About Us

Maria Hinojosa

San Miguel PEN 2019 Bilingual Winter Lecture Series
San Miguel PEN 2019 Ciclo invernal de conferencias bilingües

Bellas Artes / Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez “El Nigromante”
Second-floor Auditorium / Auditorio, segundo piso
Tuesdays/Martes at 6 PM / 150 pesos / Students / Estudiantes 50 pesos
Tickets / Boletos: Tesoros shop in the Biblioteca or at the door / Tienda Tesoros en la Biblioteca o a la puerta

January 22
Maria Hinojosa, news anchor & reporter / presentadora de noticias y periodista
An Enemy of the President? Finding my Voice as a Journalist, a Mexican Immigrant, a Latina in America /
¿Una enemiga del presidente? Encontrando mi voz como periodista, inmigrante mexicana, y latina en América

January 29
Andrew Paxman, author & professor of journalism / autor y profesor de periodismo
Excess of Press: Uncomfortable Truths about Mexican Journalism Past & Present /
Exceso de prensa: las verdades incómodas sobre el periodismo mexicano antes y hoy

February 5
Francisco Cantú, author, The Line Becomes a River: a Chronicle of the Border /
autor, La línea se convierte en río: Una crónica de la frontera
The US/Mexico Border: Geography, Psychology, Policy /
La frontera EU/México: geografía, psicología, política

Andrew Paxman

February 19
Elizabeth Starčević, weaving artist / tejedora
Don Agapito Jiménez, master weaver & teacher / maestro tejedor y maestro de tejido
The Wool Speaks to You: 200 Years of San Miguel Weaving Art/
La lana te dice: 200 años del arte sanmiguelense del telar

February 26

John Phillip Santos, author, journalist, TV writer & producer /
autor, periodista, escritor y productor de televisión
Memories, Dreams and Prophecies of the Ancestors: Migration & Assimilation in the Mesoamerican Codices/
Memorias, sueños y profecías de los antepasados: Migración
y mestizaje en los códices de mesoamérica

March 5
Marie Arana, Peruvian-American author and journalist / autora y periodista peruana-americana
Silver, Sword, and Stone: Three Crucibles, One Millennium and the Latin American Character/
Plata, espada y piedra: Tres crisoles, un milenio y el carácter latinoamericano

Judyth Hill, President, San Miguel PEN

San Miguel PEN, one of the 145 centers of PEN International, the worldwide association of writers with centers in 104 countries, exists to promote friendship and intellectual cooperation among writers everywhere, fight for freedom of expression and represent the conscience of world literature.

San Miguel PEN is in San Miguel de Allende, in the middle of Mexico on the high plateau. It was created in 1979 as a center for English-speaking writers in Latin America in hopes of unifying the English and Spanish linguistic communities within PEN. San Miguel PEN promotes the Spanish language in all its work.

Our Programs:

The PEN Writers in Prison Committee has been a focus of the San Miguel center for over 20 years. In 2002 San Miguel hosted the PEN Writers in Prison Committee’s international conference. This work involves answering countless calls for emergency action to aid those in legal trouble for their writing, including prison and threats of death.

San Miguel PEN is also active in International PEN’s Women Writers Committee, its Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee, and the PEN Iberoamerican Foundation (a regional organization).

San Miguel PEN sponsors local literary programs and a local scholarship program that helps Mexican children with limited financial resources stay in school. It participates in major Mexican literary events, such as the enormous yearly Feria Internacional del Libro in Guadalajara. PEN members travel at their own expense to represent the group at the United Nations and at international conferences.

San Miguel PEN sponsors an annual Winter Lecture Series to fund local activities and help support the international organization.

A scene from the 2016 Lecture Series. Diana is a member of the Tixinda Co-op of indigenous women. The presentation of Patrice Perillie about this co-op included a weaving demonstration.