By Sal Guarino
I agree with the title of Kitty Kalen’s popular 1950’s US hit Little Things Mean a Lot. Four months into living here in Centro with my Mexican wife, I find so many wonderful aspects of my experience to gratefully reflect upon. While San Miguel is often justly lauded with big accolades for its timeless architectural beauty, more-than-agreeable climate, safety, and reasonable cost of living, I thought sharing about some of the many little things I enjoy here would be a nice change of pace.
I love having everything we need within only minutes from our front door. Within just one block, there’s a butcher, two barbers, several tienditas, a hardware store, three restaurants, including a very inexpensive one offering simple and tasty local fare, and even a woman who serves up delectable gorditas and quesadillas, with as many sides of local gossip as you would like, right from her garage. Talk about convenience!
I love the simple, traditional, and highly efficient process for garbage collection. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, just before 9am, after the refuse track parks down the street, a worker walks up and down the block ringing a bell by hand along the way, signaling everyone that shortly after, the truck will be coming up the street to collect our garbage. While my gringo-wired way of thinking prematurely thought this process was outdated, chaotic, inefficient, and a rather anxiety-producing way to have to dispose of trash, I learned quickly that my closed-mindedness was the only inefficiency at work. After retracting my initial scoffing at the “old-fashioned” system, I now get a big kick out of it. When I hear the bell, I calmly disengage from my laptop, gather our bags, walk outside to leave them just a few feet up the street, and exchange a few Buen Día’s with other messy-haired neighbors. It’s actually a highly efficient, pretty cool, and easy process of garbage disposal and building neighborly camaraderie!
I appreciate how many places are closed on Sundays just as they were in Brooklyn when I was a kid. I find having to come back tomorrow psychologically and even spiritually beneficial, to delay gratification and convenience for just a bit. I welcome the reminder that things can wait, that relaxing and enjoying the sweetness of doing nothing is often undervalued.
I am impressed daily with the patience, skill, and politeness of local drivers. The purple buses are another story (my wife and I call them morados enojados – angry purple things), but putting them aside, I am amazed and heartened how despite the existence of only a handful of traffic lights in the entire inner city, drivers weave in and out of the narrowest streets with ease, poise, and regard for other drivers and pedestrians. To a native New Yorker and former Californian, observing how “uno a uno” is more than just a trite suggestion yet effectively guides an orderly process at intersections is most impressive!
There are several other little things I love about living here. Rather than continue at the moment, I would love to hear what some of you readers of Atencíon love about San Miguel. Feel free to contact me @ salguarino@gmail.com and share some of your personal gems that make SMA a treasure to you. I look forward to incorporating your feedback into next week’s follow-up article. Thanks!
Sal Guarino
Born in Brooklyn, NY, now settled in Centro with his Mexican wife, Sal brings a rich set of life experiences to the table. “SALudos de San Miguel!” shares his joy for living through a lens of gratitude and positivity here in San Miguel. Sal’s first book “SALutations!” was published in 2018.
