San Miguel de Allende Walking Audio History Tour

The tour starts in front of the Parroquia. There will be a brief introduction and overview of the tour. You will hear of the original construction of the church in the late 17th century and also the secrets of the stone facade that was not added until 1880. There will also be a walk through the inside of the Parroquia with stories and descriptions of points of interest.

You will hear a brief descriptions of the architectural style of the house and a short description of Ignacio Allende the man. There will be an section of the social forces that were at work in New Spain and in Europe that led to the War of Independence from Spain. There will also be a discussion of the early days of San Miguel, The silver trail that stretched from Mexico City to Santa Fe New Mexico and passed through San Miguel. It brought tremendous prosperity to San Miguel in the 18th century.

There will be a short discussion of the origins of the Jardin. And it will be explained why the Jardin is the geographical, social and cultural center of San Miguel de Allende. Also a short historical sketch of Father Miguel Hidalgo the hero of the War of Independence that towers above all the others.

There will be a short description of the architectural style and an explanation of the symbolism in the facade above the main entry door. Also a short history of the Patriarch of the Canal Family, Don Manuel Tomas Canal. Guests will be advised that the guard just inside the door is only there to have you sign in and leave back packs and water bottles behind. The house is open to the public at no charge.

The guests will enter the courtyard and walk through the gardens and listen to the story of how the building began as a convent in the mid 18th century. Also they will hear about the beginnings of the art school in 1938 that drew American and Canadian expats to San Miguel to study art and began the renaissance that San Miguel has experienced in the last 80 year. They will hear of the arrival of the world renown Mexican artist David Siqueiros, the trauma the school experienced in the late 1940's leading to its closing. They will also visit the mural room in which David Siqueiros was teaching a mural painting class and see traces of his genius that remain there to this day. At the end of audio recording # 10, the tour will be finished.