“Did you go to Saint Michael and you didn't know El Nigromante?" It seems that this type of annoying expressions become more common every day when expressing that we are visiting a certain place and to save you the bad experience, we have a guide of the essential places in San Miguel that you cannot miss.
In this first part we decided to focus on the very important world of art, which is an ever-blooming and expanding entity around our city, as it never stops growing and receiving the most varied proposals and innovations.
Originally a textile factory specializing in the production of blankets until it was acquired in 2001 by the artist and philanthropist Ellen Benson, which marked the profound restoration of Fábrica La Aurora and turned it into what it is today.
Today, La Aurora, as locals affectionately call it, is home to more than 50 galleries with artistic proposals of the highest variety, ranging from furniture creation to children's literature, thus having the most impressive range in proposal and architecture in San Miguel.
It was in the 1950s when Cossío del Polmar founded Instituto Allende, which became a formal part of the University of Guanajuato by offering a Master's degree in Fine Arts that was internationally recognized. This beautiful institute with its characteristic fountain is a beautiful refuge for all those who like to learn more about the vast world of art and its technical application.
To finish our triad, we will talk about the Nigromante Cultural Center, also known as Bellas Artes and which at its foundation was a convent created by Sister María Josefa Lina de la Canal y Hervás who, thanks to her dowry, made the creation of such a magnificent venue possible.
After its function as a convent, it was a school for young ladies and in 1938 the Treasury would convert it into a Fine Arts museum. With murals in the style of Siqueiros himself and “Las Lavanderas” by Eleanor Cohen, visiting the Nigromante is a visual delight that inspires all the artistic brilliance that takes place there, ranging from dance classes to textile art.
Whether you want to take a crash course, see some amazing murals or tour what was once an old factory, San Miguel has everything to be proclaimed one of the places where the most emphasis is placed on artistic vision.
