In response to Presidenta Luz Maria Nunez’s request for all residents to be more involved in city works, the SMRA earlier this year had contacted Irma Leticia Rosado Soto, head of outreach to non-governmental organizations, to inquire where help was needed.  Sra. Rosada noted that a current priority was to develop more playgrounds to give children a safe place to congregate and play.  SMRA then worked with a local manufacturer of playground equipment to make arrangements for the delivery and installation of suitable playground equipment for two new playgrounds in San Miguel de Allende.

The two new playgrounds were inaugurated by La Presidenta Lucy on Friday, March 12, 2010.

One is in Parque Cloutier in Fracc. Ignacio Ramirez, Avenida Primero de Mayo S/N.  In this area are 4 colonias that will benefit from this playground.

The second is Parque Mexiquito in Mexiquito, Calle Lucas Bladeras y Anastacio Bustamante S/N. In this area, around 60 families will benefit from the playground.

One of these is Centro de Crecimiento.  Centro de Crecimiento is one of the only centers of its kind in Mexico for the treatment, education and training of children with disabilities. Whether a child is afflicted with Downs syndrome, autism, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, blindness, or any other type of disability, Centro de Crecimiento treats and educates children using a holistic approach that begins at birth and continues through the age of 18, and includes not just therapies and education for children, but also education and support for parents.

This organization has recently opened a small store at their location behind the TelMex office on the south side of town just off the Salida a Celaya.  The actual address is Calle Zamora Rios # 6, Colonia  Allende.  The hours for the Bazar Centro de Crecimiento (the name of the store) are 11 am to 2 pm, Monday through Friday.

To stock its shelves, the store is looking for donations of ANYTHING that people don’t want.  Clothes, shoes, household items, building supplies, ANYTHING — even if it needs repair.  All proceeds from the sale of these recycled items will go toward supporting the Centro de Crecimiento.  Their cash donations have dried up during this difficult economic year, as most of their funding comes from repeat donors both here and in the States, and every day they are getting emails from donors saying that they just can’t afford to give any more.

Anyone wishing to donate items to the Bazar can also arrange for a free pickup of the donated goods.  Just call the local number 152-0318  between 9 am and 3pm and ask for Christina, or leave a message with Blanca, the secretary.

Visitors might want to bring a suitcase of old clothes down to make a donation, thus freeing up their luggage for items they plan to purchase while in Mexico!

Like all charities, Centro de Crecimiento depends entirely on individual donations, fundraisers and volunteers. They do not receive any government funding. Especially in these difficult times, support from local residents and visitors to San Miguel means more than ever.

You can learn more about Centro de Crecimiento’ s critical mission of enabling families to improve the quality of their lives and ensuring that those with disabilities in San Miguel have an opportunity to succeed in life at  www.cdecsma.org.

May 31, 2009: Visitors to San Miguel over the next five weeks will witness a lot of colorful campaign activity. Mexican elections take place on Sunday, July 5, and the campaign season is in full swing with many rallies, parades and banners visible throughout the town. In San Miguel, locals will be electing a new mayor for a three-year term.

The four candidates for mayor are:

-Cristóbal Franyuti, who is a lawyer with degrees from universities in both Mexico and Spain, is member of the PAN party. He held key tourism, economic development and city secretary positions in the two most recent city administrations, which were also led by PAN.

He says that his administration would be “a government of continuity, not of ‘continuismo’ ” (the practice of keeping the same political party in power during long periods of time, leading to decline). “Continuity will come from the vision of the [PAN] team formed several years ago,” he says.

-Lucy Núñez was born in Mexico City and earned a degree in television production in California. She previously worked on two Mexican TV stations, and in San Miguel, she has worked for Radio San Miguel and local Channel 4. She is married to Javier Zavala, owner of Radio San Miguel.

Núñez has said that she does not belong to any political party. “I am a citizen candidate,” she says. “The opposition parties [PRI, PRD and Verde] are supporting me, but I do not belong to any of them. She said her cabinet would be made up of citizens, not members of particular political parties.

-Miguel de Jesús Rangel was born in San Miguel de Allende. He is 24 years old and has studied music. He has been a member of PT for five years and he, like his party, has a leftist ideology.

Rangel proposes establishing a local government that serves the people, rather than using people to serve the government. He hopes to unite all segments of society, including the expat community, for the benefit of San Miguel.

- Dr. Mendoza was born in Guadalajara and studied medicine in León. In 1969, he came to work as a substitute doctor at the IMSS [Social Security] hospital in San Miguel de Allende for one month, and he then decided to make his home here.

After 16 years at IMSS including a stint as director for one year, Dr. Mendoza then left IMSS and went into private practice. He was invited by the Nueva Alianza party to run for mayor and accepted because he does not agree with the other candidates’ positions. He says he would focus his government on improving education.