The Writing Workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

  Mexico

• Central Highlands: 
San Miguel de Allende

Term: Summer 
Dates: June 20 - July 17, 2009

Description: 2009 will be the second year for our new Writing Workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and it promises to be a great one, with faculty like Joseph and Amanda Boyden, Susan Schultz, Dinty W. Moore, and Jim Grimsley, and guests like Hank Lazer, Andrei Codrescu, Michael Winter, Steven Church, Alex Espinoza and many more.

Highlights: San Miguel is located in the mountains north of Mexico City. The high elevation keeps the summer months cool. It is close enough to Mexico City for weekend visits, and even closer to such historic locations as Dolores Hidalgo, Querétero, and historic Guanajuato, famous for its mummies, silver mines, and as the birthplace of Diego Rivera. The area is known as the birthplace of the Mexican Revolution.

The nearest airport is León, which is only a two hour flight from Houston. We will provide a shuttle service from the airport in León to San Miguel.

The program will provide excursions to nearby historic sites, and participants are also welcome to travel on their own on weekends.

San Miguel was founded in 1542 by the Franciscan monk Fray Juan de San Miguel. It was an important stopover on the Antiguo Camino Real, part of the silver route from Zacatecas, Zacatecas.

The town featured prominently in the Mexican War of Independence. General Ignacio Allende, one of San Miguel's native sons, was a leading player in the war against Spain. Allende, captured in battle and beheaded, is a national hero. San Miguel el Grande renamed itself "San Miguel de Allende" in 1826 in honor of his actions.

San Miguel de Allende was declared a national historic monument in 1926 by the Mexican government, Development in the historic district is restricted in order to preserve the town's colonial character.

The population of the central urban area is approximately 80,000.

Cost in US$: $2,500.00

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian and European Participants.

Participants Travel to Mexico Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups of 2-5

Application Process Involves:

• Essay
• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Transcript

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network

University of New Orleans's Mission Statement: To assist the University in its continuing efforts to internationalize its campus and curriculum and to contribute to global understanding by developing and supporting opportunities of the highest quality worldwide for students, faculty and staff as well as the general public. Our division provides a variety of international academic programs. We offer Summer study abroad programs for college students and adults; Semester and year exchange programs with a variety of universities around the world; IELP, an intensive non-credit program for non-native speakers of English; and CLP, a program of less-commonly taught languages using self-instructional methods and native-speaking tutors. The Division is also closely affiliated with the Center for Austrian Commerce and Culture, and the Council for International Visitors (CIV) of Greater New Orleans, a local non-profit volunteer organization affiliated with the USIA International Visitor Program.

Year Founded: 1958