Category Archives: San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende

Zen and the Art of MotorMind Maintenance

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By Kim Malcolm—

For some reason, I thought a weeklong silent Zen meditation retreat — called “sesshin” — would be an important life experience. And it was, although maybe not in the ways I expected. I certainly chose a good one. It took place at Mar de Jade, a gorgeous resort on a secluded beach north of Puerto Vallarta. The priest, Norman Fisher, was once the head of the San Francisco Zen Center, and understands the “western,” non-Zen mind. The description of the retreat welcomed “beginners.” I don’t have a Zen practice, but I’ve read books about Zen, so I was a beginner, right?

I arrived at Mar de Jade in the early evening of the first day, just in time for a brief orientation and our first “zazen”– seated meditation. There were about 60 of us in the meditation hall where I found a square mat on the floor with my name on it. Following the lead of those around me, I sat down on the mat and closed my eyes. I began breathing, believing the evening would bring internal quiet and the first in a series of small but significant revelations. This was a wrong belief. My mind was the opposite of peaceful and my only revelation was that the excruciating pain in my hips and back would not be tolerable for six more days. Never mind, I thought. I was there to learn, not to be comfortable.

Each day after that had an identical schedule. Routine sometimes causes me to break out in hives, but, strangely, I enjoyed the predictability. We were awakened at 5am to the sound of clacking wooden sticks. The day began with light exercise followed by eight 40-minute sessions of silent meditation, a 2-hour work assignment, dharma talks, prostrations, and three excellent vegetarian meals. Besides the wooden sticks, the sounds of each day were gongs, bells, crashing ocean waves, birds and the low rumble of a banda band playing at the other end of the beach. We chanted, but we were otherwise mostly silent.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that this retreat was not going to be warm and fuzzy. Perhaps, I thought, it is hard to make friendly connections when no one is talking and your homies are working to accept the fact of universal suffering. Still, the feeling of sobriety surprised me. I’d read Norman Fisher’s book about Zen practice, which described the objectives of bodhisattvas — our Zen muses — as generosity and joyful engagement. I didn’t see much of either from the other participants. For the sake of not complaining, I will spare you the details.

A little frustrated with the prospect of a week of somber, I was determined to continue so I could understand a little about Zen Buddhism and enjoy the beach. Also, there were no refunds LOL. Hoping to avoid feeling too somber myself, I began giving little notes to people. “Thank you for playing the gong for us this week.” “I love your blouse.” “I like sitting behind you because your posture is perfect.” During our free time in the afternoon, I went swimming in the warm ocean and looked for shells on the beach.

After three days of monkey mind during every one of our meditation sessions, I raised the issue of somber at my brief meeting with our priest. “Because of the Bodhisattva’s path,” I said, “I was expecting a feeling of warmth and caring.” He gently explained that Zen practice is one of austerity and many come to it who are trying to get through life’s challenges (I apologize if I am not precisely reporting the content or spirit of his words). He knew that I was the only participant who did not have a Zen practice and mentioned that even Zen practitioners don’t normally attend a weeklong sesshin who haven’t first attended several one or two day silent retreats. Um, apparently reading a few books didn’t even qualify me as a Zen beginner. “Are you ok?” he asked. I replied that yes I actually was, but I didn’t say I was ok partly because of Roman.

Roman is Mar de Jade’s pastry chef. He lives in the village near the resort and makes breads and desserts for 100 people every day. My work assignment each day was to help Roman, and I loved my job. Cutting strawberries and rolling out dough for two hours cleared my mind of the racket it produced during our meditation sessions. Roman got me through the week. Although we weren’t supposed to talk and I don’t speak much Spanish anyway, it was obvious that Roman is generous and joyfully engaged — just like a Bodhisattva.

“Before enlightenment, chop wood and haul water. After enlightenment, chop wood and haul water.” — Buddhist saying

Kim Malcolm is a retired U.S. citizen and author based in San Miguel de Allende. Having traveled to 73 countries, she brings a global perspective to her writing, which often explores culture, place, and personal experience, with many essays rooted in her life in Mexico.

Follow her blog Camino Milagro: http://www.kimmie53.com

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Sanjuaneros: Up to a Month Away from Home, with a Promise to See the Virgin

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By Estefanía Camacho—-

Cihualpilli, also known as the Virgin Mary in her invocation of the Immaculate Conception, whose image is housed in the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco, receives up to seven million pilgrims each year. In this representation, the Virgin “condenses the meaning that precedes motherhood,” as Felipe Gaytán Alcalá explains in his book Las semánticas de lo sagrado (The Semantics of the Sacred).

To get there, the so-called sanjuaneros (believers who set out from the Bajío region toward San Juan de los Lagos) walk approximately 80 kilometers over a period of nine to twelve days. Some depart from the Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua in San Miguel de Allende, others from Querétaro or San Luis Potosí, and those coming from farther away leave from Aguascalientes, adding up to a total distance of 200 kilometers or more.

They set out in late January. In 2026, they departed on January 21 from the well-known “Y,” an intersection formed by a famous roundabout in León, through which other pilgrims from nearby cities also pass. “I’m leaving from the Y,” they notify one another in a Facebook group of nearly 84,000 members, where they share everything from announcements to form departure groups in their hometowns to photos from the journey, weather advice, and, above all, blessings for the road.

In 2026, the passage of approximately 350,000 travellers through the state of Guanajuato is expected, a place referred to as “pilgrim transit territory,” according to Luis Antonio Güereca Pérez, the state coordinator of Civil Protection for the Secretariat of Security and Peace of the State of Guanajuato. These figures have been repeated over the past two winters, although the number, he says, has been declining.

“I should tell you that before 2020, before the pandemic, the number of pilgrims was much higher: around 450,000 to nearly 500,000 people passing through the state. However, when the pandemic hit and all this type of activity was suspended, something happened: the rhythm or the motivation was lost. We don’t know exactly what occurred, but we haven’t been able to recover the large numbers we used to have,” he tells me in an interview.

Not everyone stopped during the pandemic. That is the case of Paty, a 44-year-old woman who lives in León. She has made this pilgrimage for 30 years. The first time she went, she was 14. She kept going and never interrupted her visits after one of her children fell ill frequently and she asked the Virgin for his health. “Since then, he hasn’t gotten sick,” she says. That was 17 years ago.

“I promised that if my son didn’t get sick again, I would never stop going.” So, during one of the pandemic years, when there were very few pilgrims, she went with her daughter, without many supplies, because there was no one selling food or lighting the way at night with flashlights. They got lost.

“My daughter’s feet started bleeding halfway along the route. We stopped, and we got lost. Then the coyotes showed up. One of them was about to attack us. My daughter lit the way with her cellphone so I could throw a stone, but there wasn’t just one. There were about ten.”

They had to jump into a ditch. “The little Virgin is very miraculous,” she recalls, describing how they were able to see a military barracks nearby. From there, some personnel fired at the coyotes to scare them off and helped Paty and her daughter out of the ditch.

“Sometimes people don’t even have money for bus fare,” the matriarch of the Quiroz Aguilar family tells me. She has been a devotee for approximately 50 years, but now she offers food to pilgrims passing through on the night of January 23. She recalls that when she first began making the pilgrimage, people endured many hardships — cold, hunger, sleep deprivation, and exhaustion, and it was difficult to find water or food. That is why she wanted to offer some relief.

She offers her home —“tu casa,” as Mexicans say when we speak of our own home and offer it to a stranger— as a place of rest for approximately 40 people.

“They bathe here, we make hot chocolate at night so they can fall asleep, and for food, well, we give them carnitas, salsa, beans, rice, noodles, potatoes. I mean, everything we can, whatever we’re able to help with.”

In addition to offering her home as a place to spend the night, they also go out onto the route in a pickup truck to transport food. So that pilgrims do not have to stop and lose time, they prepare bagged lunches and hand them out to those who pass by. “Sometimes more people come, sometimes fewer, but everything gets eaten,” she explains, referring to the roughly 50 kilograms of food she prepares, not counting the 40 liters of salsa she cooks with the help of her grown children and now her daughters-in-law.

Throughout the year, they save together to be able to give away this food, which amounts to an expense of approximately 15,000 pesos, she confides.

Her altruistic work has brought her public recognition, to the point that she has appeared in television interviews, although María Concepción Quiroz (her full name) does not like to boast about her efforts.

According to the state coordinator of Civil Protection for the Secretariat of Security, the issues they pay closest attention to include traffic accidents on the highway, food poisoning, people who become lost, occasional fights, and elderly pilgrims.

This time, Civil Protection officially launched the coordinated operation among authorities from Friday, January 9, through February 5, when travellers stop passing through Guanajuato. Personnel from the Guanajuato Ministry of Health, the Red Cross (through its local chapters), state firefighters, and the National Guard are also present.

On January 20, 2026, the eve of the departure of most believers, the forecast indicated that the lowest temperature would occur at seven in the morning on the 21st, dropping to 9 degrees Celsius.
This January, pilgrims walked illuminated by lamps that provided enough light along the path, they crossed train tracks, sometimes alongside a stationary train, detoured around fields of maguey that lengthened the route, and walked for long stretches next to high-speed roads, where freight trucks sped past, often in blind spots. Some travelers coming from the State of Mexico spent up to a month away from home, according to television reports.

Arrival in San Juan de los Lagos
Ideally, pilgrims arrive on February 2, which coincides with the celebration of Candlemas. The Candelaria is a popular religious celebration that commemorates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, the Virgin’s purification after childbirth, and the Virgin of Candelaria, another Marian devotion. Tradition in Mexico also dictates that whoever ate Rosca de Reyes on January 6 and found the small figurine (representing Baby Jesus) must offer tamales and atole to the rest. However, the Immaculate Conception is also venerated in May, on August 15, and on December 8, although the longest pilgrimage takes place in mid-January.

While San Juan de los Lagos awaits the arrival of tens of thousands, the Cathedral-Basilica (the country’s second-most visited Marian sanctuary, after the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City) is already hosting processions and dances. All of this is done to honor a figure measuring just 33 centimeters and weighing over 300 grams, adorned with eighteenth-century Baroque-style ornamentation –which is why Paty calls her with love “little virgin”. The Virgin, made from corn-pith paste, was crafted in workshops in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

According to testimonial records from 1623, the Virgin performed her first miracle by restoring the life of a young trapeze artist who had reportedly died after falling from a swing.

Estefanía Camacho is a freelance Mexican journalist working across media and digital magazines. She is a specialist in gender, SMEs, economics, and business.

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

On the Page: Books That Shape Our View of Mexico

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By Carole Reedy—

Living in Mexico for 30 years hasn’t only settled my understanding of the country; rather, it has expanded it. New research and reading continually reshape my previous viewpoints. Novels and nonfiction narratives are my guide, although numerous personal encounters have enhanced my knowledge.

An education is never complete.

Here are some contemporary histories and classic texts to guide your understanding of this great land.

Mexico by Paul Gillingham
This new tome surprises with a topsy- turvy view of our nation. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that now, 500 years later, Mexico survived the literary earthquake we call our history.

Milenio, the popular and prestigious Mexican daily newspaper, calls Mexico “unique and, from now on, indispensable for anyone who wants to explore Mexican history with sincerity.”

It is so easy to get things wrong when writing or relating stories orally. Peter Frankopan from The Telegraph tells us that this “fine account does well to remind that the best history is about fact, not fiction.”

Gillingham begins with the misconceptions of the role of the Spaniards in the early 1500s: their original goals and intentions and their relationships with various communities across the country. Over the next 700 pages, Mexico recounts great human displacements and epic battles. Most important, Gillingham constantly stresses the global economic forces that shaped each period of the country’s history.

Álvaro Enrigue, respected author of the brilliant novel You Dreamed of Empires, in his New York Times review says: “Gillingham’s 700-page book is imposing, yet it is an absorbing read, from the amusing and skeptical cadence of the first line that describes the embellished estimates made by the Spanish of the indigenous armies they encountered.”

Buy a copy and slowly read the unimaginable 500-year history of Mexico. As has been suggested in my other book column recommendations, also pick up a copy of You Dreamed of Empires as an accompaniment.

The Lawless Roads and The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Few people are familiar with the Cristeros War (1926-1929). Mexican history often stresses the importance and dominance of the Catholic Church, brought to Mexico from Spain in the 1500s.

The Cristeros War was a reaction to the Calles laws, introduced by the then-president (from 1924 to 1928) Plutarco Elías Calles, which reduced the power of the church. The short rebellion in rural Mexico was eventually settled with the help of Dwight Morrow, ambassador to Mexico from the US.

You might recall that President Benito Juárez in the previous century severely limited the power and extreme wealth of the Catholic church.

British citizen Graham Greene thought of himself as a Catholic Agnostic. These two controversial novels describe different aspects of this short but significant time in the complicated history of Greene’s travels to Mexico to see what the effects of the conflict on Catholicism there had been.

The Lawless Roads is an account of Greene’s Mexican journey that takes him from the northern border towns to San Luis Potosí and Mexico City. From there he goes to the nearby rural state of Puebla and then to Chiapas. But his primary interest was in Tabasco, home of the atheist activist and cacique of the state, Tomás Garrido Canabal.

In 2005, The Power and the Glory was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923. John Updike calls The Power and the Glory, “Graham Greene’s masterpiece…The energy and grandeur of his finest novel derive from the will toward compassion, an ideal communism even more Christian than Communist.”

For Graham Greene fans, this novel of southern Mexico it is often cited as their favorite by the author.

The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz is virtually a household name in Mexico, admired and respected by people from all walks of life. Through his remarkable literary skill, Paz brings Mexico’s complex and fascinating history to life, offering richly crafted narratives that illuminate the essence of Mexican identity.

In 1998 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his “impassioned writing with wide horizons, characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity.”

His most famous work, The Labyrinth of Solitude, is an indispensable and deeply illuminating read for anyone who lives in Mexico, visits, or seeks to truly understand the country. With a gentle yet compelling force, Paz draws readers into the deepest chord of the Mexican people, revealing the inner workings of their collective. Paz observes that solitude is responsible for the Mexican’s perspective on death, fiesta, and identity. Published first in 1950, the book explores difficulties of integration and cultural belonging.

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor
Regular readers of The Eye may notice that this title pops up from time to time in my recommendations. The novel touches on many different aspects of Mexican life, especially the spiritual.

The appearance of a dead witch is the impetus for a story that is full of rumors, mythology, suspicions, and traditions of violence. It is Melchor’s style, however, that brings to life the mysterious workings of the people who live in the pueblo.

The Guardian review says it well. “A brutal portrait of small-town claustrophobia, in which machismo is a prison and corruption isn’t just institutional but domestic, with families broken by incest and violence. Melchor’s long, snaking sentences make the book almost literally unputdownable, shifting our grasp of key events by continually creeping up on them from new angles. A formidable debut.”

Mexico City Noir, edited by Paco Ignacio Taibo II
I recently ran across this anthology of short stories. These dark, acidic short stories reflect some unique-to-Mexico situations. Take note of the title of the book! This is a dark, somber series about police corruption, drug trafficking, the homeless, and the ultra-rich, to name just a few of the unforgettable characters.

All of the stories, told in different narrative styles, have one thing in common: they speak to, and about, a city the authors love.

The brilliant foreword by the much-loved editor of these stories, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, establishes the basis for these stories with a diverse cast of characters. Perhaps more important is the emphasis on the neighborhoods that drive the narrative.

Each chapter has a subtitle of a colonia (neighborhood): Roma, Condesa, Centro Histórico, Colonia de Valle, Doctores. Don’t look for a list of cafes or clubs or a discussion about gentrification in these stories; a more brutal agenda is at stake here.

Despite the barbarous themes, editor Taibo relates that while “Mexico City Noir may not be sponsored by the city’s department of tourism; but if anyone, from anywhere on earth, were to ask whether the writers recommend visiting Mexico City, the response would be both firm and passionate: ‘Yes, of course.’ Because this is the best city on the planet, in spite of itself.”

Taibo also observes that the writers “take refuge in humor, a very dark humor, acidic, which allows us enough distance to laugh at Lucifer.”

Poems and Sonnets of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
An article about Mexico, especially in an issue emphasizing the spiritual, cannot be written without a discussion about the monumental figure in our country, Sor Juana, philosopher, writer, and poet. We have written about her often over the past 15 years.

Considered the first feminist in the Americas as well as one of the most important writers in the Spanish language, in the 17th century she was defending the rights of women against the patriarchal norms of the time.

If you are a first-time reader of this significant figure in history, I would start with the poems and sonnets, especially the poem Hombres Necios that argues that men’s taste and censorship are inconsistent and that they accuse women of what they themselves cause. It exposes the inequality and injustice that women suffer through sexism and discrimination against women.

Then, continue on to the 975-line monumental poem Primero Sueño (First Dream), an extensive philosophical allegory about the search for knowledge.

Learn from Sor Juana’s most famous words: “I don’t study to know more, but to ignore less.”

Well said, sister!

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Jewish Pilgrimage Festivals in Mexico

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By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken—

Among the many pilgrimages that occur in Mexico, probably the ones with the oldest historical foundations are some Jewish observances. Known in Hebrew as the Shalosh Regalim, the “three pilgrimage festivals,” the observance of these ancient practices was carried here by Jews who accompanied the Spanish conquistadors. They were practiced in secret, since the Spanish Inquisition imposed the death penalty on those who carried out Jewish observances.

Historically, the three Jewish pilgrimages occurred in the land of Israel during times when Temples existed in Jerusalem: Solomon’s Temple, between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE, and the Second Temple, between 538 BCE and 70 CE.

Three times each year, marking the beginning of the spring barley harvest, the beginning of the summer wheat harvest, and the end of the annual fall harvests, Jewish law, as written in the Torah (Jewish scriptures), commanded that members of the twelve tribes of Israel travel from their home territories, largely by foot, up to the Temple in Jerusalem carrying specific offerings.

The three pilgrimages were known by names that are still used around the world, including in Mexico today. The spring harvest pilgrimage was also known as Passover (Pesaj); the beginning of the summer pilgrimage, Shavuot; and the fall pilgrimage, Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths (Cabañuelas).

In addition to offerings of the choicest of the harvest, each of the pilgrimages required sacrifices of animals brought by the pilgrims to the priests at the Temple. The Passover sacrifice was a one-year-old unblemished male lamb. The lamb was a reminder of the sacrifice of a lamb and shared meal that took place about 3,300 years ago on the night before the Israelite slaves were freed in Egypt and began their long journey toward the Promised Land.

Shavuot involved offerings of first fruits and loaves of bread baked from the choicest early wheat, along with a diverse selection of domesticated animals. Once again, the animals were chosen from the best of the herds and flocks and examined to ensure the absence of any blemish. These sacrifices reenacted the ceremonial offerings that, according to the Torah, took place at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the Ten Commandments were given to the Israelites.

The most noteworthy animal sacrifice for Sukkot entailed seventy bulls offered over the seven days of the pilgrimage festival. Temple rites for Sukkot also involved a far less bloody ceremony: the water ceremony. Pilgrims lined the path the priests followed from the Temple down to a pool of water at the bottom of the Temple Mount.

As the priests descended to fill their ceremonial bowls and climbed back up to the Temple, the pilgrims sang and danced in joy. They continued singing and dancing as the priests poured the water, together with wine, over the Temple altar, assuring all that there would be sufficient rain to produce abundant crops in the following year.

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem came to an end in 70 CE when the Roman army besieged the Temple Mount, almost completely destroyed the Temple, leaving only the Western Wall standing, killed a large portion of the Jewish population in the Holy Land, and sent thousands more into exile. With the destruction of the Temple and the end of priestly sacrifice, it fell to the rabbis to decide how Judaism could continue without pilgrimages to the Temple Mount or flesh-and-blood offerings. The discussions and debates that followed were recorded for posterity. Although physical pilgrimage ceased, the rabbis continued to refer to the festivals as the Shalosh Regalim, and each holiday remained a hag, the Hebrew word for pilgrimage, linguistically related to the Arabic hajj.

Since the end of the Inquisition in Mexico in 1820 and Mexico’s independence from Spain shortly thereafter, the Shalosh Regalim have been openly practiced by observant (and not so observant) Jews. Passover seders, often large family and community gatherings, retell the story of the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. On the seder table, along with other symbolic foods, is a shank bone, a reminder of the original sacrificial lamb. On Shavuot, meals traditionally include grains and fruits reminiscent of those once harvested and brought to the Temple. On Sukkot, ceremonies involve four species of ancient plants. A bundle of willow, palm, and myrtle, called the lulav, when shaken produces a sound likened to falling rain. Although the water ceremony exists only in memory, Jews still sing and dance as they shake the lulav and pray for a year of sufficient rain to foster the coming crops.

As the hag of Passover ends, those gathered for seders often call out in Spanish, “Este año estamos aquí; el próximo año, en Jerusalén.” (“This year we are here; next year, in Jerusalem.”)

2026 Festival Dates
Passover begins on the evening of Wednesday, April 1, 2026, and concludes Thursday, April 9, 2026

Shavuot begins on the evening of Thursday, May 21, 2026, and concludes Saturday, May 23, 2026

Sukkot begins on the evening of Friday, September 25, 2026, and concludes Friday, October 2, 2026.

Drs. Marcia and Jan Chaiken have been married for 62 years and have published many justice system research reports together.

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Editor’s Letter

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By Jane Bauer—

“I’m going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee
I’m going to Graceland
Poor boys and pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland
My traveling companion is nine years old
He is the child of my first marriage
But I’ve reason to believe we both will be received in Graceland”
Paul Simon, singer and songwriter

If you are reading this, you have probably already undertaken a lot of journeys to get here. A pilgrimage is often associated with religion, but there are many other roads than the one to God that lead to salvation. Maybe salvation is too powerful a word for some journeys- communion, perhaps.

It would make sense for this topic to tell of my own journey to my Mexican life almost 30 years ago, but when I think of pilgrimage, I think of a road trip I took with my daughter.

Even though I had already been living in Mexico for close to 15 years, I had several items in Canada that I didn’t want to part with: art my father left me when he died, a few pieces of furniture. We all have things we don’t want to part with just yet. I purchased an old Canada Post truck, filled it up, and my nine-year-old daughter and I took a road trip from Montreal to Huatulco.

It was hot, like driving in a sardine can. The radio didn’t work, but we had an iPod that played music through a speaker. In college, I was briefly obsessed with a book called Reflections on the Birth of the Elvis Faith, which likened the Elvis following to a religious phenomenon. So when my daughter and I found ourselves rumbling along the highway near Memphis, Tennessee, the words to Paul Simon’s Graceland came back to me: “My traveling companion is nine years old.” Without hesitation, we veered towards Graceland.

What back in the 1970s what was considered a mansion now just looked like a large suburban house. I asked people on the shuttle if it was their first time, and for most, it wasn’t. For many, it was an annual pilgrimage; for some, like us, a curiosity. Were we part of the pilgrimage or observers?

We toured the house, and when we reached the Jungle Room, my daughter said, “Like the song.” She meant Walking in Memphis – we had listened to it on some stretch of highway through Ohio.

Saw the ghost of Elvis
On Union Avenue
Followed him up to the gates of Graceland
Then I watched him walk right through
Now security they did not see him
They just hovered ’round his tomb
But there’s a pretty little thing
Waiting for the King
Down in the Jungle Room

As people, journeying, searching, and having faith in something other than our own immediate existence is perhaps the most unifying human experience. Does it really matter if we call this feeling and belief by different names?

See you next month,

Jane

San Miguel de Allende

The Year of the Horse

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By Roger D. Jones—

There are moments in history when humanity is asked, softly but unmistakably, to remember what it once knew. The horse has always been one of our greatest teachers.
Before machines carried us forward, horses did. Before modern medicine, they carried the wounded. Before therapy had a name, horses regulated our nervous systems with their presence, rhythm, and breath. Across cultures and continents, the horse has symbolized freedom, endurance, sensitivity, and profound intelligence.

Year of the Horse is an invitation to slow down. To listen. To restore a relationship that has quietly suffered in an age of speed and extraction.
Why 2026 Is the Year of the Horse
In the Chinese lunar calendar, 2026 marks the Year of the Horse, beginning with the Lunar New Year in February. In Chinese tradition, the Horse represents energy, intelligence, loyalty, perseverance, and freedom, as well as a deep sensitivity to environment and leadership. The Horse is not ruled through force—it responds to clarity, trust, and mutual respect. When treated well, it gives everything. When misunderstood or pushed beyond its limits, it suffers quietly.

In places like San Miguel de Allende, where tradition, artistry, and community remain deeply woven into daily life—this symbolism feels especially present. Here, the relationship between humans, animals, and land is not abstract, but lived, observed, and felt.
Edgar Cayce and the Future Role of the Horse
The American mystic and healer Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) spoke of a future in which humanity would need to rebalance—between technology and nature, intellect and intuition, power and compassion. In several readings, Cayce suggested that horses would again become essential not as beasts of labor, but as agents of healing, emotional regulation, and spiritual grounding.

Cayce emphasized that horses respond to the inner condition of humans rather than command alone. In this way, they reveal imbalance without judgment and harmony without words. Whether approached as prophecy or symbolism, his insight aligns with both ancient wisdom and modern science: horses help humans remember how to be whole.

Horses as Healers: Living Examples
Across the world, and increasingly here in central Mexico, equine-assisted healing therapies are offering quiet, powerful support to people navigating emotional and neurological challenges.

Autistic children often experience improved emotional regulation, focus, and nonverbal communication when working with horses, whose calm presence and predictable rhythms provide a sense of safety without verbal interaction.

Veterans and first responders coping with post-traumatic stress frequently find that horses respond to their internal state with honesty and without stigma, helping restore trust, confidence, and nervous-system balance.

Individuals dealing with trauma, grief, or major life transitions often report that time spent with horses creates space for presence, emotional release, and reconnection—especially when traditional talk-based therapies fall short.

These outcomes are not based on force or training tricks, but on relationship, consistency, and respect. The Year of the Horse is not a campaign and not owned by any organization or individual. It belongs to anyone willing to approach horses with humility, patience, and respect. You do not need to own a horse to participate. You only need to care.

Editorial Note
For readers wishing to engage directly with equine rescue and education efforts highlighted in this year-long series, visit http://www.EsperanzaEquina.com.

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

The Role of Horses in the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

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By Jan Chaiken and Marcia Chaiken—

When Hernán Cortés and his expeditionary force first arrived near present-day Veracruz in 1519, the ships from Spain carried about 500 soldiers, along with horses, cannons, and other military supplies. At that time, horses had been extinct in Mesoamerica for thousands of years. As a result, the Indigenous Aztecs—who had never seen similar animals—experienced awe, fear, and confusion, with some early accounts suggesting that the horse and rider were perceived as a single, unfamiliar being. Some Indigenous communities reportedly made offerings to horses or used captured horses as sacrifices to their gods.

The Spaniards capitalized on this reaction by staging carefully choreographed military demonstrations to intimidate the population. Mounted conquistadores proved to be a highly effective military force against native foot soldiers. They were deployed in formations now known as cavalry—large mounted units capable of pursuing and overtaking enemies on foot. Horses were also used to transport cargo and supplies, as well as to control and move captured Aztecs. As soon as new territory was secured, the Spanish established horse-breeding farms in preparation for future expeditions.

Cortés quickly recognized that the ruling Aztec Triple Alliance was deeply resented by many of its subjects and that other Indigenous groups were long-standing enemies of the Aztecs. He formalized alliances first with the Totonacs near the Gulf Coast and later, inland, with the Tlaxcaltecs. The Tlaxcaltecs became loyal and indispensable allies, supplying tens of thousands of warriors. In return, they were granted key privileges, including the right to ride Spanish horses, carry Spanish weapons, and continue governing their own settlements autonomously.

When the Spanish first entered the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, the Tlaxcaltecs accompanied them on horseback and helped take hostages, including the ruler Moctezuma II. The Aztecs revolted and rapidly adopted tactics and technology to counter the horses’ advantages. They lured cavalry into narrow causeways, mountain trails, or swampy areas, fired stones and arrows at horses as well as riders, and developed specific shouts and whistles to signal tactical opportunities.

After the eventual Spanish conquest, Indigenous people incorporated horses into their cultures, using them for transportation and labor. Even today, in Mayan communities such as Todos Santos in Guatemala, residents maintain elaborate—and sometimes dangerous—traditions of drunken horse racing, which they consider an important cultural expression.

While the conquistadors’ use of horses in war against the Aztecs is highly dramatic and graphically portrayed in films and books, horses and other livestock brought by the Spanish may also have introduced a far more lethal, invisible agent—Salmonella enterica. Some historians argue that Europeans brought fatal diseases to the New World, including smallpox. Recent DNA analysis has shown that one of the most widespread diseases to wipe out vast numbers of Aztecs and other Indigenous people in Mexico was caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica. The disease wreaked havoc on the digestive systems of those infected and was often lethal among populations with no prior exposure. The bacteria spread through food and water contaminated with fecal matter—often originating from livestock, including horses. It may be that horses themselves were among the most powerful, if unwitting, agents of conquest in Mexico.

Image: Hernán Cortés received by emissaries of Tlaxcala, Codex Duran, 1579, Biblioteca Nacional de de España. Source: Noticonquista Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Drs. Marcia and Jan Chaiken have been married for 62 years and have published many justice system research reports together.

 

San Miguel de Allende

Your Guide to Asian Delights in SMA

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By Michael Solof—

This month, in honor of the Chinese Year of the Horse, I want to share a few of my favorite Asian restaurants in SMA. I picked four very different types of restaurants and spoke with the owners and chefs about their establishments and what inspired them to create their own unique spin on Asian cuisine. I selected places with not only varied menus and pricing but also different philosophies and goals.

SPICE MARKET- (Calz. De La Presa 85) 1pm -11:30pm, Daily

Spice Market opened inside the Live Aqua Hotel seven years ago. They specialize in a combination of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese foods. Each dish captivates your taste buds while delighting you with beautiful visuals and tantalizing smells. I spoke with Ernesto, the executive chef, and Oscar, the Operations Manager, to get a sneak peek behind the scenes of the restaurant. Spice Market’s dishes are served family-style so that everyone gets involved. The decor feels like you’ve stepped out of Mexico and into an Asian palace. According to Ernesto, Spice Market only uses the finest ingredients, both imported and, as much as possible, locally sourced. Both he and Oscar are especially proud of the service provided in the restaurant. The wait staff offers perfect recommendations after finding out if you have any specific preferences or allergies to any given foods. I love salads, and my waiter recommended the Endive salad with Asian pears, which had a delicious creamy sesame, chili oil-infused takai furikake dressing. The restaurant switches up its menu at least twice a year to keep up with the latest trends and to keep it exciting for returning guests. Ernesto says the key to a great dish is loving what you are cooking and realizing that you are cooking for others and not just yourself. His cooks constantly taste the meals they are prepping to ensure each dish is perfectly flavored. “Cooking is easy to do if you love what you’re doing.”

DRAGON CHINO – (Salida a Celaya 71) 12:30pm – 7pm, Daily

Dragon Chino opened in its current location in 2008 and is the oldest Chinese restaurant in SMA. Over the years, they have developed a devoted local following. The restaurant is small and sparsely decorated, but that’s because the focus is on the dishes they create. I talked with Luis, the owner, and his wife, Lily, who, along with their entire staff, have operated the restaurant since its opening.

A family atmosphere pervades at Dragon Chino, which is open from 12:30 to 7 PM, seven days a week. The menu is packed with well-known and well-loved favorites, as well as a selection of specialty dishes. Luis recommends trying the Peking duck or the crispy orange chicken, which sells the best among long-term customers. “All our food has no MSG, is prepared to order, locally sourced as much as possible, and made with all-natural, fresh ingredients. And the best part is we have an open kitchen, so you can watch as they prepare your meal. It’s lots of fun!” Luis’s words of wisdom are, “Treat your customers like family, and you’ll never go wrong.”

FUNKY PANDA – (Salida a Celaya 16a) 1pm – 9:30pm, Daily

Funky Panda has been open for a year and a half at its current location. Mario, the owner, has big plans and hopes to expand Funky Panda to locations all over Mexico. They are working on opening a new spot in Mexico City early next year. The menu is very varied because Andrea, Mario’s wife and co-owner, likes different types of food than he does, so the menu runs the gamut from sushi to hamburgers. But don’t let those two extremes scare you; the various flavors and tastes are what’s key there, no matter what the dish is.

“We focus on the best ingredients around. All our sauces and salsas are made in-house using traditional family recipes and methods. We respect the past. Some of our recipes are even from my grandmother, who was a famous cook in our neighborhood growing up. For instance, our hamburgers are made by combining three wonderful, yet different types of meat. It may not be the biggest hamburger in town, but I guarantee it’s the most delicious. Many of our ingredients are organic and locally sourced. We’re very proud of the fusion between cultures that we offer, and we love connecting different elements to make unique dishes, all at very affordable prices. I feel you don’t need to be a classically trained chef to succeed; you just have to have a love and a passion for good food and cooking… and everyone here does,” explains Mario.

KOKUMI – (Stirling Dickinson 2) 11am – 8 pm, Closed Wednesdays

There is a brand-new Korean restaurant that opened just over a month ago called Kokumi. When I asked the owner, Aleysha, and her husband, Satoru (who is also the chef), the meaning of the unique name, they stated that it’s a Japanese food-based expression that you say when you eat something wonderful. Kokumi is a sensation of richness, depth, and complexity…and that’s a perfect description for the food they offer. Aleysha was inspired by the fact that her husband is Japanese and they both love Korean food, so they decided to open a Japanese-Korean restaurant but with a goal to go beyond the typical sushi place. They strive to combine traditional Japanese and Korean foods with the warmth of Mexican hospitality. Using many unique ingredients, they make their own kimchi and miso on-site, and bibimbap, Korean BBQ, and shabu-shabu are just some of their specialty dishes. They also love serving Soba noodles because they are not found in many restaurants. Aleysha and Satoru are always looking for ways to reach out to the local community by planning fun, special events and collaborating with other chefs and bartenders. Satoru follows his passion for cooking by starting with a traditional foundation and then innovating it. Aleysha says, “We love this new start and new location, and especially our name… and can’t wait to share our passion for cooking with the community.”

SMA continues to expand its culinary horizons and offerings… and these are just some of the unique culinary experiences that you can enjoy while celebrating the Year of the Horse. I hope to see you at some of these incredible restaurants soon. Each one promises an unforgettable experience that showcases the best of Asian cuisine in SMA.

For those looking to discover more culinary treasures and engage with the local community, I lead *SMA Adventure Hound*, a group that organizes brunches and dinners at various restaurants every week. Additionally, I offer classes in the art of smartphone photography. Feel free to reach out to me via WhatsApp at +1 443–310–9214 for more information and to reserve your spot.

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Sneak Peek Between the Pages: 2026’s New Novels

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By Carole Reedy—

The new year ignites excitement for passionate readers, but too often novels published at the year’s end don’t receive proper publicity. So first let’s look at a few scintillating novels that hit the shelves late in 2025.

The Predicament by William Boyd (November 2025)
Although I’m not typically drawn to spy novels, this book was a delightful exception.

William Boyd’s novels seldom disappoint. His range is broad, characterizations diverse, and plots compelling. This one takes the reader around the globe from London and Guatemala to Berlin and Dallas (not to worry, it’s a leisurely adventure). Gabriel Dax isn’t your stereotypic spy, making his experiences unpredictable.

Boyd’s collection of work is diverse in subject, but always focused and pristine in pace and local color. I’m a recent fan of his and eager to read anything he writes.

The Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory (October 2025)
In 2001 I read The Other Boleyn Girl, at the time Gregory’s popular (with readers and critics alike) and well-researched novel about Anne Boleyn’s sister, Mary. In the ensuing years, readers have been ensconced in the Tudor and Plantagenet series, which has brought critical accolades. Gregory has more than 100 books to her credit.

Now, 24 years later we find ourselves still fascinated by the 16th century and the age of kings and queens. Praise from critics always focuses on Gregory’s detailed research and ability to bring to the 21st century an understanding of this distinct past.

The Boleyn Traitor tells the tale of Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn’s infamous brother George. The reviews tell us the magic endures, so it looks like another bestseller.

Queen Ester by John Irving ( November 2025)
Many of us look back to 1978 and the publication of John Irving’s popular breakout fourth novel, The World According to Garp. To date, Irving has published 16 novels, among them the popular The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and Avenue of Mysteries, set in Oaxaca, Mexico.

In his latest, you will recognize the town of Penacook, New Hampshire, and nearby St. Cloud Orphanage from The Cider House Rules. The time is the early 20th century, and a young Jewish girl is adopted by a non-Jewish couple who wonder how they will handle this responsibility. We follow one of the characters to Israel and her political involvement there.

Irving recently stated: “The construction of this novel long predates the events of Oct. 7, 2023, and everything that’s happened in Israel since those terrorist attacks and the hostage-taking. With hindsight, it’s easy to say that what I saw and heard in Israel in the early 1980s serves as a precursor to what has developed since that time, but this is what historical fiction is for.”

Last Night in Brooklyn by Xóchitl Gonzalez (April 2026)
Two unforgettable novels by Gonzalez (also a staff writer at The Atlantic), published in 2022 and 2024, captured my mind and heart: Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last.

Both focus on women’s role in society and within their own lives. Gonzalez draws us deep into the characters’ worlds, exploring the psychological and philosophical forces that shape their way of living. These novels are unforgettable and beautifully rendered, the first delving into the lives of a Puerto Rican family in New York and the second centered on an aspiring artist.

Gonzalez describes her latest book as a retelling of the Gatsby story. It takes place in a rapidly changing Brooklyn neighborhood in the midst of a financial crisis and a significant presidential election.

Undoubtedly, she’ll be gracing us again with her finely tuned characters and intriguing plot, including lots of surprises in this novel about class, color, and gentrification.

Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh (January 2026)
The captivating subject of reincarnation forms the backbone of this novel by the beloved author of The Hungary Tide and the Ibis Trilogy (Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire).

From late 1960s Calcutta to present-day Brooklyn, Ghosh takes us on a reincarnation journey. It starts with a young girl, Varsha Gupta, who seems to remember other lives she’s lived. Her concerned parents take her to a psychologist, who investigates “cases of the reincarnation type.”

Jump to a half century later when Vasha’s case file is unearthed by a group of environmental activists who want to investigate more about Varsha’s memories.

Thus begins one of the long, luscious tales for which Ghosh is famous.

No Way Home by T C Boyle (April 2026)
In the early years of the 21st century I read a novel that to this day remains in the corners of my mind, occasionally sneaking into present consciousness. That book is The Tortilla Curtain, a powerful novel about the juxtaposition of poor Mexican immigrants and wealthy Los Angeles homeowners and the space they share. It takes a grand writer to engender in the reader a variety of emotions simultaneously. I’ve now read most of the fiction of T C Boyle, an author who has blessed us with novels and short stories to entertain and remind.

Pre-publication praise is no surprise to Boyle fans. This book is already receiving sparkling reviews. Set in the Nevada desert, it focuses on a Los Angeles physician, whose mother has just died, in the midst of a desiccating city in a remote desert. It is described as a “compulsive, obsessive, psychologically disturbing” novel.

I Give You My Silence by Mario Vargas Llosa (February 2026)
The latest and final novel of Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025) is appropriately a love song to his native Peru as well as a statement about the power of art.

His was a life dedicated to writing. In 2010 he won the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature for “his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.”

The main character in his final novel is an expert in the vals, a genre of music descended from the European waltz but also rooted in Creole culture. He views the music as having a social function, as a means of uniting the people of Peru through their culture.

The book is dedicated to Llosa’s ex-wife of 50 years.

There’s much more to come in the eleven remaining months of 2026.