Fearless Women, Champions Of Change:The Many Hats Of A Cultural Force

By Carolina de la Cajiga

The day Cris Solís and her husband arrived in San Miguel as newlyweds, someone stole all their belongings—including their hammock and family photos. “That’s how we started our life here in 2015,” says Cris with a hearty laugh, typical of Veracruz, where she’s from. Luckily for San Miguel de Allende, they stayed.

“The first few months were complicated, especially when I got pregnant,” she recalls, “but I was fortunate to meet other women in similar situations: young, expecting, and without family support. We formed great friendships!”

Cris is a cultural manager and teacher specialized in social, penal, and legislative history. She holds degrees in history and research sciences from Universidad Veracruzana, as well as an inter-institutional doctorate in art and culture from Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás.

Her first job in town was leading a seminar on Ignacio Ramírez, El Nigromante. Only two people had registered. “Do you want to cancel?” they asked. Cris thought for a minute and replied, “No! I’ll still do it!” She ended up with fourteen delighted attendees.

These days, she has a packed schedule. Since mornings aren’t her thing, she’s grateful her partner is an early riser and in charge of breakfast. Cris drops the children off at school, goes to the gym, and then heads to El Sindicato Community Cultural Center, where she serves as director. Later, she teaches theater at UESMA (UNAM’s extension in San Miguel) and at CERESO, the Social Rehabilitation Center (the jail). After that, she picks up the kids, takes them to afternoon classes, prepares dinner, and finally collapses into bed. “Thank goodness for weekends!” she says, winking. “I love to cook, make fermented foods, and experiment with whatever I find in the refrigerator. I’m passionate about cleaning and leaving everything sparkling, but I hate washing dishes,” she adds, cracking up. “I enjoy reading, acting and directing, swimming in cold water, lying in the sun, and feeling cool air on my face. What I don’t enjoy is waking up early or cleaning the cat’s litter box.”

Restless by nature, Cris reminisces about one of her favorite jobs: “It was ‘Theater for Little People,’ which I did with Mónica Hoth. For a year, we toured México, performing children’s plays every Sunday. We chose the productions and waited excitedly to see the kids’ reactions. It was so rewarding!”

The worst? “A university fired me for demanding that my pupils study and do homework… What a shame!”

Her stage work includes Un perro en barrio ajeno and Una tarde sin Dios en la academia de Letrán, both produced by Las Sanmiguelitas and directed by Jesusa Rodríguez. And that’s only part of her story. “In 2019, Historias del té (Tea Stories), a project by the National Theater Company and Tejedora de Nubes, selected me to be part of the organization. Since 2021, I’ve been the cultural manager and workshop leader at CERESO. And since 2023, I’ve been teaching in the translation bachelor’s program at UESMA.”

One of her most impactful experiences began during her children’s swimming lessons. “In front of the immigration offices, we saw Haitian migrants who looked distressed and hungry, so we shared food with them. On the way back, they were still there. I asked where they would sleep. ‘At the bus station or on the street,’ they replied. I got concerned.” Cris called her husband. “At first, we committed to one hotel night for six people. Somehow those six became eighteen,” she recalls, laughing. She then asked her boss if the migrants could stay in El Sindicato’s auditorium. The answer was a resounding yes. “And that’s how the five most hectic days I’ve ever had in this job began,” she says. “We ended up hosting 110 migrants for five days. They slept and ate there. The community joyously embraced them as they passed through San Miguel.”

“Everyone received clothing, food, blankets, medical care, and support to continue their journey north. Weeks and months later, we started getting messages of gratitude—stories of new beginnings in Miami, New York, Toronto, and Montreal,” Cris recalls. “That’s when I realized that if there’s one thing the people of San Miguel do well, it’s organizing, supporting, and sharing.”

On December 9, Cris Solís became the first Doctor in Arts and Culture at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, with research on theater involving incarcerated individuals in México.

Contact her at cris.solrey@gmail.com

If you know a Fearless Woman that we should feature on this pages, please send me their contact information at cdelacajiga@gmail.com