By Scott Simmons Scott Simmons recently interviewed Frank Gaydos to find out how a former organization development consultant retired to San Miguel and reinvented himself as a screen/TV writer. SS: How did your journey as a writer begin? FG: It started when I got a B.S. Degree in Language Arts (English, Literature and journalism) from California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly-Kellogg Campus). I was working at the Kaiser Steel Plant in Fontana California nights and goi

By Lisa Babincsak There's no exact moment you realize you've become a long-termer in San Miguel. Nobody announces it. There's no ceremony, no membership card. It just… happens. Maybe you came for six months — or a week. That was a while ago now. One day you're marveling at cobblestones, and the next you're arguing about which panadería had the best bolillos before they changed owners. So, in no particular order: You've been here too long if… You can identify locals by how con

By Natalie Taylor Francois Yohalem has been living in San Miguel de Allende for twelve years and certainly has not been idle. She was born in a little town in the Dordogne Valley in France, but soon embarked on a life that took her far from her birth town. She went to London, then to Washington, D.C., where she found a position with the French Embassy, married and settled down. She then returned to university to study art, and earned a Master’s degree in studio painting. Work

By Carolyn Studer In a large, brightly lit room in a London hospital, a jazz ensemble—a drummer, bassist, keyboard player, and several singers, including a young vocalist from México named Federico Azuz—performed for patients undergoing treatment for various degrees of paralysis. As the band launched into the upbeat swing tune Sweet Lorraine, Federico noticed one patient who was so severely paralyzed he could not even move his eyes. Almost immediately, the musicians began to

By Patricia Schneider Why do we travel? To admire beautiful landscapes? Certainly. To enjoy exceptional food? Of course. To stay in exquisite hotels? That is definitely a great part of the pleasure. I believe that the most meaningful journeys begin the moment we stop being visitors. The true soul of a place is not found only in guidebooks. It lives in its people, its artisans, its markets, its traditions, its stories, and around the tables where generations have gathered. Be

By Catherine Marenghi Atención Book Club proudly presents Martin Fletcher, journalist, author, and retired NBC News Middle East correspondent best known for nearly four decades of frontline reporting from conflict zones as Tel Aviv bureau chief. Fletcher will present his book Teachers: The Ones I Can’t Forget, on August 25th at 3:00 p.m. at the historic Casa Nigromante, Umarán #38, Centro. Fletcher's career encompassed reporting on pivotal events including the Israeli-Palesti

By Judith Jenya Rick Brunson’s life has been anything but ordinary. Raised on military bases across the United States and Europe, he seemed destined to follow a long family tradition of military service. Instead, his early inspiration came from an unlikely source: Mad Magazine. As a teenager stationed in Germany, Brunson began copying the work of cartoonist Paul Coker Jr., teaching himself to draw line by line. That simple act of imitation sparked a lifelong relationship with

By Nikki Miller Big changes start with little things. In the case of Ojalá Niños it started with a woman named Elsmarie Norby and how she opened her gate to the children in San Miguel Viejo, a rural Otomí indigenous village that has historically had little access to resources. Elsmarie moved to San Miguel Viejo in 2007 and began providing school supplies and support to the local children. She founded Ojalá Niños in 2010 offering free classes in art, music, reading, health, co

By Felecia Ford Our August Music Spotlight is on Doug Robinson—a piano wizard, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and musical storyteller whose fingerprints can be found all over San Miguel’s vibrant music scene. Although Doug’s journey began in sunny California, it eventually led him to the cobblestone streets of our city, where for more than two decades he has become one of its most respected and recognizable musicians. With 18 independent albums to his credit and on

By Staff Writer In 2016, when Chef Erick and Carmen opened the doors to Pork Belly for the first time, San Miguel's food scene was at an inflection point. The town was beginning to attract serious culinary talent tired of the grind elsewhere, looking for a place where tradition and innovation could dance together. What Erick brought to that moment was something the city was hungering for, though it didn't quite know it yet: a philosophy rooted in fire, smoke, and the belief t

By Charles Woollett You have to go back in time for a little context to understand the motivation behind Myles Wakeham’s inspiration for his Troubled Clef Recording Studio. London, Oxford Circus, circa 1970s, and the brilliant A.I.R (Associated Independent Recording) Studios, one of the most in-demand recording studios ever. Researching this article made me reminisce about my days at Revolver Records in Tottenham Court and having coffee & cheese sandwiches with our friendly c

By Isabel Castrejón Pascacio For founder Lindsey of Linyage, working with vintage lace was never part of a business plan. In fact, very little about her journey into bridal fashion followed a traditional path. What began as a childhood obsession with designing clothes evolved organically into a distinctive bridal brand built on artistry, sustainability, and deeply personal connections with women.Lindsey knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from an early age. Long before s

By Catherine Marenghi Indigenous peoples of Mexico have treasured mushrooms for millennia, integrating them into spiritual life, healing practices, and daily sustenance. Their traditions are preserved in códices, ancient iconography, and later colonial-era accounts. Carved “mushroom stones” found in Maya regions date as early as 1,000 BCE. Some include supernatural figures on the stems, suggesting ritual significance. Early Spanish chroniclers also documented ritual mushroom

By Jonathan Lockwood I've interviewed a lot of mezcal folks for these articles by now: producers, bar owners, bartenders, restaurateurs. But I'm not sure I've ever sat across from anyone as thoroughly credentialed in anything as Alex Galina, 43, founder of the Cultural Institute of Agave & Wine, or ICAVI. You’ve certainly walked by it at Recreo 10A, near the jardín. Alex didn't start out with an agave focus. He studied Marketing and Mass Communications, and his first real job

By Natalie Taylor The first thing that comes across when you meet Bill Wilkinson is his enthusiasm for what he is doing—bringing education to children who may not have that opportunity. He has been doing this for more than twelve years, and there is little indication he will stop anytime soon. Bill is one of those seniors who, when they retire, get as busy as or busier than they were during their working careers. Bill was born in Oregon, moved to California, but for the past

By Walter Hodges The sun was just cracking open through the low clouds along the high-desert horizon line outside San Miguel when Sylvia Luna, an indigenous Otomí woman, gathered some small wild rosemary stems in her hands. She gently crushed them, held the soft “needles” close to her nose, and breathed deeply from a memory 1500 years in the making. She smiled. She remembers. Silvia traces her cultural heritage back to the beginning in Mexico. Centuries before the Aztec came

By Judith Jenya In a sunlit home tucked into the hills of San Miguel de Allende, photographer and author Leah Feldon and drummer Rick Shlosser have built a life stitched together by passion, persistence, and a lifelong pursuit of creative expression. Their studios live on different floors—hers a light-filled space of painterly photographs of landscapes, abstracts, and flowers; his alive with drums, recording equipment, and gold records. Together, they embody a creative partne

By Doreen Cumberford What do you call yourself when you move to another country? Expat? Immigrant? Nomad? Global citizen? If you've spent any time in online forums for foreign residents, you'll know this question generates more heat than a June afternoon in the Jardín. People feel strongly. Labels matter, or do they? Here in San Miguel de Allende, the locals have already solved this problem for us. They call us extranjeros. Simple. Neutral. Done. Except it isn't simple at all

By Lisa Babincsak There are cafés in San Miguel, and then there’s City Market Café. Technically, it’s a grocery store coffee counter. But spiritually, it’s something else entirely. A social vortex. A microclimate of espresso, gossip, networking, accidental reunions, and highly strategic table selection. You don’t really go there just for coffee. You go there to see who’s there. Or who isn’t. By around 10 a.m., once the city has stretched, caffeinated, and accepted the day, th

By Felecia Ford From Ontario indie-pop jams as a teenager to deeply expressive jazz improvisations today, San Miguel's multi-instrumentalist and saxophonist Sophia Smith speaks about music not just as performance, but as a path toward self-discovery. FF: What first drew you to the saxophone, and when did you realize music was becoming something more serious for you? SS: I was around 14 when I started jamming with friends and really connecting to the saxophone. Playing in an i