By Natalie Taylor
Most of us have had the opportunity to see old photos of San Miguel—iconic shots of the city and of historical events—framed forever by the moment in time in which they were taken. The great majority of these shots were taken by one man, a photographer who made his life’s work chronicling the city in images. Arturo Suarez was born in San Miguel de Allende on August 7, 1910 and his 91 years of life spanned a tumultuous era, nationally and locally. Less than one year after his birth, Mexico plunged into a major civil war with the ousting of dictator Porfirio Diaz, president of the country for three decades. It was the time of Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and the bloody battles that marked the Mexican Civil War. When that conflict came to an end, the country was once consumed by the Cristero Wars—brutal clashes between religious and secular factions that went on from 1926 to 1929. It was not until 1934, when Lazaro Cardenas became president, that the country began a journey toward social and economic recovery.
Arturo Suarez encountered violence early in life. When he was a young man, he went to work at Hacienda Tambula, some fifteen kilometers from San Miguel, where he would stay during the week and come home on the weekends. One Saturday, when he could not find transportation, he spotted a horse and “borrowed” it to go home. On the road, he was stopped by military guards because the horse had a brand indicating that it belonged to the military. Arturo was arrested, placed against a wall, and was about to be shot to death for the “theft,” when a neighbor recognized him, vouched for him and had him set free. This near-death experience traumatized him so much that he refused to return to his previous work, and remained with his family in San Miguel.
Settling in San Miguel was the turning point for Suarez. An itinerant photographer was making the rounds through the city, taking photos of people and events. Arturo was fascinated by the process, and asked to apprentice with the photographer. He learned the trade and eventually opened a general store on Mesones, where he also developed photographs, and became the first distributor for Kodak.
The second encounter with violence came in the late 1920s, when he helped a friend aligned with the Cristeros, who was being pursued to be shot. Suarez hid his friend in the trunk of his car, and because he was known by the guards, they allowed him to pass without inspection. It was a repeat of what he himself had experienced a few years before, and now it was his turn to help save a friend.
After the tumultuous events, the country entered a new and positive era with the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas in 1934. San Miguel experienced a renaissance with the renovation of old buildings and the founding of the School of Art, by Cossio del Pomar and Stirling Dickinson. Throughout these times, Arturo Suárez took photographs of everything that happened in the city, capturing the landscapes and people of the time.
Arturo Suárez married Antonia Oliden Loredo in 1934 and they had a large family, of which I was fortunate to meet two brothers, Arturo Jr. and Eric. They had just opened a store on Jesus 14 where they display, and sell their father’s pictures, and they were happy to tell me about him.
The collection of photos is impressive not just in quantity, but because they capture a San Miguel of old—a town changing from historic to contemporary, captured in myriad images of street scenes, religious ceremonies, major openings, and a gallery of historical figures. There are photos of the old Ignacio Ramírez market, the inauguration of the Fábrica la Aurora as an art center, the naming of Parque Juárez, the unveiling of the statue of Fray Juan de San Miguel in front of the Parroquia, the beginnings of the Locos parade, a smiling Stirling Dickinson driving his famous Jeep in front of the Jardin, and many more. A history in photos.
Arturo Suárez lived a decade short of a century, through the metamorphosis of San Miguel from a sleepy town in the Bajío to a major artistic center. He died on February 20, 2001 but left behind a colossal body of work. It’s worth visiting the family’s newly opened shop and seeing these photos for yourself.
Natalie Taylor: BA in English Lit and Journalism, Loyola University, Chicago, 1995. MFA in Creative Writing, Vermont College, Montpelier, VT, 1999. Published writer, editor, journalist. Spanish teacher in the US, English teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translator. www.natalietaylor.org Contact: tangonata@gmail.com
