Building Inclusive Communities

If you blink, you might miss her! Darting around town spreading ideas and helping others is Angela Lewis Serrano; this is her story.

The daughter of a Spaniard and an American globetrotter, Angela grew up in San Miguel. She can recall the small town feel of the Centro in the late 80’s and 90’s. By the time she selected a university, she was ready to leave, first heading to Queretaro and then to Barcelona for five years. Though immersed in the new world, she’d come back home each summer to SMA. She missed being able to walk down the street and see her neighbors and friends. While back one summer, she also met and began a relationship with her future fiancé, Donnie. Once she appreciated what she had back home, she decided to return after university, nine years ago. “Every time I come back, I feel very lucky and grateful to call SMA my home”

For nine years, she’s been learning. “I’m thankful SMA has allowed me to experience so many things, you can do anything you want here.” And indeed she has from coordinating a #TedX event to getting to know local business owners for a publication to organizing a food festival. Angela has been a catalyst in #SMA, trying to make inclusive community events. Combining her community organizing talents with Donnie’s restaurant expertise, the food festival, Sabores San Miguel, was created to be free to enter and inclusive. It allowed restaurant owners to meet the community and locals to sample small plates of the best foods in town in Parque Juarez, all while enjoying local music. Another project has been La PULGA Flea Market San Miguel. The monthly event is free to enter and open to the public with 150 vendors, a mix of regulars and one-timers, offering all sorts of things. What Angela is most proud of is that the event is not tourism dependent – it is put on for and run by locals and would continue even if tourism slowed down.
Her other big project is developing a sustainable ranch near Los Senderos. Once finished, it will boast an adobe house, solar panels, rain catchment system, and even black water filtration to be used to grow banana trees. They plan to grow in-season produce as well as raise chicken and produce eggs. Slowly but surely the dream is being realized in part due to collaboration with Luc from Bodega Orgánica: Red de productores and Mercado SANO. Even after all of this she says, “I’m still figuring things out,” staying active and learning new things.

When she’s not busy building communities, she likes to shop at garage sales, play tennis, swim, and take new classes. She recommends taking your dog(s) for a walk by La Presa and exploring the Botanical Garden, El Charco del Ingenio-Jardín Botánico.

She encourages you to get involved in your local community or volunteer with your favorite NGO. “Start there and get to know your neighbors, people living in different situations and realities. When you help others, it makes you happier – nothing else compares.” You can share your talents, maybe by giving art classes to children or teaching how to prepare a dish. You can also take advantage of the great resources in SMA to learn new skills and improve existing ones. Angela has taken advantage of art classes at Bellas Artes, but great classes are also available at Instituto Allende and El Sindicato. Though you can find her at La Pulga, if you keep your eyes peeled, you just might catch a glimpse of Angela as she bounces around the city!
Original photo via Susan Knight York