Let's take you inside San Miguel de Allende, Mexico’s hidden jewel

Mexico’s hidden jewel, San Miguel de Allende, is a beautiful, vibrant colonial era town, perfectly preserved and popular with artists.

San Miguel de Allende, a small and outrageously charming town, perches on hilly contours in the heart of Mexico, away from beaches and the historic Aztec and Maya sites. A three hour drive from Mexico City, the town sprang up during the colonial era, as it lay en route between the silver-mines and shipyards.

Its narrow, cobbled streets, gracious casas and green squares have defied the passage of time and its World Heritage Site status will ensure the town remains unchanged.

The town was named after its founder, San Miguel, a Franciscan monk in 1542, as well as Ignacio Allende, a freedom fighter who first declared his hometown free from Spanish Rule in 1811.

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The painted facades of San Miguel in the sunset

The colonial era walls of elegant homes, cantinas, haciendas, shops and cafes adhere to a code and are painted in the captivating tones. We revelled in the whimsical combinations of raspberry, plum, russet, garnet, ruby, mustard and sage tones that were further mulled in the witching hour of the setting sun. It was late March, and the purple flowers of hundreds of jacaranda trees formed dense canopies against the sky.

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Locals at a Zumba dance class by the parish church

In the 1950s, San Miguel was colonised afresh by American artists who moved in and opened their galleries, infusing an air of bohemian chic. More recently, the arrival of Boutique hotels, chefs, and music venues are enticing visitors to discover the little gem in the Mexican highlands.

LOCAL INFLUENCES
While Spanish and American influences abound, you never forget for a moment that you’re in Mexico. The streets are filled with vendors selling cloth dolls, wooden toys, and local snacks of corn tortillas with cactus, chopped salad and string cheese.

Chocolate and churros are enjoyed best at Café San Augustine. The vendor outside Immaculada Conception church doles out rose-petal and basil flavour ice-creams.

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From left: Stone and painted facade of a local church in San Miguel; Tortilla vendor at the Mercado el Nigromante, San Miguel; Textile vendor at the market, San Miguel

At the Mercado El Nigromante, ladies bring homemade tortillas. Others sliced the needles off the cactus and sold herbs, boiled corn, dried mango and tamarind. Indigenous Indians had stalls of woven textiles and embroideries from their provinces.

At nightfall, as the streets become quiet, the terraces of San Miguel come alive as people mingle for drinks under the stars. Mariachi bands gather in the squares around La Parroquia church, singing lively songs.