By Luis Felipe Nieto
We know little about publications in our city before the 20th century. In the 1920s there were some parish sheets and publications of a religious nature such as El Mensajero, La Verdad, and so forth, although they were not printed here.
There were other publications during the revolutionary era that were political propaganda more than newspapers such as Época, El Piquín, La Voz de Allende, and others that disappeared at the end of the elections. A century ago, in 1923, there existed a School of Arts and Crafts in the building «La Princesa» on San Francisco street. There was a printing workshop there which was later moved to Hidalgo 4. Some of the workers were Simón Ibarra, Juan Martínez, and Luis Caballero Villafranca. The head worker was suspended for financial reasons, but due to the interest shown by these workers the director D. José Macías Padilla left them in charge, and they published La Primicia which can be considered the first newspaper in San Miguel.
Lic. Timoteo Lozano Martínez was a teacher at the Secondary School created in 1930 (currently the Official State Secondary School of León). It published a funny little newspaper called El Polichinela. There were others such as Eco, La Voz del Pueblo, and even Roar which was printed by the Lions Club. This is where Don Juan Martínez collaborated along with the writings of the «poet» Pepe Castillo. According to Don Luis Caballero, these did not last long.
In 1938 the magazine Provincia was published. This was where Lic. Leobino Zavala Camarena, the «poet» Castillo, and Don Luis Caballero worked together. The magazine continued to be published under the direction of Lic. Leobino Zavala Vallejo, and people such as Don Alfonso Spriú were contributors. In 1941 they published the magazine Olímpica which featured attractive cover photos including Lupita Zavala V, Meche Jiménez, Beatriz “Ticho” Nieto Lámbarri, and Lupe Méndez S.
On the celebration of the city’s fourth centenary, several magazines started up. These included Four Hundred Years Ago. This is where the brothers Leobino and José Zavala V. wrote alongside Don Leobino Zavala C., Don Franco Barajas, Dr. Anastasio López Escobedo (correspondent for the newspaper Excelsior), Don Luis Caballero Villafranco (correspondent for El Universal), and the “poet” Castillo.
The need for political propaganda gave rise to La Voz del Norte which also had a short duration. But then El Vocero del Norte appeared with the collaboration of Don Antonio Villa Bustamante. There were articles by Don Donato Almanza Morales, Lic. César Hoyos D., “Rubirosa,” Don José Rodríguez Martínez, “Incrédulo”—a well-known priest, and “El poetucho Callejero.” Don Antonio Ruiz Valenzuela also collaborated as a columnist and deputy director. He had a weekly space in the magazine Jueves de Excelsior.
Other short-lived newspapers appeared at that time, but in April 1948 Don Manuel Zavala Zavala began to publish a weekly page where he commented on social events for his friends and which little by little gained in popularity. This required him to print it on a mimeograph and would later be sold at the Bugambilia Restaurant and other places. It was sold in the streets by a local character known as «Buena,» short for «Buenavista,» since Don Antonio Castañeda had vision problems. He was a magnificent organ player.
In 1975, the San Miguel Public Library started a general information newspaper, Atención San Miguel, which supported cultural events in the city. It has been a success ever since. It is no longer dependent on the Public Library and its bilingual edition continues to be a local and regional benchmark. It is a newspaper with a well-earned solid prestige due to its seriousness and impartiality.
In 1998, an information bulletin began called Ciudadano Informa under the direction of Don Xavier Rodríguez Córdoba. Its last issue was number 301 in November of 2017. After being published for 20 years, it ended with the death of its promoter.
Many other local newspapers and magazines have seen the light of day but for various reasons they are no longer in circulation. Today there are several local digital media that keep the city informed due to the ease of social networks and the internet.
Snoop Anteojudo was known as the dean of the San Miguel press. In the opinion of Don Luis Caballero, he was «enjoyable, with a special and original humor, and a champion of subsistence.»
Source: Citizen Report #150.
