well as international visitors.

I was there just after the Day of the Dead festivities which drew 100,000 people. It was still a busy time in the city but the big rush was over. I hear from my contact on the ground that the last of the tourists have left and the Plaza Centro is quiet. When I was in town at least three mariachi bands roamed the place nightly competing for listeners! This really is the off-season.

A large number of ex-pats from the States and other places inhabit San Miguel. It’s been famed as an art colony since before World War II and its allure is still strong. Nonetheless it is also a real Mexican city with schoolkids, senior citizens, taxicabs, commuter buses, shops, and businesses and all the things that make an entire community.

It’s a very interesting place to visit and I’ll have more on that in my next post.