SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE During the viceregal period, the Villa Protectora de San Miguel el Grande was the passage of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and one of the most productive villages in New Spain. San Miguel was the birthplace of the 1810 Conspiracy and the birthplace of the great national heroes, Ignacio Allende and Juan Aldama. In 1826 when San Miguel became a city, it was named "San Miguel de Allende". Its vice-royal structures, an example of the Baroque-Neo-classical example, were "discovered" by foreign artists who arrived and started art and cultural institutes, such as the Allende Institute and the School of Fine Arts, attracting artists such as David Alfaro Siqueiros and, as a consequence, the arrival of foreign art students. For all these reasons, on July 7, 2008, UNESCO declared the Villa Protectora de San Miguel and the Santuario de Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco a World Cultural Heritage Site. City Heritage San Miguel de Allende represents one of the most representative historical sites of our country, with its seductive architecture and outstanding personality of its urban design, it meets the most demanding expectations. It stands in the center of the country as a unique example of cultural exchange. EXPLORE THE CITY Mayorazgo de la Canal House Formerly known as the Palace of the Counts of the Canal, because they were the ones who built it. This house is a great example of the civil architecture of the aristocrats during the era of Independence. It is currently managed by the Fomento Cultural Banamex Foundation to function as a Cultural Center. It was restored after being looted and destroyed by the Royalist forces in 1810. Schedule: monday to friday of 09:00 to 18:00 hrs. Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 hrs. Location: Channel 4, corner with Cuna de Allende, 37700, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Contact: Tel. 01 (415) 152 1032 Handicrafts Market In the Handicrafts Market the visitor will be able to find a great variety of articles, especially works in wool and brass that are the specialty of this municipality. Lamps, mirrors, traditional stars and various pieces in embossed brass. It is worth noting that the prices in this market are quite affordable, so it is worthwhile to visit it in its entirety.
Schedule: Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00 Location: Plaza Lanatón, Andador Lucas Balderas, Zona Centro, 37700 San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Parish of San Miguel Arcángel The symbolic icon of San Miguel de Allende, mistakenly known as a "Cathedral", is a parish church with a neo-gothic façade in the heart of the city, opposite the main garden. A self-taught architect, Zeferino Gutiérrez was inspired in his design by drawings, engravings and postcards of European cathedrals, which resulted in a Neo-Gothic fantasy, whose towers can be seen from almost anywhere in the city and has made it one of the most photographed churches in our country. Location: Umarán corner of Cuna de Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. El Chorro Promenade It runs along one of the oldest and most winding streets of San Miguel de Allende, reaching the spring that gives rise to its name "El Chorro" and the chapel in the upper part, where it is said that the first Christian ceremony was held in San Miguel de Allende. The Paseo del Chorro is also home to the house of culture, as the old water chambers have been converted into rooms where dance, visual arts, literature, theatre and music workshops are held. In the lower part are the "Lavaderos", a place where people used to wash their clothes in the community. Church of San Francisco The façade of the Temple of San Francisco, which gives its name to the small adjoining square, has a detailed work in quarry, which to date is a point of discussion due to the diversity of criteria when establishing its architectural style, while some affirm that it is "baroque", others "pure churrigueresque", others more "rococo" and there are even opinions that it is a combination of all the previous ones, the truth is that it is a question of Its appearance suggests the Spartan simplicity of the Franciscans who built it. The church of San Francisco was partially paid for by donations from local families and partially by funds acquired through bullfights. The building was under continuous construction for twenty years, the first stone was laid on June 29, 1779 and completed on April 13, 1799. Location: Dr. Hernández Macías 75, 37700, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.
Angela Peralta Theater In 1871 the construction of the Theatre began under the initiative of the Chief Revenue Administrator Don Juan Mañón, with the help of the Municipal Treasury, and a shareholders' meeting of the main residents of the city. In 1873, the construction of the adobe walls and tile roof was completed, waiting only for its premiere, without having thought of the name for it yet. A magnificent coincidence solved both issues, since it was the time when the Mexican soprano Angela Peralta astonished Mexico with her voice, being in the state of Guanajuato at that time. Finally, he made his debut on Sunday, May 11, with Rigoletto in front of the people of San Miguel, who not only filled the theater, but also the street. Faced with the emotional welcome that San Miguel de Allende gave to the artist, she left them these heartfelt words: Before leaving this joyful and friendly city, where from its authorities to the humblest of its children I have been filled with considerations; as I bid my last farewell to my new and dear friends, who, striving beyond what I could rationally expect, have made an effort to give me a gift to the extent of honoring my memory by inaugurating their new and elegant theatre under my name, I would like to leave you with a proof of my special recognition, and for this reason, I would like to thank you all for your prayers. Location: Avenida Mesones 82, corner of Hernández Macías, 37700, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Contact: Tel. 01 (415) 152 2200 and 01 (415) 152 6385 Temple of the Purest Conception (Las Monjas) It was built by the architect from Queretaro, Francisco Martínez Gudiño, on the initiative of María Josefa Lina de la Canal y Hervás. Upon the death of her parents, María Josefa Lina de la Canal inherited a capital of 70,000 pesos. Around 1751, when she was barely fifteen years old, she made her desire to become a nun known to Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro, who recommended that she go to the sanctuary of Atotonilco, so that with the protection of prayer and penance she could define her thoughts. After eight days of confinement, he reiterated not only his decision to take the habit, but also to found a convent in the town of San Miguel el Grande, dedicated with deep fervor to the Immaculate Conception, using the capital that his father had inherited from him. From the very beginning of the foundation of the convent, Maria Josefa de la Canal worked to support economically and spiritually the project she herself had devised. He died five years after the inauguration of the Convent of the Conception (August 9, 1770). The Temple of the Conception has a valuable collection of paintings by renowned New Hispanic painters of the eighteenth century, such as Miguel Cabrera, Juan Rodríguez Juárez, Jesús Gómez and Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre (who decorated the temple of the Shrine of Atotonilco).
Location: Hernández Macías esq. with Canal, 37700, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Main Square A must stop in San Miguel de Allende is the Jardín Allende, better known as the Plaza Principal. Just sit on one of its benches and listen to music from the central kiosk, the mariachi or the trios and admire the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel and the beautiful buildings that surround it is fascinating. Casa de Allende Museum Built by Domingo Narciso de Allende y Ayerdi in 1760; a year later it was given as a wedding present to María Josefa de Unzaga. It was in this house where Ignacio Allende Unzanga was born and raised, one of the most notorious heroes of Mexico's Independence. In 1810, the first insurgent army left for its first formal battle; at the end of that year, the house was confiscated by the viceregal government. The building consists of two levels and as in most of the houses of that time, the rooms communicated with each other. Its façade is asymmetrical; its main entrance is framed by a rich Baroque façade with neoclassical elements, its balconies and grilles show off wrought iron forges with beautiful designs. Since March 1990 the building has housed the "Museo Casa de Allende" (House of Allende Museum), managed by the National Institute of Anthropology and History. In the first room of the ground floor, it is possible to appreciate the characteristics of the region from the Pliocene, local pre-hispanic development and the first settlements in the Laja river basin. On the Upper Floor, the rooms refer to the San Miguel Foundation in the Nouvelle Hispanic era, aspects of the social and cultural life of the city, commerce, crafts, education and the formation of militias. Returning to the ground floor are the rooms that make special mention of the historical figure of Don Ignacio Allende Unzanga. Schedule: Tuesday to Sunday 09:00 to 17:00 hrs. Location: Cuna de Allende 1, 37700, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Contact: Telephone: 01 (415) 152 2499
Ignacio Ramírez Cultural Centre "El Nigromante" The building was built especially for a convent, which was given the name Convento Real de la Concepción. It was later known as the Convent of "Las Monjas". The Architect. Francisco Martínez Gudiño, with the alarifes Pedro Joaquín de Tapia and Salvador Antonio Hernández, started the construction in 1755 and the building was inaugurated, incomplete, on December 28, 1765, being its founder Sister María Josefa Lina de la Canal y Hervás who with her dowry paid for the construction. In the last decades of the 19th century it was a Primary School. In 1912, it was used as a school for girls run by Spanish nuns. In 1914, when the Revolution broke out, it was occupied as a barracks until 1936. In 1938, the Ministry of Finance leased it to Felipe Cossío del Pomar, who founded the Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes, in operation until 1948. In 1961, it was reconstructed and adapted with an assembly hall, classrooms and galleries. Finally, in August 1962, this "El Nigromante" Cultural Centre was inaugurated, where art and handicrafts, drawing, painting, sculpture, engraving, textiles, paper manufacturing, ceramics, piano, guitar, violin, music theory, classical ballet, etc. are taught. It is important to highlight the murals in the building: "(Eleanor Cohen in 1941). "LIFE AND WORK OF THE GENERALISIMO DON IGNACIO DE ALLENDE" (Unfinished Mural) (David Alfaro Siqueiros). "EL FANATISMO DEL PUEBLO" "La Caza del Vampiro" (Pedro Martínez 1939). "THE WEAVERS" (Pedro Martínez 1940). "LA CANTINA" (Pedro Martínez 1941). "GUANAJUATO ALMÁCIGO DE PATRIOTAS" (Pedro Martínez 1941). Schedule: Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 hrs, Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 hrs. Location: Dr. Hernández Macías 75, 37700, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Contact: Tel. 01 (415) 152 0289 Oratory of San Felipe Neri The congregation of the Oratory was formally founded on May 2, 1712. It had as its beginnings the function of catechizing the mulatto Indians. This place was also a school where Ignacio Allende and the Aldama brothers, heroes of the independence of our country, studied. During the war of independence.
The Oratory has a much more "indigenous" style than all the churches in San Miguel. The pink quarry façade is a beautiful example of Baroque, with a large shell extending above the main entrance. The carved wooden doors are original and worthy of a detailed observation. At the top is the image of Our Lady of Solitude, "the dear Indian Virgin". Inside there are several oil paintings and a valuable collection of stewed sculptures, as well as neoclassical altars, a baroque altarpiece of gilded wood, more than thirty oil paintings representing the life of San Felipe Neri, a Virgin of Guadalupe (attributed to Miguel Cabrera) and other paintings with religious themes. Legend has it that when the Spanish asked the Indians to cede their church to the order of San Felipe Neri, they rejected it in writing. When the scroll was opened, all the writing had disappeared and the Indians thinking it was a miracle so they yielded to the Spanish request. Location: Insurgentes 12, 37700, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.