The Quiet Cultural Core of San Miguel: Nonprofits and NGOs

By Don Krim

"The quiet community of donors and philanthropists whose work through NGO’s makes them the unsung heroes of San Miguel. These are the people who invest not only in real estate and business, but in collective well/being. They are our foundation. The readers we hope to reach. Those who know that real estate is more than building wealth, it builds community." Ulises Huerta Ortiz, Editor/Publisher Avenue

It is easy, amongst the rooftop restaurants with their stunning sunsets and view of the steeples, the colonial architectural backdrop with its cobblestone streets, the galleries and small museums, the boutique shops that seem to pop up almost daily, the ever changing mountain sky… it is easy to miss what truly makes San Miguel so special to live in.

You cannot be bored in San Miguel if you live here — not unless you somehow want to be, or insist on staying in “tourist” mode continuously — for there is always a festival or a book reading or a lecture or a concert or an art opening or theatre piece to attend. There is always a Spanish class, a breakfast club, a tai chi class to join, and certainly always a new restaurant to try. But the scaffolding that binds all this together is the nonprofit core.

Nonprofits come in different shapes and sizes, but at any given moment in time one can count at least 125 of them in San Miguel de Allende. Some are startups that do not have any real credentialing as of yet, others are mature and professional. All seek to make their voices heard above the noise of the more inherently vibrant and everchanging “scene” that typifies the lifestyle of San Miguel today.

A quick peruse of Atención News last month features a past Baroque Music Festival, the Biblioteca Pública, Amistad Canada, Feed the Hungry, Mitigaire Hospice, CASA, and Jóvenes Adelante. Before San Miguel was a UNESCO heritage city, before it became a classic real estate boom and bust destination, before its tourist growth exploded well beyond its infrastructural capacity, before it became a “destination;” it was a largely abandoned colonial city waiting to be rediscovered and revivified.

Starting in the 1920s - with artists drawn to the mountain light, with GIs after WWII - a new wave of energy infused the city, integrating well with the smaller local community that remained. The cultural mix that was embraced by all is what made San Miguel so special. Transplants wanted to give back to their “host city,” they wanted to serve needs they observed daily, and for the most part they did so together.

Nonprofits began to spring up, often the same core players were engaged in each, or moving from one to the other. This essence has not disappeared entirely, but in my experience hardly defines the city today. San Miguel is branded as a great small city, perfect for weekend tourism from other parts of México, rich with a dining, architectural beauty, and smaller cultural lifestyle.

Cities and communities evolve, but when they lose their core identity, they lose their soul. The greatest resource of San Miguel is its people. But increasingly there are 2 San Miguels: the local Mexican community and the expat bubble. Size and traffic now create distancing between communities.

Gentrification has ripple effects, both positive and negative, but it puts much financially out of reach for the average local family. Blessedly, mixed communities still abound in San Miguel, but so do the increasing number of gated communities as people seek greater security. The best way to break through this is to sustain a multicultural identity through language, customs, local foods, and intentional intermingling of communities.

Each of the nonprofits in San Miguel offer ways to get involved. Yes you can mingle with friends at cocktail events and fundraisers - but if you want to truly know the constituents that are served, if you want to share the best of yourself and experience the best of your neighbors, you need to dive deeper.

Look around. Check out the nonprofit websites. Opportunities abound.

Don Krim is the Presidentof Jóvenes Adelante and Development Director. For more information on how to support a 2026 student, he can be reached at donkrim@jovenesadelante.org

www.jovenesadelante.org