San Miguel De Allende

The History of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

San Miguel de Allende is located in the mountainous region of central Mexico, is part of the Bajio and the state of Guanajuato. This "low" regionactually is at 3000 meters, but is known to be a relatively flat area surrounded by mountains.
 
San Miguel el Grande (as it was originally called) was founded by a Franciscan monk in 1542. It was animportant stop on the silver route from Zacatecas.
When the Mexican War of Independence began in the nearby town of Dolores

(Now known as Dolores Hidalgo), on September 16, 1810 with the event nowcelebrated as "The Scream", the rapidly growing military army arrived in San Miguel el Grande. Dolores Hidalgo is known as "The Cradle of Independence" while San Miguel called him "Forge of NationalIndependence" because here was where General Ignacio Allende joined the main army lieutenant Father Miguel Hidalgo and led the army to several victories. Allende could not enjoy an independent Mexicofrom Spanish oppression because he was captured during a battle and was executed. However, he is now a national hero and the town was renamed "San Miguel de Allende"

in 1826 in honor of his heroicactions.
While mineral abundance decreased, San Miguel became popular for being a quiet and beautiful to live and an attraction to the wealthy for its natural hot springs. World famous actor Cantinflas,frequented San

Miguel in the fifties and sixties, bringing with him an entourage of movie stars and singers.
For the year 1900, the town was about to die. Having been declared a national monumentin 1926 (no neon signs, no modern buildings), the old historic center still retains the elegance of its rich colonial past.
It was after World War II that San Miguel began to revive as a touristattraction, while many GI's discovered that their education grants stretched further in Mexico in art school accredited U.S. The Instituto Allende, founded in 1950.
San Miguel de Allende is world...