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6/16/04 IREE—The Little School That Could—Celebrates Its 13th
anniversary Reproduced
with permission from San Miguel Chronicles - a free subscription is available by
writing an email to <mailtothesanmiguelchronicles-subscribe@elistas.com>
IREE—Instituto
de Rehabilitación y Enseñanza Especial—is dedicated principally to assisting
deaf youngsters to become the first class citizens they are, through learning
sign language that enables them to communicate with each other and their
families as well as language therapy (where possible) that opens the world of
communication to the hearing world.
Since
its inception in 1993, the untiring efforts of its Volunteer Director, Cecilia
Ibarrola de Escobar, along with special education teachers María Luna Jiménez
and Lourdes Jiménez Dominguez, and support from members of the community such
as Louise McGann, Alison McGregor, Claire and James Kirkman, Charles and Susan
Bloom, Bett Adams, Susann and Jim Christen, Col. Phil Maher, Inés Roberts, Jean
Evans, Peggy Hurst, Paula Rosenblum, Ann Riley, Judy Marzulli and many, many
more, the school has grown in size as well as educational sophistication.
Important
advances in helping the hearing impaired through modern technology has helped
them to integrate and emerge from the isolation that is so often their fate,
have been introduced at IREE. An IBM computer program that has cartoon/like
visuals to help deaf children identify and control sounds which they themselves
are unable to hear. Donations of hearing aids have helped many students of
limited means acquire a modest level of hearing and the very latest--cochlear
implants, are unfortunately limited to those who can afford the US$30,000.
IREE
does not receive any government support but through INEA, an adult education
program, students receive a certified primary and secondary education at IREE
that enables them to pursue higher education goals or enter the workforce.
For instance graduates Marta Rangel Marroquín, known to many of us as
she played the ‘archangel’ in the annual Pastorela, now works at the
Biblioteca Municipal as a computer coordinator; Alfonso Aguilar Rosales works up
at the Cinépolis movie house and Lizzie Valenzuela has received a scholarship
to further her studies in the United States.
Over
the past years numerous volunteers have made important contributions. A group of
deaf education teachers from Little Rock, Arkansas who originally came as
tourists, are now regular visitors to IREE; calling themselves ‘Las
Jacarandas’ because they always arrive when jacarandas are in bloom!
They have also arranged for an exchange with local teachers from IREE to
perfect their skills in the United States. Several psychologists from Belgium
have travelled here to assist with the psychological problems particular to the
hard of hearing.
Local
volunteers have dedicated innumerable hours to provide IREE students with
recreational and life enhancing activities: Ann Riley played the organ at the
school every week so the students could dance and sing—vibrations from the
organ helped them to learn vocalizing rhythms and find great enjoyment in an
activity seemingly denied them. Peggy Hurst a creative seamstress, has taught
many of the students to make rag dolls, patchwork quilts, pot holders and other
fun items with scrap fabrics she brought from her home in Canada—the children
have been able to make many items for sale and earn pin money for themselves.
Every year, Judy Marzulli regularly produces a popular annual cabaret show—end
of January and early February—with the entire proceeds donated to IREE. On
Saturdays, many students develop their culinary skills by preparing muffins for
sale in the school kitchen.
Feed
the Hungry, St. Paul’s Church program that provides daily meals to thousands
of school children in San Miguel includes IREE in its program. The Patronato Pro
Niños has a mutual cooperation program with IREE. A series of fund raising
tours are in the planning stages, the first of which is ‘A Night at the
Opera’ in Mexico City on July 6th. For further information please
call 152 21 48.
Nowadays
IREE has students from Dolores and Querétaro as well as San Miguel. Tuition is
limited to what the families can afford: $30 to $80 pesos a month and do not
cover the cost of their education. Tax deductible donations can be sent directly
to IREE, Apartado 1001, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato 37700 or you can
contact the school via e-mail at: iree@unisono.net.mx.
Ceci says, “Thank you, San Miguel, for all your help!”
6/2/04 - Helping the Rural
Society in Mexico – by Sue Reid
One of the most alarming problems in
Mexico is saving the indigenous rural society. The state of Guanajuato is
affected by the migration of
The people in the villages consist mainly
of young people and women. They wish to make a living with their own skills and
with dignity. Often the Mexican government provides them with a small building
in their area. They can therefore produce crafts, hand made and created by the
indigenous groups. Often transportation for marketing these products becomes too
expensive for the individual person. A
person in the village becomes responsible to take the products to nearby towns
for sale. The women must be paid for their work on delivery, as they are indeed
very poor. A young woman in San Miguel is helping these indigenous groups to
market their crafts and give them hope and dignity.
“La Placita” was opened to help these
people strengthen their economy and develop their indigenous society. Rosa
Garcia de Ramirez opened her shop two years ago to help these people. It
contains hand made products produced by the young people and women left behind
in the community. Hand made baskets; baby and children’s clothes knitted and
embroidered by hand, dolls (each with traditional dresses of native states),
paper mache figures, rebozos, towels, women’s manta clothing and recently
handbags. The prices are low and competitive to those in other shops as Sra.
Ramirez pays cash on delivery to the women. Each time you purchase these products you are helping
strengthen the economy of villages. It is located in Plaza Colonial, which is on
the corner of Canal and H. Macias, Canal 21. It is a wonderful way to support
these fine crafts. In the past we have lost so many of the fine hand made items
once made in Mexico.
publisher's note: Sue Reid also said
"I met this young woman today and am impressed.
She truly has this shop to help these people and see that they are paid and
helped. It is not a government project as they only provide some sort of a
building for these people to work at their crafts and then they must do the
rest. I forgot to add that the shop is opened 10-2 and
4-8-Closed Tuesdays. ...
As I have stated before ...I am not a writer but I want people to help
save these crafts of Mexico as too much now is plastic."
5/17/08 Sareda Milosz Receives Lifetime Achievement
Award by
M. Wein
Sareda Milosz, former editor of Atencion and El Independiente, is the
recipient of the second annual Stirling Dickinson Lifetime Achievement Award
which includes a US$1,000 contribution to local charitable organizations to be
chosen by her. She received the award for her 23 years of meaningful volunteer
service to San Miguel organizations.
The award was given by the trustees of The Michael Paul Wein Charitable
Foundation. Ms. Milosz chose to split the award between the Women's Auxiliary of
the American Legion and San Miguel chapter of International Pen's Scholarship
Fund.
Once again, this year there were no specific nominations from the community
for "Volunteer of this Year", but the Michael Wein Foundation trustees
took the initiative to recognize Gerry Wodin for her service to the community.
We are saddened that Mrs. Wodin passed away before we could announce
our selection. Articles about her work with The Shakespeare Readers, the
Playreaders, and the 24-Hour Association appear in SMA OnLine at http//shy.as/smaonline
under the categories of Nonprofit Organizations and obituaries and eulogies
The Foundation stated that there were no nominees for its annual designation
of an individual organization that best compensates its volunteers in an
appropriate non-monetary cost-effective manner
When asked to describe how she got to doing volunteer work in San Miguel, Ms
Milosz said
"I arrived in San Miguel de Allende in 1981, exhausted from nearly four
years of beach life in Puerto Vallarta. Friends had suggested I might like it
here and they were right. It took a while for me to plug in to service
activities here and the first place I volunteered was the Biblioteca Pública,
where it did not take long for me to land the unpaid job of editor of Atención.
Working at Atención gave me a good idea of what was going on in San Miguel, and
I began to focus the editorial side of the paper toward San Miguel service
organizations, including those run by the state, most especially DIF (Desarrollo
Integral de la Familia). I considered such organizations to be the wheels that
turned the community, and a great way for idle foreigners to get involved.
(Those were to good old days, before big-time fundraising left most of us out in
the cold, unable to participate except perhaps as ticket sellers for events we
could not afford to attend.) I found that my editorial influence was valuable in
terms of keeping the foreign community informed about local happenings and
pointing volunteers and other community members toward organizations that helped
local Mexican groups. We published articles in Spanish as well as English.
"My favorite groups included CASA, the Biblioteca (the Rural Books and
Scholarship Programs), DIF, Mujeres en Cambio, ALMA, Patronato pro-Niños,
Centro de Crecimiento, the Don Bosco and Mexiquito Orphanages,the SPA and a
couple of others that maintained a decent track record and gave away services.
"Time and other considerations changed my relationship with the Library,
and I ended up with my own paper, El Independiente, thanks to patrons and
volunteers. From there, we continued to write about the community and cover
local Mexican events. Importantly, we had a strong Spanish section. Though my
health has not allowed me to keep my fingers in as many pies as previously, I
continue to urge foreigners to learn Spanish and get involved in the
international service community. Learn the customs and history of your new home
town and get busy helping. And always remember that 500 people paying $50 pesos
each to attend a charity event (with raffle tickets sold separately) is more
important to this community than one person with deep pockets signing a check
and calling it a day. For this reason I am happy to present my checks to two
organizations where I continue to be active the Women's Auxiliary of the
American Legion, which maintains a layette program for new mothers with needs,
and the San Miguel PEN Scholarship Committee, which helps several local children
attend school."
The trustees of the Foundation were pleased to add Ms. Milosz's name to their
web-site page that already honors last year's awardee, Mrs. Luisa Velte, and her
designation of the Biblioteca's Stirling Dickinson Scholarship Fund.
The Michael Paul Wein Charitable Foundation encourages all local residents to
submit their own nominees (with a short biography attached) to MPWINSMA@cybermatsa.com.mx
so that they may be considered for next year's awards. Please submit separate
nominees for current year's work, for Lifetime Achievement, and also for
individual organization. More information regarding this award can be obtained
at http://smanumber1.tripod.com/toc.htm
5/10/04 THE SHAKESPEARE
READERS
By Sylvia Berek Rosenthal
Gerry Wodin says that each gringo arriving in San Miguel during the late sixties
and early seventies carried in his hand a well-worn volume of the complete works
of William Shakespeare. They carried their precious cargo closely, fearful
of trusting it to the not so tender mercies of airlines, post offices or
other shipping companies. It had to be carried safely on one's
person.
To literate people, San Miguel seemed a literary wasteland. The library's
collection of English materials was woefully small, and its main emphasis then,
as now, was providing materials and programs for local children and young
people. San Miguel offered no English television or theater. The
main cultural emphasis in San Miguel was on the graphic arts. People who came
here with a major interest in literature and theater had to create their own
programs. And they did.
They began by meeting in each other's houses and reading to each other for their
own pleasure. Arthur and Tommy Zaidenberg hosted the first meeting
and started with Romeo and Juliet. Soon friends asked if they could come
and listen. The readers, the Echlins, the De Lattres, the Zaidenbergs, the
Keoghs were friendly folk, and of course they welcomed the listeners. Soon
the popularity of the readings became such that living rooms were too small to
accommodate all those who wanted to listen and the readings were moved to other
venues. That, dear friends, is how our wonderful ongoing legacy of
The Play Readers began. The history of the Play Readers is a wonderful
tale, but it is not today's tale. You may read it on this website (8
articles further down).
While these people were having a marvelous time putting on play readings for a
San Miguel audience felt they had lost something valuable and intimate.
They had lost the pure joy of reading plays they loved just for each other.
No audience, no rehearsals, just reading the world's great plays to savor their
language, their meaning, and their relevance to today's world. They
needed to get that back, and they did.
While they did continue the play readings' they began to meet every other week
in each other's houses again. They called themselves "The Shakespeare
Readers." And they had rules. Rule number one: NO AUDIENCE.
Newcomers were welcome, but if you came, you had to read. Rule number two:
Well, back then there was only rule number one. Others came along later.
They found it easier to meet regularly in one house, and for the first couple of
years they met at Letitia Echlin's. Eventually they began to keep a
tally of what they were reading. Someone was declared responsible for
casting, and someone was responsible for cookies at each session. There
was always an intermission for stretching, yakking, and cookies and tea.
At some point in the early eighties the Echlins took off for a summer to their
other residence in Newburgh, New York. Letitia asked the Wodins if they
would mind playing host to the Readers for the summer. Of course they were
happy to oblige. Bob Wodin, who really had suffered because of the poor
lighting at the Echlins, decided to brighten the setting in his domain. He
installed fluorescent lights. Of course that went swimmingly with the
colonial décor, but it was much easier on the eyes of the readers.
When the Echlins returned in the fall, they decided that the Wodin's well-lit
salon was the appropriate setting. From that day right up to the present,
Jesus 52 is home for The Shakespeare Readers. Letitia mourned only one
loss from the move: there was no brewed English tea, only tea bags and instant
coffee.
Although record keeping began haphazardly in the very late seventies, it
became more organized as the eighties progressed and it's interesting to tote up
the meetings and the plays that were read through some of those years. 206
meetings were held between 1988 and 1998.. That averages out to about 21
meetings a year. But averages do not tell much. Some years there
were as few as 15 meetings. Other years there were as many as 24.
.
The record also shows that Shakespeare's tragedies were read twice as
often as his comedies. And of course Shakespeare wasn't always
Shakespeare. Sometimes Shakespeare was Moliere, Ibsen, Hellman,
Shaw,and Chekhov, among many others. In order for
a group of readers to sit around and read a play together, there must be
multiple copies of the same play. And preferably multiple copies of the
same edition of the same play. Through the years the groups enjoyed
the challenge of reading a variety of good plays besides Shakespeare, but the
ability to do this depended on the good fortune and generosity of members who
would come in saying, "Look at the treasure I found in my bargain book
store-a dozen copies of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being
Earnest. " Someone else came along with, "This local
theater group is disbanding, and we can have ten copies each of Tennessee
Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" and Anderson's
"Winterset"
One thing has always remained true. There never were any charges or fees
associated with the Shakespeare Readers. And there still aren't! The
group still meets every other Wednesday at Gerry Wodin's house. You have
to arrive before 7PM or you can't get in. Well, I've heard of a rare exception.
Someone calls up and begs on bended knee-you can hear the supplicant's knee
creak-and once in a while for an extremely valid reason, dispensation is granted
, but you must read. There is an exception granted here also. The two
standard exemptions are Topsy and Macha, Gerry's toy poodles..
They don't read but they bark a loud welcome as each participant shows up.
When the readers settle down, the poodles become quiet and listen. They've
been known to fall asleep on occasion but this group this group of Shakespeare
readers take no offense, and humbly apologize for boring them.
No reservations are required, so the size of the group can vary from a low of 4
to a high of 30. Each end of the spectrum presents problems in casting
with sometimes surprising results. For example, once when the
designated play was Troilus and Cressida, only four readers showed up.
They decided to dispense with all the battle scenes and read round robin.
With the diversion of the droning battles gone, they found they were reading
pure unadulterated Shakespearean pornography!
Readers come in all shapes and sizes with a wide range of reading experience,
from people who haven't read aloud since grade school to teachers of literature
and drama. Some prepare by reading the play beforehand. Others come
in cold to read a play they have never read or seen before. Though we all
thoroughly enjoy the more talented and skilled among us, we tolerate the rest
who come for the sheer joy of sharing in the experience. So come along
some Wednesday evening and give it a try. You must read, but you may only
get the servant's two lines on your first visit. Who knows, you may like
it enough to become one of the regulars, in which case you will have to take
your turn in casting and-- providing cookies.
publisher's note: An article on The
Playreaders is eight articles down from here.
5/3/04 Violence is Not Inevitable
by Nadine Goodman (an article about CASA)
It is a Friday afternoon in April in San
Miguel de Allende. The official workday has ended for many yet the
conference room upstairs at the CASA Hospital is packed. Seemingly there
are no more seats in the house but people continue to arrive and the
group accommodates them easily - yet another example of CASA magic.
In case you have not heard of C.A.S.A. or
her magic, I am referring to a non-profit Mexican organization that
today is well known and well respected internationally. Launched
in 1981 C.A.S.A. (Centro para los Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende)
got its name as a result of a contest organized by local Sanmiguelense
teenagers. For more than 20 years CASA has been a non-judgmental forum
for teenagers and others to freely express themselves, receive correct
information and services related to sexuality and reproductive health
and, contribute to their own betterment and that of their communities.
At CASA the youth design, implement and evaluation their programs
assisted by the organization's professional team of physicians, nurses,
midwives, public health experts, social workers, teachers and others.
I am sitting in the far corner of the
conference room, perched on a tall narrow table, which isn't
particularly comfortable but affords me a great view of the group of 60
people or more - adolescent peer counselors, professional midwives,
docs, and others. Sharing my perch is Roberto, a nineteen-year-old peer
counselor who together with 35 other CASA volunteers walked three days
in the 1st Annual San Miguel Walk in January, 2004, an event dedicated
to raising consciousness about violence and a fund raiser; an event held
concurrently with one of Mexico's most important pilgrimages attended by
many tens of thousands (please see www.sanmiguelwalk.com).
The Friday meeting has many objectives. Two
North American students who will be at CASA as volunteers for three
months introduce themselves - one is a medical student interested in
international health and midwifery who came to Mexico from Ghana; the
other a health economist whose previous internship was at The White
House, working with the Council of Economists on health issues.
Six other interns are due this summer, one of who has extensive
experience working with Latinos in California and with domestic violence
programs. She will be helping CASA formalize its programs against
violence over her 14-month stay. CASA's director is currently
holding focus groups with women who have experienced repeated violence
in their lives to get ideas on how together with CASA these women and,
other women, men and children can best help themselves and their
communities to live free of violence.
Another objective of the meeting is for the
Advocacy Team - the newest team of CASA peer counselors - to introduce
themselves. A CASA doctor since 1996, Ismael went back to school
for his masters in forensic medicine two years ago and today works both
for CASA and for the Justice Department, often doing the legally needed
medical examinations on survivors of rape. He asks the new
advocacy team,
"What exactly does advocacy mean?"
The team eagerly shares their new knowledge,
"It means believing in something
passionately; it means working for, arguing for, pleading for a cause;
changing attitudes; making things happen."
The team goes on to explain their plans for
radio programs to be run by CASA peers, midwives and community members
in 7 different states - Guanajuato, Veracruz, Puebla, Chiapas, Oaxaca,
San Luis Potosi, Michuacan and Guerrero where people will talk about
stopping violence, reproductive health rights and more.
All of us at CASA are excited about this new
project to stop violence, a project that will join the long standing
diverse programs to prevent violence and give assistance to survivors of
violence that the organization has run since it was founded.
CASA's peer counselor program for example has been operating for more
than 20 years and has been externally evaluated numerous times (1990,
1993, 1996, 2000, 2003). It has been documented that the
majority of the young women (some 600) who have participated in the
program experienced violence prior to their contact with CASA. It
has also been proven that their joining the organization has helped them
significantly decrease the violence in their lives (copies of
evaluations available on request).
CASA has also always had professional
psychologists and social workers available to the public for counseling.
In its 2003 annual report it was reported by the fulltime CASA
psychologist that 66 percent of the women he sees experience violence
and 83 percent of the children under 12 years of age have lives filled
with disorder, injuries, clashes and constant disturbances.
Since the 1990s CASA has run annual public
education campaigns on November 15 - International No Violence Day. In
schools and other public places, CASA's team engages in multiple
activities such as poster contests amongst children and youth,
demonstrating how violence looks in their communities and how to stop
it.
Also since the early 1990s, 1993 to be
exact, CASA has been engaging in high quality professional research on
the subject of violence. Together with the prestigious
world-renowned research institute called Population Council, CASA
carried out some of the first research in Mexico with 506 women in
Guanajuato finding staggering rates of violence. It is very
important to have a documented scientific basis to be able to justify to
policy makers the needs for specific programs to combat social problems.
This early study by CASA also looked into the still hush-hush problem of
illegal abortions in Mexico. Not having access to information and
services is one form of violence against women. Worldwide 4 of 10
pregnancies are unplanned, 2 in 10 end in abortion and in Latin American
21 percent of maternal deaths are associated with unsafe abortion.
In 1999 the Guanajuato State congress
requested CASA to present its data from its research on violence in the
state since the Congress, visa the Congressional committee on Gender
Equity and Justice was initiating a law to extent assistance, attention
and prevention of InterFamily Violence (La ley de Aisstencia, Atencion y
Prevencion de la Violencia Intrafamiliar). Over the years CASA has
worked not only with other non-profit organizations and networks such as
the Milenio Feminista on these issues but with multiple governmental
agencies including: La Procuraduria de Justicia de Guanajuato, Instituto
de la Mujer Guanajuatense, El Sitema Estatal para el Desarrollo de la
Familia, La Secretaria de Salud, La Secretaria de Educacion, El Consejo
Estatal de Poblacion, ISEN (Delegacion Guanajuato) and others. On
a yearly basis CASA's staff receives refresher trainings in this subject
and has participated in workshops and seminars given by Mexico City
organizations such as El Colegio de Mexico and others.
NPR (National Public Radio) from the US also interviewed CASA peer
counselors and others and did a program on domestic and sexual violence
in Mexico, including testimony by women who underwent clandestine
abortions.
In 1996 CASA moved to its first home the
organization owned, due to the generosity of the local benefactor Ginger
Eades. Since that time CASA has been giving emergency shelter to
women who experience violence. This service is still available and
currently being reorganized. For more information please contact
Irma Salas (information below). CASA staff also accompanies
survivors of violence who legally denounce the perpetrators of these
crimes. This is often a disconcerting labyrinth that seemingly
doesn't provide results. CASA and volunteer lawyers have been successful
and numerous families who could not move their cases forward were able
to so do after our interventions. Not too long ago CASA's work in
this area received accolades from Governor Juan Carlos Romero Hicks who
personally received 10,000 signatures collected by CASA staff demanding
that the governor make more efficient and agile the legal system in the
state to be able to prosecute all perpetuators of sexual crimes,
including minors.
Most recently a group called San Miguel Walk
has joined forces with CASA. Last year Ilva Invernizzi and
Susan Bloom co-founded and co- chaired this group who pulled off an
incredibly successful event that raised more than $40,000 US dollars for
CASA's programs to prevent violence and provide assistance to survivors.
Although the event only transpired in late January, already there is a
lot of activity underway for the Second Annual San Miguel Walk to occur
in January 2005. For more information on the Walk please call the
co-chairs Milou Montferrier and Michele Connor.
The Friday meeting is over and I jump down
from my perch. As everyone files out of the room I go up to a
young new face that is attached to a young body that is pregnant.
"You look concerned, " I say
to the young girl. "Are you new?"
I am told what I expect to hear - that I am
speaking with a new peer counselor. I reassure her that everyone
is scared in the beginning, etc. While I am not feeling smug, I am
confident that I know with whom I have spoken and that I am right, that
the young woman will be happy at CASA very soon.
The conference room is now almost empty.
The Assistant Director of CASA approaches me,
"Do you know with whom you just spoke?"
"Oh you meant the new peer counselor,
" I casually answer. "She looks so agitated, concerned.
I was just trying to calm her down, assure her that she will be happy
with us."
Yes, I am told, she is a new peer counselor.
She is also "the case" that I was told about recently; the
young 17 year old who was raped by someone she knows from her village;
beat up by her father, kicked out of her parent's home and village and
is 7 months pregnant. She has also decided that she wants nothing
to do with the legal system. This young woman is being housed by
CASA, works as a peer counselor and will have her baby with us.
Will she find happiness with us? In her life? It is hard to predict.
What we do know for sure is that violence is
not inevitable.
In 2002 the World Health Organization (WHO)
published its World Report on Violence and Health with a foreword by
Nelson Mandela,
"Many who live with violence day in and
day out assume that it is an intrinsic part of the human condition. But
this is not so. Violence can be prevented. Violent cultures can be
turned around. In my own country and around the world, we have shining
examples of how violence has been countered. Governments, communities
and individuals can make a difference."
I left the Friday meeting having met yet one
more survivor of violence. While connecting the face to the case left me
feeling humbled, I left the meeting feeling hopeful. I take that
back. I left the meeting feeling elated, a reaction I still find
myself having if not daily at least several times a week, year after
year after year. Nelson Mandela has it right - individuals,
communities and governments can make a difference. CASA has made
and will continue to make a difference.
For more information on CASA's multiple facilities and programs (day
care for infants and preschoolers, Mexico's only midwifery school, river
restoration work, etc. please consult www.sanmiguel-casa.org)
or call 415 4 60 60 or 4 60 90 and ask for Irma Salas. For more
information on the San Miguel Walk Against Violence please contact Milou
at 15 4 7846or email at sanmiguelwalk@yahoo.com
4/29/04 Musical
Theatre in San
Miguel by Judy
Marzulli
This is a
follow up to Lola Smith's article (see below) "Theater is alive and
well in San Miguel". Musical theater is also alive and well in
San Miguel. For the past 8 years I have produced, with the help at
times of a friend, a musical here. We have done Broadway musicals and
variety shows with comedy, dancing, instrumentals and of course lots of
singing. Most have been for the benefit of underprivileged children. The
last two being for IREE, the school for children with hearing and
other disabilities. A very small school with some very big needs. Visit it
sometime at Pila Seca # 41. All profits from these shows go to these very
worthy causes. I am always looking for people who are willing to give there
time in any areas of these productions be it behind the scenes or on the
stage. Performers seem to be few and far between here but I think there
may be people out there who have talent but think that these groups are
closed. It's not just for fun though, although we do have a lot of that. You
must be willing to rehearse 5 mornings a week for 5 to 6 weeks and memorize
songs and lines depending on your role. In other words you have to love what
you are doing and be willing to make sacrifices to have the experience. So
if there is anyone out there who thinks he or she might be interested in
being involved in these productions please get in touch with me by
email at judpat@unisono.net.mx.
and we'll get together and talk about it.
5/10/04 With the death of Gerry Wodin on May 13, the
following has been added to, and it amends, The 24-hour Association information
(below)
24 Hour Association Records and Files: The 24 Hour
Association files are located in the home of Bonnie Bisnett, our present
Executive Secretary. They are essentially complete as of the date that each
member has joined, and any revisions submitted by a member after that date
are of course placed in their file. We periodically remind members that any
changes in their key information and desires should be submitted to us. We
are in the process of reviewing the files to verify the last date of
revision for each member, and to individually remind members to update their
files if their information is more than 5 years old.
Contacting the 24 Hour Association:
The primary point of contact for all members is:
Bonnie Bisnett, Executive Secretary
152-3536 and 011-415-100-3842 (cel)
Box 41B, Border Crossings, Correo 19, Int. 2, San Miguel de Allende
(U.S. address: 24 Hour Association, Box 41B, % Border Crossings, 413
Interamerica Blvd., No. 1 BC-2323, Laredo, TX 78045-8285)
The secondary point of contact is:
Melanie Nance, Treasurer
152-6668 and 011-415-100-7027 (cel)
Same address as above
In the event of the death of a member, a call to Bonnie will result in all
the needed procedures being initiated immediately. In her rare absences from
San Miguel, Melanie will receive the call and initiate the needed actions.
To request a membership application form or any other information regarding
the 24 Hour Association, a call to Bonnie (or Melanie) will result in the
application form being delivered, or in a personal meeting with the
requester at a mutually convenient time and place in the center of San
Miguel. We do not have an office per se, and therefore don't have 'office
hours.'
New membership cards are presently being printed and will soon be mailed to
all members with the above telephone numbers on them, since the old cards
have the telephone number of Gerry Wodin, our former Executive Secretary,
who just recently died.
4/26/04
The 24 Hour Association - submitted by Russ Archibald, president
Bonnie Bisnett, Executive
Secretary: (415) 152-3536 or 044-415-100-3842
Melanie Nance, Treasurer: 154-9230 (a.m.), 152-6668 (p.m.)
WHO WE ARE: A
non-profit legally registered Mexican asociación civil providing a
prepaid plan of cremation and burial services that fully comply with Mexican
law.
WHAT EXACTLY IS IT WE DO? When
a member dies one phone call to the 24 Hour Executive Secretary initiates the
process to carry out the wishes of the member as set forth in their
application. This process includes handling of the remains, making the
requisite communications to the Mexican and local foreign Consular Agents,
obtaining the required Mexican legal documents, disposition of the body
according to the member’s wishes, and arranging for funeral or shipping
services as specified.
WHAT TYPE OF SERVICES DO WE OFFER? Three basic types of services are offered
with some variations. These are cremation, burial, and shipment of remains
back home. Information is also provided for local funeral arrangements as
desired.
WHAT DOES IT COST? Current
(2004) membership fees are (U. S. dollars):
·
Cremation with the ashes placed in a brass
urn:
 |
Delivered locally in San Miguel
$630.00 |
|
Interred in a niche with a plaque in
the San Miguel Panteon Cemetery*
$830.00 |
-
Shipping the ashes home can be
arranged; the estate pays the added costs.
·
Embalming and burial in our separate
section of the San Miguel Panteon Cemetery*:
| In the ground with headstone
$1,000.00 |
|
In a crypt with a plaque
$1,000.00 |
·
Shipment of embalmed remains to the
Leon airport
| for air shipment home plus air shipment
costs that are paid by the estate.
$1,800.00 |
-
* The 24 Hour Association owns and provides perpetual
care of burial plots and niches in our section of the San Miguel Panteon
Cemetery. Desired locations may be specified in advance by the member
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS: The 24 Hour Secretary will provide
information as needed to make arrangements for local funeral services for
any religious faith or denomination as specified in the member’s
application form.
MEMBERSHIP: Open
to all residents of San Miguel. Membership fees are fully refundable at any
time, and in the event the member dies away from San Miguel and does not
require our assistance. There is a 60 day waiting period after you join
before your benefits take effect. Completion of our 4 page application form
plus copies of your birth certificate, passport, visa, and other pertinent
documents provide you the opportunity to ease your survivors’ stress at a
difficult time in their lives. This also enables you to document important
estate planning decisions and specify the location of important related
documents.
04/19/04 Repairs
start on Las Monjas dome by Don Knoles
After years of sounding the alarm and fund-raising efforts, work has started
on badly needed repairs of La Concepcion, better known as La Monjas.
San Miguel mayor Luis Alberto Villarreal and some of those who were involved
were on hand for a concert, fiesta and mass marking the occasion. A huge
banner proclaiming the restoration has been hung from the side of the landmark
church.
Cost will be $715,000 pesos covering repairs of damaged paintings and numerous
structural weaknesses, the most prominent being a ten-foot long crack in the
dome.
The fissure has been there for 15 years. About ten years ago, it began leaking
during the rainy season. Up to now, when the showers came, the nuns, who run
the church, pushed back the pews near the altar and brought in buckets to
catch the falling water. They noted the crack has been growing due to
vibrations from heavy vehicles in nearby streets.
Padre Fernando Manriquez, president of Amigos de San Miguel, the group in
charge of restoring local churches, ominously warned that if nothing was done
the dome could collapse with "tragic" consequences.
Over the past four years, the expat community has been helping to raise funds
while pressing for action. Preeminent in this group have been Terry Kutt-Reinhart,
Rita Krug (who now lives in Houston) and Debra Sullivan.
A bit of history: construction on Las Monjas began in 1755. The money came
from Dona Maria Josefa Lina de la Canal y Hervas, eldest daughter and heiress
to the well-to-do builder of the Canal Palace (now Banamex). She died there as
a nun in 1770 and is buried beneath the choir.
The dome was added in 1891 by Ceferino Gutierrez, the creator of La Parroquia
facade. His model was Les Invalides, site of Napoleon's tomb in Paris.
4/13/04
THEATRE ALIVE AND WELL IN SAN MIGUEL
by Lola Smith
Wherever large
groups of expatriates form permanent communities, “old country” culture
follows, often in the form of a community newspaper and a little theatre.
San Miguel de Allende is no exception.
English speaking foreigners began to settle in the then provincial
community in the late 1930’s. By
the 1960’s enough foreigners with theatre experience had made San Miguel
home that bilingual and English language dramatic readings and productions
were presented on a regular basis.
Venues ranged from El Ring disco (formerly
the site of cockfights) to the Teatro Angela Peralta to St. Paul’s Church
Parish Hall. Several groups grew
out of the original participants, including the Shakespeare Readers, who still
meet regularly at the home of Gerry Wodin; the Playreaders of San Miguel who
continue to present polished readings of new plays every two weeks in the St.
Paul’s Parish Hall; and the Players Workshop, who after years of working at
the Institute Allende constructed the Teatro Santa Ana on the premises of the
Biblioteca Publica in 1998. In
addition to these long established groups, several independent producers have
appeared on the scene in the last few years, each of whom usually produce one
play a year.
Players Workshop, San Miguel’s community theatre, was founded in 1981
and got off to a running start in l982 with a production of “Guys and
Dolls”. Since then they have
presented a wide variety of plays, usually five a year, which have kept
audiences in touch with the latest in the English language theatre scene,
including Broadway and off-Broadway. To date their 96 productions have
included seven Pulitzer Prize winners, such as “A Delicate Balance” and
“Gin Game”; thrillers, such as “Deathtrap” and “The Woman in
Black”; musicals like “Nunsense” and “Oh! Coward”; popular hits like
“Other People’s Money” and “I’m Not Rappaport”, classics
represented by “The Madwoman of Chaillot” and “Spoon River”; and
comedies like “Blithe Spirit” and “Beyond Therapy”.
It is a constant challenge to find plays that are suitable for our small
stage and casting limitations, and we are always on the lookout for new blood.
We need not only stars and bit part players, but people who are
interested in learning production and in handling backstage jobs.
We welcome all newcomers and encourage anyone curious to learn how to
be a stage manager or to work with props or costumes to contact us.
New directors would be received with open arms, as would volunteers for
more mundane jobs such as selling tickets or putting up posters.
Do you like to write? We
need people to handle publicity. And
if you have any suggestions for plays you would like to see put on, we would
like to hear from you too.
Putting on a play involves time and some
hard work, but it’s fun and fulfilling.
You meet interesting people and make new friends.
So, yes, theatre is alive and well in San Miguel, but we are looking
for additional people who will help keep it that way.
Interested? Call Lola Smith
at 152-1756, or E-mail lmsma@prodigy.net.mx.
4/10/04 “Suzuki Children’s String Program of San Miguel de
Allende” by Russ Archibald
Accomplishments to Date and Future Plans
The Suzuki Program was started in 2001 by Professor David Mallory, a
professional violinist with many years of experience in teaching the Suzuki
Method. The not-for-profit Suzuki organization was formed in 2003 by full-time
residents of San Miguel to carry out this mission.
In our third year of operation there are approximately 60 violin students and
15 piano students, varying in age from 5 to 14 years, and a cello class is now
beginning. Eventually some violin students with larger hands will convert to
cello and viola, and after that cello students with very strong hands will
convert to string bass. Within only a few years it is highly probable there
will be a balance to this instrumentation to begin a junior string orchestra.
Eventually they can couple with woodwind and brass students currently
studying....and that means San Miguel will have its own junior symphony
orchestra.
The Suzuki Method
Sinichi Suzuki has become one of the most famous music pedagogues in the
world. His method and philosophy was discovered in 1964 in Japan which
immediately lured noted music educators in the US to train with him. His
system was quickly adopted in the US, first by university music programs and
later in private schools across the country. Today there are perhaps hundreds
of thousands of children world-wide studying violin, cello, piano, and flute
with this system in many countries, including many Latin American countries.
Its basic tenets are: 1) development of the whole child is most important, 2)
musical talent is educated rather than innate, 3) learning takes place in very
small and quantified increments, 4) learning is fun, 5) love is a far better
driving force for learning than "discipline" in the old fashioned
sense,6) ultimate professional level performance is not the goal, although
many students have achieved a professional standard. Suzuki students start
learning an instrument when their learning abilities are the highest they will
ever be, and they soak up all learning like a sponge. Only some will go on to
become top-notch professionals, but all are being given priceless gifts: not
only appreciation of great classical music, but also the means of actually
playing it. These gifts are guaranteed to provide ever-increasing nurture and
sustenance to the soulwhich no-one can ever take from them for as long as they
live.
The Suzuki musical literature is standardized in such a way that children in
families that move to other locations can easily fit into the local Suzuki
program elsewhere. Thus their musical study does not lose its continuity. The
San Miguel program now links with the Suzuki programs in Guanajuato and
McAllen, Texas, with public performances of combined student groups. Suzuki
teachers must be members of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and train
in the Suzuki pedagogy. They must meet certain standards and be certified at
as many as 10 different levels. Ephriam Flores, a well-qualified teacher
trainer from McAllen, Texas, has recently conducted training sessions for us
here in San Miguel, and in October 2003 our violin staff attended the first
Suzuki Violin Training Institute held in Guanajuato.
David Mallory’s Background and Experience
We are very fortunate that Program Director David Mallory is a full-time
resident of San Miguel. David is professor emeritus of music at California
State University, Chico, and was the head violin instructor there. He has
trained in the Suzuki method with numerous noted Suzuki teacher trainers,
including Dr. Suzuki himself. David was director of the Chico Suzuki Music
School in Chico, CA.; was first concertmaster of the Munich Symphony in
Germany; has recorded with RCA, Phillips, EMI, CBS; has performed on TV and
radio; and has performed professional chamber music with the Cappella di
Musica group in San Francisco, CA.
Our Financial Needs
The San Miguel program has non-profit status allowing it to accept monies from
private donors. Its financial needs include funds for:
·
Teacher training workshops.
·
The cost of renting performance halls for concerts, paying for
publicity, making recordings, etc.
·
A scholarship system for families unable to purchase instruments and
pay fully for ongoing lessons.
Checks may be made to the San Miguel Educational Foundation/SMEF with
‘Suzuki Program’ on the notation line and sent to David Mallory, Box
55A, La Conexion, Aldama # 3, SMA. or
220 N. Zapata Highway, 11A Laredo, TX 78043 USA
Join Our Volunteer Group
for further information:
David Mallory, Director and Head, Teacher Training 154-8455
Mariana Ferreiro, violin and piano teacher 152-7381
Marcela Garza, violin teacher, piano accompanist, 152-8377
Lilia Gomez, violin teacher, 152-7910
Enrique Prado, cello teacher, piano accompanist
Edward Clancy, teaching assistant 152-8671
April 6, 2004 THE PLAYREADERS OF SAN
MIGUEL by Fran Rowe
For almost thirty years the Playreaders of
San Miguel have been producing staged readings of plays (ONLY PLAYS
THAT HAVE BEEN PROFESSIONALLY PUBLISHED AND PRODUCED) bi-monthly all year,
except for a hot-weather hiatus in May. The Readers have
three rehearsals and two or three performances. These readings are held
at 7:30 pm at St. Paul's Parish Hall on Calle Cardo on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday (from December through March) and Wednesday and Thursday the rest of
the year. A donation of 10 pesos is requested of the audience.
The next reading on April 21 and 22 is "Five Women Wearing the Same
Dress," a comedy, directed by Marthe Fraser.
If you are interested in directing,
acting, tech (sound and lights), or any other aspect of theater and wish to
become involved in Playreaders, please contact Gerry Wodin at 1521723; Lola
Smith, 1521756 (email: lmsma@prodigy.net.mx);
Fran Rowe, 1521166 (email: franrowe@prodigy.net.mx);
or Marthe Fraser, 1521111 (email: zacateros@yahoo.com).
Join us!
March 31,
2004
The Community of Hope by Pat
Tirkot
The
Community of Hope is a group of trained volunteers who visit the homebound,
sick, lonely, disabled, dying and bereaved, as well as their families and caregivers.
COH offers comfort, support and encouragement.
All services are free and available to foreigners and Mexicans. Community
of Hope operates with a Board of Directors representing
St. Paul
’s Anglican Church, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
and the community at large. In
addition to home visits, some Volunteers make calls to Hospital de la Fe and
participate in Centro Infantil San Pablo’s Head Start program.
Referrals are made to needed
resources such as for
home care nursing services and to the medical supplies bodega at
St. Paul
’s which loans wheelchairs,
crutches, walkers, etc free of charge. COH
has a resource loan library
on variety of subjects including dying and grief as well as books on
tape.
If you
know of someone who can benefit from Community of Hope’s services, call
Pat Tirkot, 152-8164 or Jean Depperschmidt, 152-1943.
March 31 2004
New Officers Elected for Hospital de La Fe Board
by Connie Mullis
New officers were elected for the Patronato Board at Hospital
de La Fe on March 20, 2004. Elected President, Connie Mullis PA; First Vice
President, Sybil Yates RN; 2nd Vice President, Dr. Arturo Barrera; Treasure,
Mike Stone MBA CPA. The Patronato Board raises money to purchase needed
equipment for Hospital de La Fe and also to treat indigent patients.The
Patronato Board serves as a liaison between the citizens of San Miguel and the
hospital in order to help institute a high standard of medical care for the
community. The Patronato Board hopes to insure the growth of San Miguel through
the Board's continued commitment to make
Hospital de La Fe a quality health care provider.
Objectives of this page: 1- this section will contain all
information written for and about "local
charitable organizations" that meet the
criteria described in Instructions .
All information will be published in the date order of receipt, with the latest
notices on top (the oldest nearer the bottom).
2- to foster more transparency regarding their operations,
this space will also be available to enable all organizations who solicit funds
from the public to make their financial operations more transparent by
publishing information that allows the public to see how their contributions are
being used. This applies to all charitable and other non-profit
organizations.
|
SMA
OnLine News Magazine a free community-run nonprofit
public service, written FOR and BY the expatriate residents, in our attempt to
meet needs not being met elsewhere 