San Miguel de Allende

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San Miguel de Allende
City
From top to bottom: Left: - Inmaculada Concepcion Temple - La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel Right: - La Parroquia and downtown San Miguel de Allende - Angela Peralta Theater - Jardín Allende - San Miguel de Allende Historic Museum
Coat of arms
Nickname:  El Corazón de México[1]
Motto:  Hic Natus Ubique Notus
San Miguel de Allende Location in Mexico Show map of Guanajuato San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) Show map of Mexico
Coordinates: 20°54′51″N 100°44′37″W / 20.91417°N 100.74361°W / 20.91417; -100.74361
Country	Mexico
State	Guanajuato
Founded	Pre-1541
Municipal Status	1811
Government
• Municipal President	Mauricio Trejo Pureco
Area
• Municipality	1,554 km2 (600 sq mi)
• Seat	24.27 km2 (9.37 sq mi)
Elevation (of seat)	1,900 m (6,200 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[2]
• Municipality	174,615
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
• Seat	72,452
• Seat density	3,000/km2 (7,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00 (Central Standard Time[3])
Postal code (of seat)	37700
Area code	415
Demonym	sanmiguelense[4]
Website	(in Spanish) [1]
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Protective town of San Miguel de Allende and Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Designated	2008 (32nd session)
Reference no.	1274
Region	Latin America and the Caribbean

San Miguel de Allende (Spanish pronunciation: [sam miˈɣel de aˈʎende]) is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region,^[5] the town lies 274 km (170 mi) from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Querétaro and 97 km (60 mi) from the state capital of Guanajuato.^[6] The town's name derives from a 16th-century friar, Juan de San Miguel, and a martyr of Mexican Independence, Ignacio Allende, who was born in a house facing the central plaza. San Miguel de Allende was a critical epicenter during the historic Chichimeca War (1540–1590) when the Chichimeca held back the Spanish Empire during the initial phases of European colonization. Today, an old section of the town is part of a proclaimed World Heritage Site, attracting thousands of tourists and new residents from abroad every year.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the town was in danger of becoming a ghost town after an influenza pandemic. Gradually, its Baroque/Neoclassical colonial structures were "discovered" by foreign artists who moved in and began art and cultural institutes such as the Instituto Allende and the Escuela de Bellas Artes. This gave the town a reputation, attracting artists such as David Alfaro Siqueiros, who taught painting.

This in turn drew foreign art students, especially former US soldiers studying on the G.I. Bill after World War II. Since then, the town has attracted a significant number of foreigners from the US, Canada and Europe, shifting the area's economy from agriculture and industry to commerce catering to tourists and retired foreigner residents.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the Protective town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco as a World Heritage Site in 2008. The area of designation includes part of the town of San Miguel de Allende and part of the town of Atotonilco, which is about 14 kilometers north.^[7] The World Heritage Site is highlighted by a core zone of 43 hectares in San Miguel de Allende's well-preserved historic center, filled with buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries.^[8] The other part of the World Heritage Site, the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, has a core zone of .75 hectares surrounded by a buffer zone of about 4.5 hectares.^[8]