San Miguel owes a lot to this house of culture and education. Built in the eighteenth century, commissioned by Don Manuel de La Canal, initially as a manor house, the building underwent significant ups and downs over almost two centuries.
In 1927, the diplomat and Peruvian artist Felipe Cossio, encouraged by the great intellectual Alfonso Reyes and Jose Vasconcelos and strongly supported by a team of partners that integrated his former PR, American Stirling Dickinson, former Guanajuato governor Enrique Fernández Martínez and Nell Harris wife of the governor, founded the College of Fine Arts and the destiny of the town would change forever.
The influx of students brought San Miguel economic relief: Shops, hotels and restaurants began to flourish.
The influx of students brought San Miguel economic relief: Shops, hotels and restaurants began to flourish.
In 1950, four years after the creation of the National Institute of Fine Arts, the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education was formed, with which the Institute Allende formed part of an important educational network that today includes the Maryland Art Institute, Chicago Art Institute, University of Minnesota, Ontario College of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, among others.
Starting from the decade of the fifties, a growing number of American war veterans began to move to San Miguel, as a peaceful and quiet option to spend their last years.
Starting from the decade of the fifties, a growing number of American war veterans began to move to San Miguel, as a peaceful and quiet option to spend their last years.
The advantage that Institute offered was to validate studies in North America, as well as being recognized internationally for studying there.
Today, besides the continuity of more than 60 years of education, the Institute Allende houses galleries, cafes, offices and is one of the most popular sites for weddings and events. Adorned with beautifully decorated murals and domes (some presumably made by the painter Martinez Little- blood, the same artist who decorated the Shrine of Atotonilco), the interior courtyards provide pleasant shade and a peaceful atmosphere for visitors, who will not stop being amazed with the architecture of such a beautiful place.
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How this Virtual Tour was made
In the magical town of San Miguel of Allende is the Instituto Allende, a place that because of its picturesque architecture and frescoes colonial colors create a beautiful setting.
A site that has a spectacular terrace overlooking the center of the city and the parish of San Miguel Archangel, these majestic views created the ideal frame for the realization of this virtual tour.
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English language translation made by Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa through the collaboration of Centro de Estudio de Idiomas Culiacán