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NEWS & REPORTS
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March 23, 2005
“50 Years of Foreigners
in San Miguel”
Video and Roundtable event
by Holly Yasui
Over 100 people attended the second “50 Years of
Foreigners in San Miguel” event sponsored by the Center for Global
Justice at the El Recreo Cultural Center on March 12. The video, which
contained interviews with a number of “old timers” who are
now gone, was particularly moving for those who knew them and remembered
the anecdotes they recounted – including the three panelists,
Dotty Vidargas, Barbara Dobarganes and Jim Hawkins, all of whom lived
in San Miguel during the decades of 1950s and 60s.
Dotty recalled that back then, foreigners came to San
Miguel with a sense of adventure, expecting “inconveniences”
and differences, to learn about a foreign culture and live in a foreign
country. Now it seems that many come expecting a “Little America,”
and there are so many activities with other foreigners that they don’t
mix with Mexicans and don’t learn Spanish. Barbara, who is Mexican,
noted that in the 1950s, San Miguel was a very small town and “everyone
knew each other,” but now there are not only many foreigners from
other countries but also many “foreign” Mexicans from other
parts of the country – Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey. Jim
observed that “people think there are so many foreigners here
in San Miguel, but there really aren’t, there’s only about
5 percent, the same as in the 50s and 60s. It’s mostly Mexicans
from Mexico City who think of San Miguel as a ‘gringo town.’”
In response to questions from the audience, the discussion
returned to the differences between the type of foreigners who first
came to San Miguel and those who are arriving in large numbers now.
Jim wryly quipped: “It’s like all art colonies, first come
the people who want to make art, then the people who want to sell art,
then the people who want to invest in art.” In separate interview,
he put it more succinctly: first came the artists, then the galleries,
and now the millionaires. Apropos of this economic shift, a comment
from the audience about the proposed golf course drew this observation:
“the golf course isn’t about golf, it’s about selling
expensive real estate around the golf course.”
This lead to a discussion of the need for a development-free
greenbelt around San Miguel, problems of traffic, support for the arts,
and limitations imposed upon foreigners regarding involvement in politics.
Jim stated that it is illegal (according to Article 33 of the Mexican
Constitution) for foreigners to criticize the government. Barbara said
that she didn’t know whether or not it is illegal, but that Mexicans
don’t like it. César Arias, the moderator and an attorney,
assured the audience that foreigners can and should support alternatives
to local policies with which they disagree, and participate in civic
activities as long as they don’t get involved in elections.
Another question from the audience, regarding the impact
of McCarthyism in Mexico, prompted Dotty to recall that during the late
40s, nearly all the houses of San Miguel had signs on their doors, “Catholic-
yes, Communists - no.” Many Mexicans considered all the foreigners
who came to Mexico to be Communists, and rejected them. “But after
a year or two, they began to realize how much the foreigners contributed
to the economy – they felt it in their pocketbooks – and
foreigners became accepted again.” In a separate interview, Barbara
noted that many Mexicans disagree strongly with the current policies
of the U.S. government, and that this affects their attitude toward
foreigners. On the other hand, the English-language schools are full
because Mexicans realize that they must speak English in order to get
a good job or run a business in San Miguel. Thus the mix of politics
and economics continues to affect the relationship between foreigners
and Mexicans in San Miguel.
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