After the July 4 anti-gentrification march in Mexico City, gentrification is on everyone’s mind. In Mexico News Daily, Sarah DeVries spoke about this controversial topic as a U.S. citizen. María Meléndez took up the subject as a Mexican born in Mexico City. Now, it’s my turn to speak as a Mexican born and raised in San Miguel de Allende, a city that has perhaps seen more aggressive and rapid gentrification than anywhere else in the country. I have lived here for more than 30 years, my parents are from here, and I went to local public schools in the center of town. I love my city.
I have mixed feelings about the foreign community living in the city. On one hand, I believe that having foreigners live in San Miguel has enriched the community enormously. But I also feel deep sadness at not being able to imagine the house of my dreams in San Miguel because the costs are extremely high. So are food, services and other products that you find cheaper elsewhere. In some ways, living in San Miguel is like living in a golden cage.
Gentrification in San Miguel has pros and cons alike. Let’s delve into them.
The negative
Displacement of traditions
Those of us who live in San Miguel know the tradition of Friday of Sorrows, the Friday before Holy Week, when owners of San Miguel’s houses open their doors to the public, set up an altar dedicated to the Virgin of Sorrows and give visitors flavored water, popsicles and ice cream. But every year, I have watched as fewer and fewer houses set up their altars downtown.
The typical altars I remember from my childhood have gradually disappeared. Why? Because San Miguel natives no longer live downtown. The people who live there now are foreigners who do not participate in these traditions. San Miguel natives, displaced to neighborhoods and areas farther from the center, have taken the city’s classic traditions with them.
Racism from Mexicans towards Mexicans
Although foreigners are not to blame for this, but rather the Mexican mentality of inferiority, I have witnessed countless times racism or bad treatment of Mexicans by other Mexicans, and the preference some have for foreigners, especially in restaurants where they prefer to serve foreigners rather than their own people. Sometimes I feel that some Mexicans perceive ourselves as second-class and that foreigners are at a higher level — perhaps because the idea of a caste system is still deeply rooted in our subconscious.
Exorbitant housing prices
This is what annoys me most about how beautiful and popular San Miguel is: housing prices have skyrocketed. Outside real estate offices, it’s normal to see house listings priced in millions of dollars. It’s unthinkable to imagine that, with my Mexican salary, I could afford a house in the city I grew up in. The saddest part of this reality is that those houses once belonged to the grandparents of someone I know. It was once normal to go to your aunt’s house two blocks away, but now most people living downtown are foreigners, and San Miguel natives are increasingly displaced to small, expensive homes on the city’s outskirts. All I ask of the government and developers is to create nice, nearby, and affordable subdivisions for San Miguel’s middle class.
Foreigners who do not adapt
San Miguel is a city full of festivities: fireworks here, noise there, music and dancing everywhere, especially during the feast of Saint Michael, the famous Alborada. Many foreigners enjoy and take part in this excitement, but others don’t adapt and complain about the noise. Without its fiestas, San Miguel would lose its identity and essence. Rather than complain, I think foreigners who decide to live in San Miguel should learn why there is that noise and the meaning of the festivals.
Along the same lines, some people have not adapted to Mexican culture. Many expect things to be done exactly — or very similarly — as in their home countries, but Mexico is a completely different country from the U.S. or the countries of Europe when it comes to bureaucracy. I’m not saying I love it; there are many things I wish were different, but you can’t get upset because things aren’t done exactly how you expect. Mexico teaches you patience, enjoying the journey, and slowing down. My recommendation is that before deciding to live in Mexico, you get to know it and accept it — with all its positives and negatives.
“Se habla español”
Since I was a child, I wondered, why do Mexicans have to learn English to communicate with foreigners in our country if we live in Mexico and speak Spanish? Speaking English opens doors worldwide and because it is the lingua franca of our times, but it strikes me that we as Mexicans make a great effort to communicate with foreigners in English, and even feel ashamed if we don’t speak it well, while a percentage of foreigners living in San Miguel don’t even make the minimum effort to learn Spanish — and instead get upset and frustrated if you don’t speak English to understand them. Friends, the least you can do if you are in this country is to learn some basic Spanish to communicate with your neighbor or market vendors. With MND Tutor, you can learn easily and in a fun way. I’m sure that by learning Spanish you will discover a new and interesting worldview.
There are also positive aspects of foreigners concentrating in San Miguel, and this community has made important contributions to the city.
The positive
Rentals and businesses benefit from foreigners
On the one hand, I complain about the high housing prices, but on the other, I see that the sale and rental of houses have benefited hundreds of San Miguel natives, including my family, which has rented a house to Americans for more than 20 years and thanks to that rent, my three siblings and I were able to cover university expenses. Those who invest in restaurants, hotels, rent their houses, offer their services have benefited from the arrival of foreigners to the city and helped the economy move.
New festivals
Some traditions have been displaced, like Friday of Sorrows, but others are born from the union of Mexicans and foreigners, like the GIFF film festival, initiated by Sarah Hoch, a foreigner residing in San Miguel. I have practically grown up with this festival, and since I was little, I remember the excitement of watching open-air films. Participating in this festival allowed me to meet film directors from other countries at El Gato Negro — a famous bar in San Miguel — watch short films and feature films that inspired me to create art as well, and discover very interesting projects. There are also music festivals like Jazz & Blues, the Chamber Music Festival, Opera San Miguel, organized by foreigners or Mexicans from other parts of Mexico, enriching those who enjoy them.
Newcomers promote arts and culture
As I mentioned before, San Miguel has benefited from foreigners living here by having various festivals, but not only that — it has become an art mecca. This city attracts many artists, some more well-known than others, such as Joy Laville, an English artist, Leonora Carrington, Leonard and Reva Brooks, and Mexican artists like Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera. What city in the world can boast of having seen such figures pass through at different times? It is very inspiring to see galleries everywhere, streets with beautiful murals, and cultural events everywhere.
The generosity of foreigners crosses borders
The vast majority of foreign residents in San Miguel are retired Americans and Canadians who come to Mexico for a second lease on life. With enough time and resources, they have created dozens of nonprofit organizations that help those in need, such as Patronato Pro Niños, which offers medical, dental, and psychological services to low-income children. Or the Special Education School of San Miguel de Allende (EEESMA), which provides quality education to children with hearing problems.
Recently, I met Dr. Billy Williams from Kids First Orthopaedics, and I was moved to hear what he does for children born with orthopedic problems. A group of volunteer doctors comes twice a year from the United States to treat and operate on children born with malformations, transforming their lives forever.
The Biblioteca Pública A.C. is another clear example of foreigners supporting the San Miguel community. Helen Wale, a foreign resident of San Miguel, found that the city needed a library, so she decided to found one. This library has operated for over 70 years with the help of foreign and Mexican volunteers who give their time, money and effort to keep it running. And it isn’t just a library—it also offers art workshops, English classes, scholarships for youth and children, and many recreational activities.
San Miguel’s prominence as an arts center has much to do with the fact that in the 20th century, the American Stirling Dickinson promoted art in San Miguel together with Felipe Cossio del Pomar, a Peruvian. Simply put, the city would not be the same without the collaboration of all these foreigners and many others who have been part of the city’s history.
Mexico News Daily
I have a job thanks to foreigners in San Miguel. Travis and Tamanna Bembenek decided to come here and invest in a newspaper whose mission is to show how incredible Mexico is. Without these foreigners, I probably wouldn’t be enjoying life with my family here; I would instead be in a big city as part of my career. It is an honor for me to be part of this project that highlights the most beautiful aspects of Mexico, teaching that Mexico is not just violence and drugs but culture, tradition, good people, investments, joy, family, unity, gastronomy, and many things that make me proud to be Mexican.
Without a doubt, San Miguel de Allende is what it is thanks to its people. Mexicans from Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Querétaro and León. Foreigners from the United States, Canada, Spain, England, China and Germany. We all make this small place the best city in the world. Everyone is welcome — you just have to open your eyes and connect with the city that hosts you.
María Ruiz is the Director of Digital Marketing at Mexico News Daily. She enjoys photographing her hometown of San Miguel de Allende in her spare time.
Maria, we love having you in our team, you are a part of the MND family. What a sweet, thoughtful perspective. It’s also a very human perspective. Like Maria Meléndez said, “once you become invested, you start to care… you do not intentionally destroy or hurt what you truly love”. This sentiment captures something essential about building lasting relationships across cultures.
As twice an immigrant, I have witnessed and experienced a few of the nuances you both mention, first time migrating from an emerging economy and later migrating to an emerging economy. My simple yet common observations from both moves are the following: if you want to be adopted : 1) be respectful of your “new country” – culture, history, rules, traditions…2) be open to change, your mind won’t like it but it’s good for your soul and 3) be a good human – treat others like you like to be treated and even if you look, act or feel different, you will blend in, you will be welcomed.
Maria, I loved the well-rounded 360 degree perspective from a local. I’ve shared my thoughts before on this topic with MND. I won’t bore you again with those. I don’t pretend to know or understand everything on this complex topic. But, there is an old thought or opinion of mine that I’ve not shared before on this topic. That thought has to do with change. Many times we just don’t like it, but it just keeps coming like a freight train, fast and long. Every developed or developing country in the world is changing. And fast! In the United States and here in Mexico the emotions and responses to change are exactly the same! People talk of cultural differences but in their rhetoric on a specific topic you might be challenged to discern is the speaker an American or a Mexican? E.g., on gentrification. To some degree we all turn into our parents and to some degree we all turn into that old man sitting on his front porch wailing at the world for changing, passing him by, to anyone who will listen to him.
Great article. Very balanced. Thank you for such great insight. As an American living in SMA, we so appreciate the people. On a “Saturday night” we love hearing the marching band practice from a school nearby. Something that would be unheard of in the states. The children and pageantry celebrating life is so special to us. What a glorious culture. As far as gentrification, foreigners aside, the movement of locals is a bi- product of prosperity. It happens in every major city, in every country that I’m aware of.
While some would call it progress, others would not.
Dear Randy,
Thank you for taking the time to read my reflections on this topic. I truly appreciate your kind words. I am pleased to know that people like you value the details that may seem ordinary or normal to us Mexicans but are not as common in other cultures. It’s heartwarming to have individuals who cherish and love Mexico in our midst.
I’m sure we’ve crossed paths on the street and exchanged smiles.
Excellent article. Can’t disagree with anything in it. We came 20 years ago. We love the traditions and the culture. Try to use Spanish with everyone and learn as much as we can about Mexican history. Why would someone live here and not embrace what brought them here?
Nice summary of the challenges and delights of living in SMA. As a resident of more than 24 years I’ve seen a lot of changes but the heart of this city remains constant and that’s why I stay.
Thank you for a great article! I and my family had the good fortune to live in San Miguel in 1973-5 while I attended the Instituto Allende on the GI Bill. Stirling Dickinson was a personal friend. During a road trip to the Yucatan we retrieved wild orchids for him that he used to create some of his signature orchid flowers.
My children became bi-lingual and bi-cultural in San Miguel and at Escuela Bilingue and attended classes at Bella Artes. All wonderful and enriching experiences that have served them well throughout their lives.
Thank you for sharing this extremely well balanced perspective, as a foreigner, considering moving to Mexico, I appreciate it
Thank you, and welcome to my country!
María I compliment you on your article. I have lived in San Miguel for 65 years and agree with you 100% on about the gentrification here and in so many other tourist/artsy cities all over the world.
I was married to the mayor and became the first foreign first lady of San Miguel but because I had completely integrated myself into the Mexican society and culture, it wasn’t as hard as it could have been. However, it caused raised eyebrows until I was totally accepted.
I have had many firsts here (first Catrina, first Mexican cooking teacher, first aerobics teacher and more) and have been a part of this town and witnessed many, many changes. Fortunately I am still around to be able to tell my stories.
I would love to meet you sometime. Vamos a tomar un cafecito pronto.
Felicidades,
Peggy Taylor (Zavala)
Hi Peggy.
Wow. You have seen it all. I bet you have a book in you, I’d love to hear more stories.
To the topic of gentrification, it’s not easy to see some of the changes, but it’s happening almost everywhere. Even in a place like Japan, an extremely homogeneous society, with an ancient culture and strict customs. It can be difficult to watch and experience some of these changes, but our emotional charge will not stop “progress”.
MND, you are getting better all the time.
Thanks to Travis and Tamanna.
Dear Peggy,
Thank you very much for your kind words. I am very happy to hear that you liked my article. I mentioned your comment to my father and he said he knows you. It is very easy to get to know each other in San Miguel.
Did you know Graciano Ruiz, who had a butcher shop in the market?
Of course I would love to have a coffee with you.
Only dull, unattractive places stay the same. It is NO LONGER gringos living in Centro houses & preventing your purchase. The death of our normal “reasonable priced” SMA came with the repeated naming of our city “ BESt “ in world. A magnet for tourists both Mexico & from everywhere. I lived in Centro from 99-2018. My neighbors were born in the houses next to me. But they and most of my street have converted from residential to AirBnb. They are smart like your family & didn’t sell – but they did grab the golden egg. If you want to find Gringos NOW — go look in the Campo. It wasn’t the noise from traditional fiestas that drove me away – it was the rooftop bars blasting music to all hours at all decibels. And not being able to open my own door because of the crowds of tourists tramping the streets. And Traffic ? Looking for anything – house, rent, shoes that are cheap in Centro is as futile as searching Florence, Barcelona or Paris. IT HAPPENED. And nothing will ever give our quiet village back to us. It was a good article. But identifying Foreigners as the source of change is incorrect. It is TOURISM. And when I rarely venture to SMA on weekends the majority are young, handsome Mexicans from QRO, CDMX , etc judging from the license plates. I am grateful I still have my village Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Otherwise it is very pretty now in the Campo after these rains.
And how can SMA be a CAGE ? We are all free to leave if our hearts would just let go.
Well put
Dear Carlota,
You have highlighted a very important point, and I couldn’t agree more. Excessive tourism has gradually taken away the tranquility of our city. I fear that we might end up like Acapulco, which once enjoyed great popularity but is now neglected and forgotten. I do not want San Miguel to be exploited to the point where it has nothing left to offer. I wish for San Miguel to remain the peaceful and beautiful place where we can live a tranquil life.
I nite well the self indulgent comments from this who benefit from the destruction of a Mexican ciudad and culture. Spanish no longer needed, bundles of USD essential. The “oh well” attitude expressed is sickening. Now even the early American immigrants are being forced out. And no commentary about the cartels taking notice and moving in?
I note well the self indulgent comments from those who most benefit from the destruction of a Mexican ciudad and culture. Spanish no longer needed, bundles of USD essential. The “oh well” attitude expressed is sickening. Now even the early American immigrants are being forced out. And no commentary about the cartels taking notice and moving in?
Gracias por el artículo. Vivir en el mundo significa experimentar los efectos del cambio. Hay un libro titulado “¿Quién se ha llevado mi queso?”. El cambio es inevitable. Walmart vs. pequeñas tiendas locales, Airbnb, inteligencia artificial, el aumento de los precios de la vivienda y la pérdida de lo que amamos de nuestras tradiciones. La amabilidad, la compasión, el respeto mutuo y la apreciación de la diversidad pueden ayudar. Con estas cosas, podemos encontrar un camino para disfrutar de la vida y afrontar el cambio.
Bellamente expresado. Movámonos con compasión por este mundo. Gracias.
Maria, good balance and observations. As a journalist appreciate this.We have lived here just about 20 years and then as tourists on scouting trip back into 2004. Before our trips we studied Spanish with a tutor at our home in suburban Philadelphia and had a mail subscription to Atencion. We continue to immerse. Our housekeeper speaks no English and we continue to her social security. We are older now and look at the cost of housing, meals out and the development (perhaps overdevelopment, and who gets the blame here.
Not happy with the perennial accolade of Best City. I scratch my head. Great sales promo but what does this do to our town. AND less in love with the idea of an airport here. I also worry about traffic, accidents, water supply and our infrastructure. I served on an environment board, a canal board, historical commission, and cable TV board. Worked for a state governor. My lens is not only a journalist’s camera or note pad but watching several suburban towns grow.
I am the grandson of a German immigrant who spoke German and now I myself am an immigrant.
The early American roots of San Miguel are undeniable yet their development was cultural. The overdevelopment and gentrification is multi faceted and replete with land mines.
I’m sorry for failing to thank Maria for the thoughtful and well written article.
Good reading, I love that it elicited so many comments from the community.
Gracias and buen dia.
A Mexican friend of my wife’s got upset with me for leaving a 15% tip at a very nice restaurant in Mexico City. She said that most Mexicans either don’t leave a tip or only leave a modest amount. Could this be one of the reasons why some Mexicans feel that restaurant servers sometimes give better service to foreigners?
Great article. I agree totally with your comments as both a US citizen and the feelings of the local population with respect to the gentrification of San Miguel. I first came to Mexico in 1969 on vacation and never left. I fell in love with the country, the people and particularly the art and artesanal brilliance all around us. I learned fluent Spanish working my way through attempting to run a household with help as I was married to a Mexican man for 25 years and we raised two amazing kids together. I had a fabulous job at a worldwide advertising company where I spoke Spanish all day long and made some wonderful friends, was sent all over the world, worked all through the rest of my life until I was lucky enough to retire here in this magical town and become a professional painter. I’ve been married 3 times, and have spent the past 17 years here with my third husband. I must say that we foreigners who have spent many years living in San Miguel also lament some of the changes we experience with not only the gentrification but also the influx of tourists who often make it impossible to go into town to enjoy the local celebrations as we did before, the traffic, lack of parking space, etc. This is a worldwide phenomenon that affects all of us who have been fortunate enough to live in special places. I spent 38 years in Mexico City, and now go back to visit, and no longer know my old neighborhood of Condesa, or recently had lunch in Polanco and it was so crowded it was very difficult to navigate the sidewalk! I used to drive all over the city visiting clients, going to the office, etc., but now I find the driving terrifying. The people speak too quickly, and the pace is frenetic. All this has to do with “progress and the fact that i am also about to be 79 years old! I enjoy a slower pace these days. I must say that I shall be eternally grateful to Mexico for allowing me the privilege of spending the best years of my life here. I hope the newcomers learn to adapt, make an effort to speak the language and stop expecting things to work in the same way as they do in the United States. It takes awhile, but it’s well worth it.
Enjoyed your post. I,too am in the Fourth Quarter and look forward like you to be 80. I also lament the crowding in centro and the rising prices. In the lens of my 20 years much has been lost, much changed and some for the worse. When things get awkward or hard to do we say we have “a Mexican moment,” and smile and try again and move forward. Again, thanks for your observations.
I have been to San Miguel four times but the disparity and poverty is disturbing. On my way to La Gruta, that great mineral water spa outside of town, I saw a gentleman walking, clearly on his to work. I boarded my bus, and a bit later, while transferring to another bus, that same man walked by me, providing me an angry, anguished look, clearly not having, like I did, the 8 pesos for the bus. It is true that most of my fellow Americans do not know that they are in Mexico. Where are they? Somewhere distant, residing in their own heads. And when they look at me, they sneer, knowing I am not their kind of American. Such is the reality in the “best city in the world.” Laughable.
By my observation, Mexicans are also moving to San Miguel in large numbers.
Every time I meet a new Mexican person I ask them where they’re from. Lots from Queretaro, Mexico City, and Michoacan.
And the reasons why? Lifestyle. Business opportunities. Escaping mega cities. Etc.
Can’t blame Mexicans for wanting a better lifestyle in an amazing city.
Maria-Congrats, right on point..Saludos!
The gentrification of SMA is overwhelming…it’s sad despite the pluses you describe. I was immediately struck by the gentrification when I visited last year. I believe the govt., as governments around the world in UNESCO and other “magic ciities”, have to create legislation that preserves the lifestyle, affordability and culture of and for the native peoples. Let the newbies live and rent outside of town… It’s probably too late for SMA; too many other great places in Mexico to return.