“For over three decades,” Riojas-Nolasco explained, “I worked as a pianist, vocal coach, and assistant conductor in some of the most important opera houses around the world, mostly in Europe. In those elite venues, I played 30 to 35 operas a year, often with daily performances.”

Riojas-Nolasco’s international experience in the preparation and perfection of artists in the operatic field is certainly extensive. He has performed in nearly 30 countries, including at such venues as the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia and the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall in the United States, and collaborated with many of the greatest singers and conductors in the world, such as Plácido Domingo, Javier Camarena, Rolando Villazón, Roberto Alagna, José Carreras, Neil Schikof, Francisco Araiza, Ramón Vargas, Edita Gruberova, Elina Garança, Cecilia Bartoli, Mirella Freni, and Renata Scotto.

In 2014, Ramón Vargas, the famed Mexican tenor, was named director of the Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Vargas invited Riojas-Nolasco to come home to Mexico to develop the Fine Arts Opera Studio there.

“Of course I said yes,” explained Riojas-Nolasco. “For five years, I was the director and primary coach. It was a very successful program: my students won 14 international prizes.”

In 2022, Riojas-Nolasco felt inspired to move to San Miguel de Allende to launch his own studio. “Some of my students came with me,” he noted. “Olymar Salinas, for example, an incredible young tenor, has been studying with me for almost seven years now, since he was 18 years old, and he’s doing very well.”

Salinas himself explained: “Many young singers are looking for a place like Operísima México to train in voice, movement, languages, and more, to build our repertoires and gain experience. In my case, performing in Europe and the United States has been invaluable.”

The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the careers of many young singers. “In the moment when they should have started to do something important, their careers were blocked by the pandemic,” said Riojas-Nolasco. “I want to help these talented young people succeed now, to make up for lost time.”

When Riojas-Nolasco arrived in San Miguel de Allende, “The first institution to throw open their doors to us was Casa Europa. We performed five complete operas there, and I used a rotating cast to give all my students a chance to perform. They rotated between soloist and choir positions. It is important to me that young singers gain experience performing complete operas in order to be hired at leading opera houses. The directors need to see proof of the stamina and vocal maturity to finish a three-hour opera.”

Two of the maestro’s students, Salinas and Karla Pineda, went to the finals for the Vienna Opera last year, a huge honor for any young singer in the world. Salinas also made it to the semifinals for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, an impressive accomplishment.

“For me, as a Costa Rican singer, joining Operísima México has been an incredible experience,” Pineda explained. “I have learned so much from our amazing maestro and gained access to important competitions and auditions in Europe as well as here in the Americas. I am so thankful.”

The next phase for Operísima México is one of institutional development. The organization is in the process of obtaining official nonprofit status, at which point donations will become tax-deductible. Riojas-Nolasco credits Jack Kelly, executive director, for his exhaustive fundraising efforts. For example, Kelly organized a private event at beautiful Casa Proserpina in San Miguel de Allende to raise funds for Salinas and Pineda’s travel to Vienna and New York.

Riojas-Nolasco acknowledges that fundraising goals will remain significant for the foreseeable future. “As our studio grows, I hope to hire a variety of specialists. Right now, I am the director, pianist, acting coach, and language teacher. I speak German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English.”

“Eventually,” he continued, “we intend to have our own physical space, our own performing arts center. We have been welcomed at venues throughout San Miguel de Allende, such as Casa Europa, Villa Puccini MusikHaus, and now Foro Obraje, but it will be wonderful to have our own permanent venue, as well as dedicated housing and living stipends for the students — the kind of benefits my students in Mexico City received. We want them to be able to focus entirely on their music and not have to work other jobs to survive. Currently, kind donors are paying the rent for a house for five of the girls. We are so grateful for every bit of support we receive along the way.”

Operísima México is proud to offer residents of San Miguel the opportunity to enjoy opera throughout the year. Not only will the group perform a number of complete operas every year, but they also plan to offer an evening of opera highlights every other Thursday, beginning in July. Riojas-Nolasco hopes “Thursday night at the Opera” will become a regular part of many Sanmigelenses’ routines.

Further, he noted, “We are delighted by the growing opera community in San Miguel de Allende and proud to be part of it. For example, some of our students have participated, quite successfully, in competitions sponsored by Opera de San Miguel and the San Miguel MetOpera Trust.”

Operísima México will next present “Opera Scenes, Program 2” featuring works by Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, Strauss, Gounod, Mozart, and Donizetti at Arthur Murray San Miguel on May 31 and June 1 at 7:00. Tickets are available online for MXN$500 and at the El Petit Four café. 

Currently, the best way to connect with Maestro Rogelio Riojas-Nolasco to support this exciting new opera studio in San Miguel de Allende is through the group’s Facebook page.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her novel “The Broken Hummingbird” will be out in October. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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In the state of Guanajuato, faced with deforested land and an escalating water crisis, several innovators in regenerative agriculture are utilizing the amazing properties of the agave plant, to capture moisture from the nighttime air. These plants survive on a single liter of water per year and generate impressive results. They have also been used to improve environmental conditions enough to see pumas return to the wilds.

Such was the experience of the Trapp family of Hacienda Cañada de la Virgen, whose innovative reforestation system, centered around the agave plant, has enabled the return of the puma to their five-thousand-hectare organic, grass-fed cattle ranch and nature preserve near San Miguel de Allende. One great cat was recently photographed by a livestock camera after not having been seen in the area for decades.

Deforestation in Mexico began with the Spaniards’ arrival five hundred years ago and has never stopped. Huge swaths of deforested land have been further degraded by overgrazing, harmful industrial farming practices such as the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, and climate change. Mexico’s arid and semi-arid regions are fragile ecosystems, and the result in many areas has been desertification. While certain parts of the country have always been natural deserts, other regions have only become so over time. Sixty percent of Mexico’s land is now considered desert or semi-desert, as well as 35 percent of all land in the United States.

Sophia Trapp, an expert in sustainable development and ecosystem restoration, credits Jose Flores of Hacienda Zamarripa in San Luis de la Paz as the “godfather” of the agave fermentation method used in her regenerative agriculture system. Flores densely planted fast-growing species of agaves among nitrogen-fixing tree species such as mezquite. His revolutionary innovation was a machine that could shred the fibrous agave leaves into bite-sized pieces, allowing for the creation of a water and nutrient rich animal feed. Each local agave plant produces up to one ton of biomass over its 10-year lifespan. The leaves, pruned annually, are chopped in the machine and fermented in closed containers, resulting in high-quality, inexpensive animal fodder for sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens.

Ronnie Cummins, with the support of Regeneration International, built on the Zamarripa model at the organic farm outside of San Miguel de Allende. The goal of Regeneration International’s Billion Agave Project campaign is to plant one billion of the plants globally. This is designed to draw down and store one billion tons of climate-destabilizing CO2.

Also inspired by the Zamarripa model, Trapp added important innovations at Cañada de la Virgen, developing the first system to produce agave silage suitable for cattle and scalable for large herds. Her system is commercially viable and available to the public. A “How To Make Agave Silage” video is accessible at canadadelavirgen.mx.

Cañada de la Virgen is one of Guanajuato’s most significant nature reserves, with an archaeological site that dates back to pre-Hispanic times when the Otomi people built pyramids there for rituals and star-gazing. Today it is the second most visited tourist site in the region, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year, but when the Trapp family purchased the property 25 years ago, both the ruins and the land were sorely overgrazed and neglected. They reduced the number of cattle by half to stop overgrazing and certified the ranch as organic. In 2011, Alex and Sophia’s mother also registered the property as a federal nature reserve with the Mexican government, and the National Institute of Anthropology and History opened the archaeological site to the public.

The ranch is now run by Sophia Trapp, her husband Paul Escott, brother Alexander Trapp, and his partner, Laura Rodríguez. The Trapps have established 70 acres of reforestation test plots, where they plant agave on contoured berms to harvest rainwater. The berms act as natural sponges, reducing evaporation and redirecting precious rainwater into the bedrock, where it runs downhill underground rather than evaporating, thereby naturally irrigating the land downhill.

Trapp has also developed microbial preparations to jumpstart soil health. Her team is restoring the micro life forms in the earth by applying compost teas, fungal teas, and biochar. Since they began restoring the soil, digging berms, and planting agaves five years ago, the arid farmland has come back to life exponentially. A diverse variety of plants have naturally begun to take root around the agave, including mezquite, nopal, ocotillo, and grasses. Oak saplings are also growing quickly in areas where they did not thrive before. While oak trees flourished in the region when the Spaniards arrived overharvesting soon drove them to the brink of extinction in the area.

Agaves are the ideal crop to spur this ecosystem rehabilitation as they have a 98 percent survival rate without any human intervention. Trapp dubbed this innovative reforestation system “Agavesse.”  “We must shift from extractive economic paradigms to regenerative, circular economies,” said Trapp, “and agave is the key to ecosystem regeneration in an arid or semi-arid climate.”

Some neighboring ranches are already implementing similar systems on their overgrazed land, creating new streams of valuable revenue for farmers and their communities. Since introducing agave silage into their cattle’s diet in 2020, the Trapps have seen improvements in meat quality, birth rates, and overall health.

In addition to being highly economical to produce, agave silage is extremely attractive because the agave plants require no irrigation, unlike other nutrient-rich animal feed such as alfalfa. An astounding 60 percent of Guanajuato’s current water usage is going to alfalfa production. Not only is the state currently experiencing a severe drought, but as the nation’s water crisis grows, conservationists argue that even in non-drought years, we will need to reserve our supplies of fresh water for human use: drinking, bathing, and growing human food. We have to utilize much less water-intensive crops to feed animals, as well as urgently develop other water conservation strategies.

An additional benefit to growing agave, of course, is the opportunity to make agave spirits, an opportunity that Hacienda Cañada de la Virgen has embraced. Their Casa Agave produces two spirits: the Mata de Monte, with its distinctive red label featuring the puma who have returned to the land, and the premium Atzin, winner of “Best of Class, International Agave” at the prestigious ADI 2024 International Spirits Competition Awards. Both are featured at Casa Agave’s own Bar Atzintli in San Miguel de Allende.

Cañada de la Virgen caters for special private and gourmet events with views of the pyramid and gorgeous nature. To book a visit or learn more about these innovative ecosystem regeneration methods, visit www.canadadelavirgen.mx and www.casagave.mx. 

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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For the last eight years, Mitigare Cuidados Paliativos A.C. has provided palliative care to patients facing terminal diagnoses in the comfort of their own homes and offered support to their families. As Les Matthews, president of Mitigare’s board, explained, “Mitigare will still provide services in people’s homes, but now, when a patient’s caretaker needs a break, or when someone lives too far out in the campo (countryside) to receive regular care, they can come to our facility for dignified, specialized end-of-life care.”

“We will continue to demonstrate that hospice is more humane and cost-effective than dying in a hospital. Most doctors at hospitals, whose goal is to cure, do not have the right mindset to treat someone who has accepted the fact that they are dying.” In Matthews’s view, they tend to keep ordering invasive tests and expensive, ineffective procedures. The facility will enhance Mitigare’s capacity to train doctors, nurses, and social workers in end-of-life care, a medical specialty that is practically nonexistent in Mexico.

Matthews has extensive experience with hospice care in the U.S. He was a partner in a company that operated five hospices and is also a founding board member of the Foundation for Hospice Care, an organization based in Kansas City. The foundation has provided US $100,000 to the Mitigare patient care fund as well as US $225,000 toward construction expenses, a grant which was conditioned upon the city of San Miguel de Allende donating the land for the facility.

The municipal government donated 1,480 square meters — nearly 16,000 square feet — of land. “We’re proud that this is a public-private partnership,” said Mitigare co-founder and board member Lee Carter. “The city’s generous donation of land is a wonderful endorsement of the project. We received the use of the land for 100 years, with taxes and permit fees included… this is the first property the city has donated for any purpose in 10 or 15 years.”

The location at Prolongación Cuesta de San José 92 near the turn-off for the Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden is ideal, as it is both near Centro (on a road easily accessible by ambulance) and is located within a five-minute drive of both the General Hospital and MAC Hospital.

Mitigare Cuidados Paliativos A.C. was founded in 2016, growing out of an earlier version of the organization, Hospice San Miguel, which was founded in 2009. The founders include Dr. Luis Vazquez, Martha Hamill Meléndez, Vicki Stein, Dra. María de Lourdes Tejeida Bautista, a Mexican palliative care physician and Lee Carter, an American with a passionate belief in the value of hospice care. Carter’s brother, who had pancreatic cancer, died with dignity in hospice, as did both of his parents. After moving to Mexico, Carter witnessed a friend die a difficult death without pain relief and became determined to provide hospice care in Mexico.

Of Dr. Tejeida, the organization’s medical director, Carter said, “She is amazing,” adding that she is board-certified in oncology and palliative care — one of the few physicians in all of Mexico to have both of those certifications, plus a master’s degree in public health.

Mitigare’s medical team consists of four doctors, a nurse and two thanatologists, social workers with extra training in the area of grief and death. Thanatos is the Greek word for death, and therefore thanatology is the study of death. 

The team of thanatologists, led by Mtra. Martha Hamill Meléndez, help family members come together to create a familial environment in which the patient can have a peaceful, dignified death. They are also trained to help family members cope with anticipatory grief. After the patient dies, the team of thanatologists continues to provide counseling to family members for an additional six months or more. “This organization provides care equivalent in quality to that of any hospice in the U.S.,” affirms Matthews.

Carter reported that 90% of patients currently using Mitigare’s hospice services are Mexicans. “We charge according to a family’s ability to pay. Approximately 80% of our families receive financial assistance from our patient care fund, for which we are constantly fundraising. Currently, the average monthly payment is 2,000 pesos, although the average cost of services is 20,000 pesos. That’s a 90% discount. We’re happy to raise the money because we believe it is so important that anyone who needs hospice care can access it.”

A primary reason that hospice care is not widespread in Mexico is that, unlike in the United States, Canada and Europe, there are currently no government reimbursements for it. In the U.S., hospice became a Medicare benefit in the mid-1980s when the government saw that it was cost-effective. There are now 5,500 hospice programs in the U.S. — one for every 65,000 people — while for Mexico’s 130 million people, there is only one. The Mitigare team is confident that as more families begin to use hospice care and they experience how helpful it is to both the patient and family, it will become more commonplace in Mexico.

“It will also be of interest to the many expats living in San Miguel de Allende,” said Matthews, “that we have obtained Medicare approval. Qualified Medicare recipients can use their benefits to receive in-patient hospice care at our new facility.”

In addition to providing high-quality hospice care, Mitigare’s mission includes training doctors, nurses and other caregivers so that hospice becomes part of the fabric of Mexico’s end-of-life care. In 2019, the organization held a major conference, training 490 medical professionals from Mexico, the U.S., the Canary Islands and Costa Rica. “The typical medical school programs in Mexico and the U.S. really don’t train medical personnel in end-of-life care,” said Matthews. “So we will. We’ll be the epicenter for that critical training in Mexico.”

Board member Laura Rodríguez recommends that readers in the San Miguel de Allende area attend one of Mitigare’s upcoming seminars on preparing legally and emotionally to reach a dignified, “good” death. Rodríguez also invites readers to view a powerful film on the topic, titled Mai Morire (Nunca Morir), which will be shown on Thursday, April 4, at 5 p.m. at the Santa Ana Theatre in San Miguel’s Biblioteca Publica. 

After the screening, the film’s producer, Paola Herrera, and representatives of Mitigare will discuss hospice care. More information about these events as well as ways to make a tax-deductible contribution in support of the organization’s mission are available at mitigare.org.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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After the conference, Ringwald took time to reflect on her week in San Miguel de Allende, the memoir she is currently writing about her decade in Paris, the ways that creativity can be sparked by expatriate life, and much more with author Ann Marie Jackson. 

What enticed you to come to the San Miguel Writers’ Conference, and how did you enjoy your time here?

My husband and I came to San Miguel with our daughter 15 years ago for Christmas, but I found out the day we were leaving that I was pregnant (with twins!) and spent the holiday a little queasy. I’ve always wanted to come back and was thrilled to be asked to participate in the literary festival. San Miguel de Allende is absolutely magical — even better than I remembered it!

Many of Mexico News Daily’s readers are American, Canadian, and European expats living in Mexico. In your [keynote speech at the San Miguel Writers’ Conference], you mentioned that your decade in France “turned on a light for you that your time in Hollywood had dimmed.” It gave you a creative spark to chase; it was a source of inspiration and joy. Many of us feel that way about Mexico. Do you believe there’s something universal about the expat experience that sparks creativity? 

I have always found being around other cultures sparks my creativity. We tend to become myopic, only seeing things through the lens of our own lives and points of view, and getting outside of that can help us to see things differently.  

I started your novel, When it Happens to You: A Novel in Stories, on Monday, and I’ve nearly finished it already. I find it beautifully written, incredibly honest, and so moving. How did you come to choose that format: “a novel in stories”?

Thank you for reading and for the kind comment! I have always been drawn to the short story; Raymond Carver, Laurie Moore, and John Cheever are some of my favorites. I originally had the idea to do a collection of stories around the idea of betrayal, which is a theme that feels universal in that we have all betrayed and been betrayed—whether it’s by another person or ourselves. The idea was to explore it from as many different angles as I could, but as I started writing, I realized that I liked connecting the characters which I felt solidified this concept of betrayal being truly universal. There’s no escaping it — and the only way out of its grip is through acceptance and forgiveness, which I also tried to explore in the stories. The novel in stories really just means that all of the stories together tell one unifying story, although personally, I feel like the stories can be read alone and still be understood.

When Danielle [Trussoni, best-selling author,] called you brave the other night, you mentioned that actually “a little fear can be good in that it shows that something is enough of a challenge to be worth doing,” and that nervous flutter in your stomach is “the creativity trying to get out.” I love that. Is that how you feel about the new memoir you’re working on now about your Paris years? 

It’s how I feel about everything I do. I think that if I don’t feel a little bit nervous, it generally means that I’m not challenging myself in some way.  

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers? 

Read. Read first for pleasure and then re-read to understand how it’s done. And then write and suffer through being a bad writer, because everyone is bad before they are good.

Who is your favorite Mexican author?

I haven’t read as many as I would like. I’m taking recommendations! There is a Mexican American poet named Rachel McKibbens whom I recently discovered and love. I haven’t written poetry since I was a kid and remain forever in awe of people that do. To me, it feels absolutely like the purest and most beautiful form of writing.

You have previously written, most famously in The New Yorker, about reassessing your iconic ‘80s films in light of the #MeToo movement. Would you like to say a little about that? How have your views changed or evolved over the years?

I feel like the pieces speak for themselves, and I spent a long time thinking about them and writing them to get them right, so I don’t think I have anything to add — other than that, I appreciate what is good about the films even if I am critical of certain elements.

So what has it been like working with such an all-star cast on Feud: Truman Capote vs. The Swans? 

It was thrilling to work with so many great actresses whom I have admired over the years and Tom Hollander was a dream to work with.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers—about your books, the craft of writing, or your impressions of Mexico? 

I really love Mexico. My recent visit has inspired me to start learning to speak Spanish so hopefully the next time I visit, I will be fluent!

The San Miguel Literary Sala A.C., organizers of the annual San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival, will announce in late summer the famous writers who will headline next year’s event. To learn more, visit sanmiguelwritersconference.org. 

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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Founded in 2006, the bilingual, tricultural conference has hosted an impressive collection of literary stars, including Sandra Cisneros, Gloria Steinem, Naomi Klein, Barbara Kingsolver, Valeria Luiselli and Paul Theroux, among many other notable writers. This year’s lineup of keynote speakers continues in the event’s tradition of excellence, promising an unforgettable and inspiring experience for attendees.

“What this year’s keynoters tell us — and what we always hear — is that our conference has a unique reputation for being particularly fun, intimate, lively and content-driven,” explained Bueche, who is in her second year of running the famed conference. “For speakers and conference attendees alike, it’s all about building community while they’re here, a high-level literary community that they can be quite proud to be a part of.”

“Of course,” she added, “San Miguel de Allende itself is a major draw as well.” Bueche credits the conference’s perennial popularity to the charming setting, world-class faculty, consistently high-quality headliners, highly relevant and contemporary programming and great networking opportunities. 

“I also want everyone to know that this year will be even better than last year,” Bueche continued, “even more inclusive with additional opportunities for dialogue and interaction. We continue to experiment and refine the experience.” Those opportunities include post-presentation Q&A sessions, workshops, master classes, individual consultations, local author readings, a late-night poetry slam, open mic sessions and a storytelling night, as well as informal social gatherings throughout the week.

This year’s keynote speakers include Molly Ringwald, actor, singer and author of “When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories” and “Getting the Pretty Back.” Ringwald is also the translator of Philippe Besson’s novel “Lie With Me” and the memoir “My Cousin Maria Schneider” by Vanessa Schneider, both originally written in French. This icon of 1980s teen films will share her unique perspective and storytelling prowess.

Guillermo Arriaga is the author of “Guillotine Squad” and “The Night Buffalo.” He wrote the scripts for “Amores perros,” “21 grams,” and “Babel,” which earned Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for best original screenplay. In his keynote address, “Narrating Experience,” this celebrated screenwriter and author will discuss how experiences, reading and imagination give rise to fictitious elements that allow the reader to find structures through which to confront their own life experience.

A #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels including “The Exiles,” “Orphan Train” and “A Piece of the World,” Christina Baker Kline has been published in 40 countries. She has captivated readers worldwide with her poignant and emotionally resonant novels. Her keynote address, “Rewriting the Past,” will focus on using fiction to illuminate hidden historical narratives. 

Chris Pavone is the author of five thrillers, including “The Expats,” which won the Edgar and Anthony awards, and most recently “Two Nights in Lisbon,” an instant New York Times bestseller. With his pulse-pounding, intricate plots, Pavone has established himself as a master of suspenseful storytelling. His keynote address will explore using the expat experience as inspiration for writing.

The Thursday of the conference, Bueche noted, will offer a special emphasis on the Canadian contingent, with Canadian authors Silvia Moreno-Garcia and C.S. Richardson  serving as keynote speakers. “Both are truly spectacular, illustrating the creativity and diversity of literature currently coming out of Canada,” said Bueche. Representatives of the Giller Foundation, which administers the Giller Prize, will join the conference’s impressive number of Canadian participants. The Canadian Ambassador to Mexico also hopes to attend.

Moreno-Garcia is the author of “Silver Nitrate” and “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau,” among many other books. The Mexican-Canadian writer has won the Locus, British Fantasy and World Fantasy awards. Known for her genre-defying narratives, Moreno-Garcia’s keynote address is appropriately titled “The End of Genre.”

Moreno-Garcia’s book “Mexican Gothic” was selected as this year’s conference “Big Read,” with book clubs and individuals around the world invited to participate. Bueche noted that readers who both joined the Big Read and purchased a ticket to the author’s keynote will receive special fan seating.

C.S. Richardson’s novel “All the Colour in the World” was shortlisted for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize. “The End of the Alphabet” won the 2008 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book, Canada & the Caribbean and his second novel, “The Emperor of Paris,” was long-listed for the 2012 Giller Prize.

The Spanish-language track of the conference is directed by Armida Zepeda, who also coordinates with the San Miguel de Allende Literary Festival and Book Fair (FELISMA). This year, FELISMA will take place the week before the San Miguel Writers Conference & Literary Festival, treating San Miguel residents to two consecutive weeks of extraordinary literary events.

“We are proud to increase the number of scholarships we can offer to local high school and university students to attend the Spanish-language track of the conference this year,” said Bueche, “thanks to the notable generosity of local businesses and other patrons.”

Tim Weed, award-winning author of “Will Poole’s Island” and “A Field Guide to Murder & Fly Fishing,” will be this year’s master of ceremonies. Conference packages and individual tickets are still available at the conference’s website, and the Hotel Real de Minas offers rooms at special rates. Bueche expressed her deep appreciation for the warm welcome given to the conference by the hotel and the San Miguel government.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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YO TE VEO: Finding a way to bear witness and contribute

“YO TE VEO,” Bartula explained, “is a call to witness those who otherwise may be unseen or forgotten. I created this collaborative textile art project when I felt despair and hopelessness creep in over the tragic situation unfolding now in Gaza.

Bartula invites volunteers to join her at her studio and other locations in San Miguel de Allende and also encourages volunteers around the world to form their own stitching groups and mail the squares they create to her for inclusion in the project. Interested readers may contact her at lenabartula@gmail.com to request either “starter kits” of fabric squares precut to the correct dimensions or to learn the specifications to cut their own fabrics. Stitching groups have already formed in Mexico City, Mazatlán, Michoacán, and as far afield as Seattle and Ontario.

All YO TE VEO squares must be received by March 15, 2024, to be sewn into the oversize huipil, which will be displayed at the Museo de Arte Popular in the center of Mexico City from May 29 to Aug. 4 as part of a retrospective solo show entitled Hilo Corriendo or A Running Thread.

The role of the huipil

A traditional huipil is embroidered with geometric figures that reveal aspects of the wearer’s life, but only to the initiated — the Spanish conquerors could not read it. They didn’t know the story underneath the story.

Bartula explained why she chose the huipil as the underlying form for her artwork. “A huipil is known to be a messenger, a garment that carries information from the weaver to the wearer and to the world at large. With this project, YO TE VEO, our message to those persons suffering from genocide, political upheaval, displacement due to violence, climate change, et cetera, is that we see them. We witness what is happening. When feeling helpless to change their situations, we often despair and grow weary. Through this project, we commit in solidarity and humanity, to stand as witnesses, by embroidering an open eye that conveys the message I SEE YOU. YO TE VEO. Further, we ask for donations to be sent to an NGO to assist with addressing the medical emergencies that we are seeing now in Palestine.”

Maité Jiménez, a textile designer who hosts sewing circles at Radio Nopal in San Miguel de Allende, was also motivated by this collaborative art project’s emphasis on acknowledging displacement and migration and giving disheartened observers a way to contribute.

Bartula strongly prefers that people work in groups, with friends or family members, because she believes that there is a healing quality in people sitting in community and together creating something beautiful for a cause.

Participants in the YO TE VEO project are encouraged to make a donation to an NGO that is providing emergency medical services and food in Gaza. For more information about the organization or to make a donation, visit https://matwcheckout.org/.

From painter to textile artist, from Santa Fe to San Miguel de Allende

In 1993, Barula first traveled to Mexico and Central America with a group of American radical feminist nuns who were working in war-torn Central American countries. The nuns created an organization called GATE: Global Awareness Through Experience. “They left their Dominican convent and said, ‘We’re going to do the work.’ They were such revolutionaries, and I was awed by them and their work. I also fell in love with Mexico during that time,” she said.

Two years later, while still living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Bartula was invited to the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Book Fair) to present art commemorating the Royal Road that led from Mexico City to Santa Fe during colonial times. “I was a radical back then, so I painted a huge image of Indigenous people revolting against the priests and setting the churches on fire.”

Inspired by these experiences, Bartula moved to Mexico from Santa Fe in 2004, living for several years in Mineral de Pozos, Guanajuato, before settling in San Miguel de Allende.

Her transition from painting to textile art has a practical backstory. After suffering the expense of shipping her paintings to France for an exhibition, when she received her next international invitation, to exhibit her work in Milan, Bartula consciously chose to work with fabric, so that her work could be folded into a suitcase. For years, she had been collecting traditional huipiles for their beauty and originality but hadn’t thought of making her own textile art until then.

Her first garment was inspired by Santa Lucía, who, according to legend, dug out her own eyes to keep herself from being married off to a man she didn’t love. For Bartula, this led to fifteen years of work to tell the stories of the many powerful women who need to be talked about, those who had to stand up for their rights but whom history has often forgotten, such as Mexico’s own Sor Juana and Hypatia, the noted philosopher of Alexandria who was killed by “mad monks” before they burned the Library of Alexandria. Bartula’s works about women are chronicled in a 2018 book entitled “Whispers in the Thread/Susurros en el Hilo: Celebrating 15 years of contemporary art huipils by Lena Bartula.”

Since 2018, pandemic isolation and migration have been dominant themes in Bartula’s work.

She also notes that 99% of the materials she uses are recycled or found objects. “I am both a recycling artist who loves textiles and a textile artist who loves to recycle. There’s no separation for me between my art and the world, or the world and my heart. When I see something happening in the world, it comes into me and then it comes out again as art. That way it doesn’t have to stay inside me, in my psyche. I work with it, and then it moves out into a bigger world so that other people can either feel it — or not. That is their choice, but at least I’ve done the work and offered it to the world.”

To learn more about Lena Bartula’s art and to participate in the YO TE VEO project, visit www.lenabartula.com or contact her at lenabartula@gmail.com.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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The opportunity to secure a piece of this exclusive collection will take place on Jan. 17 from 5-8 p.m. at Casa Europa in San Miguel de Allende. This unique event offers a chance to invest in the works of up-and-coming Iranian, Mexican and American creators as well as to buy works from more established artists, all priced quite low in an effort to inspire as many donations as possible to the charity.

VIP tickets for first access to the art from 5-6 p.m. are available for 500 pesos. During the VIP hour, guests will enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres generously provided by a renowned local establishment, The Restaurant, and wine will flow freely all evening. Contact Mano Amiga at president.manoamiga@gmail.com to reserve your VIP tickets.

Entrance is free after 6 p.m., and any pieces still available after the event will remain on display at Casa Europa through the end of January. Interested readers who cannot be in San Miguel on January 17 are encouraged to inquire about participating in the event remotely.

Payvar shared the couple’s motivation:

“In a healthy community, everybody helps each other to the best of their ability. With Mano Amiga, we have found a way to help, with the hope that this will encourage others to contribute as well. Not only through financial support but [also] through education and mentorship, this organization truly empowers female microentrepreneurs, which can have an enormous positive impact on their families’ futures. My wife and I have been interested in finding the best way to help the local community. Through dear friends, we learned about Mano Amiga. We decided that this was the perfect opportunity to get involved and help to the extent of our ability. As the 13th-century Persian Poet, Sa’adi, beautifully put it:

“Human beings are members of a whole,
in creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain,
other members uneasy will remain.
If you have no sympathy for human pain,
the name of human you cannot retain.”

Some pieces in the couple’s collection were created by notable Iranian artists currently living in Iran whereas others were made by exiles living in Europe and the United States. For example, Yousefian and Payvar are donating three works by Reza Abedini, who is often referred to as “the father of Iranian contemporary graphic design.” 

Other award-winning artists in the collection include Najva Erfani, an artist and illustrator whose work is influenced by ancient Iranian literature, mythology, art and culture; and Hesam Rahmanian, who has held solo exhibitions in London and Dubai and was a finalist for the MOP CAP prize awarded to emerging Iranian visual artists. Also available are works by ICY and SOT, New York-based street artists whose stencils first became famous in the streets of Tabriz, in northern Iran.

“We are artists who love supporting other artists, so we have been collecting art for many years and have also received pieces as gifts from artist friends,” noted Yousefian. “Now it is time for us to give back to a deserving community. We see this event as an open invitation to everyone to support this impactful organization, Mano Amiga—and in appreciation for their support, people will take home a gift, a work of art.” 

Payvar and Yousefian have also begun to collect works from artists based in Mexico. The couple seem to have unerring eyes for emerging talent, as they recently purchased several pieces by young Mexican artists which were subsequently selected for museum shows in both Mexico and the United States. 

Among the Mexican artists to be featured at the event are Danilo Filtrof and René Torres, who are currently showing work at the Museo de Arte e Historia de Guanajuato in León; Armando de la Riva, whose painting entitled “Woman” is shown above; and Joaquín Piñeiro, an abstract artist whose beautiful art all Sanmiguelenses will know from his galleries at Fabrica la Aurora. Argentinian artist Lucas Rise and his wife, American artist Giuliana Vastarella, collaborated on a piece to be included in the show alongside works by Cory Swenson, an American portrait artist.

Shadi Yousefian is herself an award-winning artist whose mixed media work addresses universal themes such as loss, dislocation, alienation and reinvention. Her work engages personal and social issues of contemporary life, particularly cultural identity and the immigrant experience. 

Her work has been acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and one of her installations is currently on display at the San Diego Museum of Arts. Raised in Iran, she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Fine Arts in Photography from San Francisco State University.

Born in Tehran in 1976, Ardalan Payvar is an artist and musician. At seventeen, he migrated to the United States, where he studied Graphic Design and Fine Arts at Cal Poly University. Ardalan was a member of the Iranian rock band, Kiosk, from 2006 to 2016. In 2009, he and Yousefian co-founded a band named Eendo. Payvar currently works as a music producer for films.

To learn more about this couple and about the important work of Mano Amiga, visit www.manoamigasma.org, www.shadiyousefian.com and www.eendo.com. Yousefian, Payvar and the women of Mano Amiga hope to see you at the event on January 17 from 5-8 p.m. at Casa Europa in San Miguel de Allende. 

Ann Marie Jackson is a member of Mano Amiga’s board of directors. Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her novel “The Broken Hummingbird” will be out in October. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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Both of these mesmerizing works of art and many more are viewable now in their creators’ spectacular home. For the first time, artist and architectural designer Siegel and her husband, artist and musician Martinez, are opening to the public by appointment their unique house, which Zoë designed and built as her masterpiece. Guests can visit both artists’ studios and view many additional artworks displayed throughout the airy, spacious home in San Miguel de Allende.

The couple’s origin story

As a young woman, Zoë had a fantasy that someone would fall in love with her art before falling in love with her. In San Miguel, it came true.

Zoë had been living in New York City, where she was born. During graduate school, she and her brother renovated an apartment in Chelsea. Her brother learned to do electrical wiring, and Zoë taught herself plumbing. Her brother decided right then to become an architect. Zoë, however, said, “No, that was great, but I’m an artist.”

Then came Sept. 11, 2001. “My parents suggested I take a break from New York to live for six months in the house they had recently built in San Miguel,” Siegel said. “I said no, I don’t see myself living in Mexico. I don’t speak the language. I’m certainly not staying six months!” Nonetheless, she took her parents’ suggestion, and their light-filled art studio convinced her to linger.

Zoë arranged to show her art at Bellas Artes. While setting up, she had to leave the room, her work strewn on the floor. Oscar wandered in. Impressed by the art, he was eager to meet the artist and became enamored of her — and Zoë was delighted to meet the handsome artist she had previously seen around town. Two years later, they married. 

Architectural design: Zoë Siegel to complete her 19th custom house in San Miguel

“At a very young age, I began drawing and designing my own house,” Siegel said. “I always knew that I would one day build it. Also, my parents had had a good experience building their house here, and I had my success with the New York apartment under my belt.” 

Zoë bought an empty lot in San Miguel, then gave her design, prepared on graph paper and vellum, to a builder. The resulting home was beautiful, so she designed, built, and sold another house, and then another and another. House #19, Casa Cima, is nearly completed. It happens to be situated next door to Zoë and Oscar’s home, sharing the same gorgeous views. It is for sale and available for viewing upon request.

Zoë retained many design elements from her first house in all those that followed. She also adopted regional Mexican elements, including vaulted boveda ceilings, tejamanil beamed ceilings, and cantera stone. “My aesthetic is woven into the fabric of all my houses,” she explained. “I create voluminous, loft-like spaces with fabulous natural light. Repeated stone columns and arches, with elegant metalwork, is another signature. Yet every house has a distinct personality and style.” 

Oscar Martínez Heredia: Combining passions for art and music

Martínez, meanwhile, is known for his deeply expressive portraits.

“I am fascinated by the enormous variety of information in the human face,” he said. “ … Analyzing, studying, feeling, and meditating through the process of looking and translating into marks, strokes, stains on a page are my passions.” He often depicts open and vulnerable faces, particularly in his self-portraits, making them uniquely powerful. “Self-portraits give me the opportunity to paint exaggerated expressions and extreme angles.” The shapes and features of his contorted faces offer surprise and drama.

In 2015, Oscar collaborated with filmmaker Lorenzo Shapiro on an award-winning short animated film titled “Oscar” that incorporated 350 of his self-portraits. The film appeared at film festivals around the world, including the Festival de Cannes, NYC Independent Film Festival, New Renaissance Film Festival in Holland, and the Khorshid Film Festival in Iran.

The film also features Oscar’s original music. He plays multiple instruments, including piano, guitar, percussion, cello, and ukulele, in a wide variety of musical styles. Oscar is fascinated by the potential for combining his two passions by creating visual art while making music. Recent pieces were created by dipping drumsticks in paint and drumming while painting. 

“Oscar uses every medium imaginable for two-dimensional works, and he works three-dimensionally as well,” Zoë noted. “He has mastered a wide range of diverse styles, from expressionism to total abstraction to photorealism. Beyond that, he is blending art and music excitingly.”

As Oscar put it, “Why focus on only one thing in life?”

The art of Zoë Siegel: angst and humor

“When I came to San Miguel, I had the mindset that I was moving back to New York, so I made a conscious decision to work light,” Zoë explained. In New York, she had sculpted with plaster, wood, and chicken wire, but in San Miguel, she began to work with paper and wire in order to ship her work affordably. “Also, in the studio in my parents’ San Miguel home, I felt lighter. Their house is on a hill with an incredible view. I felt a bit like I was flying there, and my new airy way of working grew organically from that. The space where I work is very important.”

Currently, Zoë continues to work with paper and wire, constructing her whimsical, exciting “fascinators,” which are meant to be worn as well as hung on a wall as art. Recently, she also began creating pieces featuring photographs of her own body that are cut and manipulated in ways that both delight the viewer and plumb deep emotions. Zoë will give a talk about her work entitled Angst and Humor on Jan. -10 at San Miguel’s Biblioteca Publica.

“There is whimsy, humor, and lightness, and people even laugh out loud at some of my creations, which I love. But another aspect is dark, reflecting the fear in our world. When we listen to the news, if it’s not climate change, it’s Trump or war or Roe v. Wade overturned. All that anxiety and angst comes through, and in my art, I’ve always used my body.” 

To be among the first guests to view Oscar and Zoë’s collections in situ in their unique home, contact zoe@zoesiegel.com. Appointments may be scheduled on Fridays. Casa Cima is also available for viewing. To learn more, visit www.oscar.com.mx, www.oscarportraits.com, and www.zoesiegel.com.

Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader based in San Miguel de Allende who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning new novel, The Broken Hummingbird, is available on Amazon, Apple Books, and Google Play, as well as in bookstores in the U.S. and San Miguel. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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Eidson’s newest inspiring documentary, “Slow Fashion,” takes on cultural appropriation and sustainability in the fashion industry. It was filmed in Oaxaca, India, and Laos. 

The film opens with a notorious 2015 incident that sparked widespread outrage in Mexico, when French designer Isabel Marant came under fire for plagiarizing a traditional embroidered huipil design created by Mixe weavers from Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca. Then another French fashion company, Antik Batik, brazenly sued Marant for copyright infringement over that design and similar pieces. In December 2015, a French court provided a small measure of justice by ruling that neither Marant nor Antik Batik could copyright huipil designs as they are a cultural artifact of the Mixe people. After the court ruling, protests outside her New York store, and social media shaming, Marant apologized and stopped selling the blouse. She provided no compensation to the Mixe community, however. 

“Isabel Marant has yet to give a percentage of her profits to the weavers in compensation for the use of their designs. The women still get nothing,” Eidson noted. “She repeatedly takes traditional designs from various parts of Mexico, changes them slightly, and then sells them in her stores in Europe and the U.S. for US$400 or more. Meanwhile, the traditional, handmade designs from the Mixe women weavers in Tlahuitoltepec sell for only 400 pesos (US$22) in Oaxacan markets.”

“She doesn’t hire the Mexican women to sew these designs by hand,” Eidson continued. “To make matters worse, knockoffs machine-made in China then end up in Mexico, in the Indigenous women’s own markets, selling for much less. These women have to compete with cheap Chinese knockoffs of their own designs. Their designs travel all the way around the world in a way that brings them no benefit and harms them economically.”

Isabel Marant was back in the news in 2020 when Mexico’s Minister of Culture, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, accused her of “borrowing” yet another design from the Purépecha people of Michoacan. “This practice is not only unethical but immoral,” Eidson asserted. “These talented women often don’t have running water or electricity, and you’re going to steal from them? The designs are like gold; without them, the shirt loses almost all of its value. Designers such as Marant are making a fortune from these precious historical designs that don’t belong to them.”

The 2015 incident motivated Oaxaca’s congress to declare the Mixe community’s traditional designs and language as Intangible Cultural Heritage per UNESCO guidelines. This decision to recognize Mixe embroidery as a cultural heritage is an important symbolic step, but unfortunately, it is not legally binding. The weavers can only hope it will be enough to deter more theft of their designs. An internationally recognized industry standard with legal teeth is needed, argues Eidson.  

Several other high-end designers stand accused of similar practices. In October 2022 the American luxury brand Ralph Lauren apologized after Beatriz Gutiérrez, wife of President López Obrador, pointed out the company’s appropriation of Contla and Saltillo designs. Mexico has also lodged complaints against leading “fast fashion” brands like Zara, Anthropologie, Shein and Mango.

After illustrating the extent of the exploitation, Eidson provides examples of what can be accomplished by responsible, inclusive, and sustainable actors in the fashion industry. The documentary moves from Mexico to Laos, where we meet Nancy Takayama, a professor and sustainable fashion activist who works with communities of Laotian artisans and weavers. She explores socially conscious ways of collaborating, believing that designers should not just take the artisans’ heritage—their designs—but provide something concrete in return, such as royalties.

In Jaipur, India, we are introduced to Mireia Lopez, a progressive New York City eco-designer who demonstrates how to respect artisans by working in a just and fair manner. “She’s like a warrior,” said Eidson, “for social justice and environmental sustainability.”

Eidson makes a compelling case that it is possible and necessary to give credit and compensation to the Indigenous communities whose designs provide such clear “inspiration” to fashion designers. Given the vast economic disparity between local communities of origin and the global companies who are appropriating their designs, she argues, it becomes a matter of not only collective intellectual property rights but also human rights. 

Eidson is delighted by the positive reception that Slow Fashion has received. After it premiered at the International Human Rights Festival: This Human World in Vienna, Austria, last December, European schools widely distributed it. It was also screened at The Manhattan Film Festival last June and was subsequently acquired by Docsville and NYC’s Filmmakers’ Cooperative. In addition, it has won a number of awards: Impact Doc Awards’ Award of Merit for Contemporary Issues/Awareness Raising, Accolade Global Film Competition’s Award of Recognition for Liberation/Social Justice/Protest/Contemporary Issues/Awareness Raising, and the Green Academy’s Achievement award.

“To change the consciousness about cultural designs in fashion—that’s the impact I’d like the film to have,” said Eidson.

Eidson’s next project, entitled “The Great Metamorphosis,” is a series of short documentary films focused on leaders of environmental projects worldwide. “I am drawn to people who are tackling the global existential crisis of climate change,” Eidson explained. “The idea is to create a moving web that connects environmentally conscious leaders and their followers on social media, thereby regenerating the earth’s systems and transforming people’s behavior in order to avoid catastrophe.”

The best way to watch Slow Fashion is at www.docsville.com. Learn more about the movie and the issues it raises at www.slowfashionfilm.com. Eidson also invites you to share your thoughts with the filmmaker at https://www.slowfashionfilm.com/contact, and you can follow her on Instagram: eme3studio or Facebook: Eme Eidson.

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Filmed during 2019 to 2021, “Las Abogadas” follows four female immigration attorneys who worked at the U.S.-Mexico border as the Trump administration upended established policies for refugees and asylum seekers prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Director Victoria Bruce wanted to bring a humanitarian perspective to the border crisis, as rhetoric in Washington felt like it was reaching a fever pitch, and chose to center her film on four fearless female immigration attorneys – Rebecca Eichler, Charlene D’Cruz, Mulu Alemayehu, and Jodi Goodwin – all of whom granted her full access to their lives and legal practices.

Eichler is a retired attorney and first-generation U.S. citizen of Chinese and German descent. She and D’Cruz (who came to the U.S. from India as a teenager) drove a VW Bus to intercept a migrant caravan in central Mexico in 2018 and offer pro bono legal aid. 

Alemayehu is an Ethiopian-American who came to the U.S. as a political refugee and fulfilled her dream of studying law to help other victims of persecution, and Goodwin is a Texas-based attorney known for her work reuniting separated migrant families. This diverse group of lawyers worked to help asylum-seekers find safety in the United States, in the midst of rapidly-changing policies and political conflict.

The film also features the women’s clients, such as Oscar, who fled Honduras to escape gang violence and government corruption. While living in a refugee camp in Matamoros, he helped D’Cruz identify vulnerable migrants who should be allowed to enter the United States under a humanitarian exemption to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) implemented by the Trump Administration in January 2019.

Under the MPP, colloquially known as “Remain in Mexico,” asylum-seekers were forced to wait in unsafe camps on the Mexican side of the border for their chance to apply for asylum in the United States, and even throughout the ensuing immigration proceedings.  

In the film, we learn the story of people like Yodalys, who fled Cuba in search of political asylum. She was repeatedly turned back from the U.S. border, despite the fact that she was going blind from a parasitic infection and in desperate need of medical treatment, and had family members in the U.S. Only when the attorneys took her story to the press was she finally granted a humanitarian exemption.The documentary also tracks Cameroonian refugees Raisa and Martine, who flew to Ecuador to escape civil war, and then walked thousands of miles to Tijuana, a year-long journey. 

Gisselle, another Honduran, left her home to rejoin her mother, who had already fled to Mexico. In a tragic accident, Gisselle fell from the top of La Bestia (“The Beast”), the infamous freight train on top of which many migrants risk their lives trying to enter the U.S., and both of her legs had to be amputated. During the film, she recuperates at Albergue ABBA, the only migrant shelter in Mexico equipped to treat amputees and provide them with prostheses. 

In March 2020, with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under President Trump invoked Title 42, an obscure clause of the Public Health Service Act of 1944 that grants the ability to take emergency action to prohibit migrants from entering the country in order to prevent the introduction of communicable diseases. With the border effectively closed, the four attorneys struggled to find ways to continue their work.

While the 2020 U.S. Presidential election brought hope and joy for the attorneys as some of their clients were allowed into the United States, the crisis hasn’t abated.

“In some ways, things are worse now than they were when Trump was in office,” executive producer Careen Shannon said to me. “Back then, so many people were up in arms about the situation. The United Nations spoke out against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including family separation and the Migrant Protection Protocols, aka the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program. The Red Cross was there at the border, along with many nonprofits. Then when Biden came into office, initially there was this feeling that things were going to be OK, and so everybody left to move on to the next crisis.”

Gangs have reportedly filled the void, running the camps and terrorizing their residents, including kidnapping girls and women. “It is the most lawless place … run by gangs,” said director Victoria Bruce. “In that situation, desperate people can turn against each other. We saw Haitians being attacked by some Central Americans. They were fighting over incredibly limited resources.”

The Biden Administration twice tried to cancel MPP, but was prevented from doing so by the Supreme Court. In August 2022, the program was finally terminated. Title 42 remained in effect until President Biden lifted the COVID-19 public health emergency in May of this year.

With the lifting of Title 42, however, new restrictions immediately followed. The Biden administration decreed that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they cross the border illegally, or fail to seek asylum in another country, such as Mexico, on their route. Furthermore, migrants can only apply for asylum by scheduling an appointment via a government app called CBP One.

“The border is effectively closed,” said Eichler. “It was closed under Trump, and it still is. Think of a castle with a moat and a drawbridge. Revoking Title 42 is like lowering the drawbridge, but if there’s a big, heavy door at the end of the bridge—and these new restrictions lock that door—refugees still won’t get in.”

A recent court ruling provides a glimmer of hope for migrants stuck in the camps. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar ruled that the Biden Administration’s policies violated the law by endangering migrants fleeing harm and preventing them from seeking asylum. According to federal law, it does not matter how asylum seekers entered the country if they say they are fleeing persecution. The judge stated that the U.S. government also cannot compel migrants to seek asylum in countries that lack robust asylum systems or are unsafe. In Mexico, for instance, he wrote that migrants are at “extraordinary risk of violence,” including rape and kidnapping for ransom.

The Biden Administration is appealing Judge Tigar’s ruling, but refugee advocates hope it holds.

“I want to make the point,” said Eichler, “that what is happening is completely illegal. Like Charlene D’Cruz says in the film, all migrants have the right, even if they cross the border irregularly, to present themselves to U.S. authorities and apply for asylum. Forcing these people to apply for asylum in other countries first, and to wait indefinitely in Mexico, is contrary to U.S. law and international law.”

The attorneys believe that a solution to the border crisis must also include an effective guest worker program.

“Many people at the border won’t qualify for asylum, but that doesn’t mean it is safe to go back to the countries they fled. It also doesn’t mean they might not have something to offer the country,” said Shannon. “We’re missing an essential workers program … What’s more, if it weren’t for immigration, we would have a negative birth rate, which, as the governments of Japan and certain European countries can tell you, brings with it a host of economic and social problems.”

The attorneys hope to humanize the border crisis and decrease the fear of migrants. “They’re fleeing terrible situations in their home countries, and then the journey is horrific,” said Bruce. “But when they get to the U.S., most work very hard to build good lives. Opportunity is the great equalizer.” 

“What I hoped to accomplish with this film,” Bruce continued, “is to wake people up to the fact that while the refugee crisis may feel like this vast unsolvable issue, it is something that can be helped one person at a time. Everywhere we put the film in front of an audience, it has changed hearts. It has informed. It has brought people to the table who want to help.”

“Las Abogadas” was produced by Laura Seltzer-Duny, executive produced by Careen Shannon, and edited by Simon Efokoa—one of the Cameroonian refugees featured in the story. The movie also includes an original song entitled “Far Away” by San Miguel de Allende’s own Liah Alonso and Carl Cane. For more information about the film and to access resources for helping refugees in need, visit: www.lasabogadasfilm.com.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her novel “The Broken Hummingbird” will be out in October. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

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