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Newsletter April 2023

NEWSLETTER

OUR MISSION:
Protect and preserve the natural and cultural heritage of Charco del Ingenio, as well as maintain a botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of regional flora and ecosystems, mainly oriented towards environmental education.

INDEX

Vol. XVIII, No. 04

Each species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived.

— Edward O. Wilson

SPRING EQUINOX CONCERT: TRADICIÓN Y CUMBIA EN EL CAÑÓN

One more year with tickets sold out!

Thank you for your support and love to the Botanical Garden. 

LAST DAYS! EXHIBITION IN THE INTERPRETIVE SALA OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN"THE PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL"                                                                      

March 1 to April 15
to April 23

"By changing scales, our perception is sharpened, we are invited to pause and look at what we do not see, we are allowed to listen to the tiny voices that would normally go unnoticed, to witness the conversation between two insects, one appreciated by humanity and one rejected by it, in order to understand that in both cases human attention derives in a devastating effect on the species."

"Speculative fiction is an important resource in this exhibition, which imagines solutions to real tragedies, such as the construction of a bridge made of mycelium (the basic structure of fungi) to reconnect the interrupted passage to all small species after the construction of a massive road distributor that did not consider them in their project. The proposal is a first step towards healing what is a huge wound in the mountain and in the life and migration cycles of the fauna that inhabits it."

JERZY RZEDOWSKI, in memoriam (1926-2023)

We received with sorrow the news of the departure of the esteemed Dr. Rzedowski, one of the most influential botanists in the study of the vegetation of Mexico. He was born in Poland and suffered persecution by Nazi-fascism. After World War II he came to this country to study at the National Polytechnic Institute, where he began a prolific career. Throughout his career he received more than 44 distinctions for his work. In 1999, during the International Congress of Botany, he was recognized as the "Botanist of the Millennium" for his productive academic life and important contributions to science.

Dr. Rzedowski's great generosity led him to support several emerging conservation projects and botanical gardens in Mexico. From the Institute of Ecology AC of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, where he worked for years as an emeritus researcher, he supported since its inception the initiative of El Charco del Ingenio, especially in the taxonomic studies of the flora of the site carried out by the naturalist Walter Meagher, as well as the flower guide of San Miguel de Allende published by the photographer Richard Cretcher.

Our deep appreciation to Dr. Rzedowski! We want to share with our readers his best known work: "Vegetation of Mexico", in its digital and free versión http://goo.gl/SzGowy

EL CHARCO DEL INGENIO, A STRENGTHENED CITIZEN PROJECT

Soon it will be 32 years of this beloved citizen, self-managed, Mexican and independent project, which has received multiple certifications, recognitions and above all has been consolidated and strengthened over the years. 

We invite you to enjoy this video and share it with your friends.

RENOVATION OF THE SOLAR OBSERVATORY (SOLAR CALENDAR AND CLOCK)

Come and rediscover this interesting spot in El Charco del Ingenio. 

In this observatory we can record important dates such as the equinoxes, solstices and zenith points throughout the year. We can know what day and what time it is because a sunbeam is pointing at us on the floor marked with a series of lines... But -since we know that it is not the Sun that is moving-, in reality it is an Observatory of the Earths Movement.

ARTISTIC GLANCES ON MEXICAN NATURE

10 SILKSCREENS FOR EL CHARCO DEL INGENIO

 
Del 22 de febrero al 16 de abril
Entrada Libre

In 1997, when the San Miguel del Allende Botanical Garden accomplished its first years of life, a group of renowned artists from the national scene made graphic work in silkscreen aiming to support the environmental conservation initiative of El Charco del Ingenio. Ten creators generously acknowledged the request of Cante AC –the organization then responsible for the Botanical Garden.

The outcome was a set of 10 silkscreen works, printed in Jan Hendrix workshop, all devoted to the drylands nature, an habitat where flourish marvelous plants --cacti, agave and other succulent species-– which shape a vast part of Mexican landscape and have played a core role in our ancestral history.

The list of participating artists speaks for itself: Mario Palacios Kaim, Joy Laville, Pedro Friedeberg, Sergio Hernández, Jan Hendrix, Miguel Castro Leñero, Carla Rippey, Boris Viskin, Martha Hellion y Roberto Turnbull.

Today, twenty-five years after that generous group offering, the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature, through El Nigromante Cultural Center, exhibits the set of such graphic works, whose original artistic value increases with the passage of time. And in this way joins the Botanical Garden drive to link art and nature in pursuit of preservation of the bio-cultural heritage of Mexico.

NEW PUBLICATION!

This field guide to the wild flowers of El Charco del Ingenio, is a tool for researchers and nature lovers, which also contributes to the efforts of promotion and defense of the biocultural heritage of Mexico.

ASK FOR THIS BOOK ON YOUR NEXT VISIT TO THE BOTANICAL GARDEN

  

EL CHARCO DEL INGENIO: MEMBER OF BOTANIC GARDEN CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL (BGCI)

Since 2005, El Charco del Ingenio has been part of Botanical Garden Conservation International , the largest network of botanical gardens and plant conservation experts in the world. Based in London,England, this organization brings together a large number of botanical gardens in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to link members to create global participatory strategies in order to ensure plant diversity, for the well-being of people and the planet.

In a country like Mexico, whose geography comprises an enormous biotic wealth, botanical gardens play a fundamental role in the knowledge and conservation of biocultural heritage.

NATURAL HISTORY TOURS IN ENGLISH

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 am

Ticket: 150 pesos per person / 100 pesos members

ARE BACK

ART AND SCIENCE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN
NEW SET OF 12 POSTCARDS: BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS OF EL CHARCO

Graphic work of four creative women from San Miguel de Allende:

Marijose Marín, Marisol Guerrero, Paquina Langenscheidt and Rocío Ríos

Available in our gift shop: 300 pesos

NEW IZCUINAPAN REGIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY HALL IN THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM. MIGUEL MALO ZOZAYA COLLECTION

The Botanical Garden shares and celebrates with the association Amigos del Museo this new exhibition space of the archaeological heritage of San Miguel de Allende, which was inaugurated last October in the "Casa de Allende Museum". The Sala Izcuinapan already exhibits the valuable archaeological collection gathered by Miguel Malo Zozaya, who for years studied and disseminated regional pre-Hispanic history, especially that which flourished during a period of a thousand years in the middle section of the Laja River.

After 50 years in which most of this collection left San Miguel de Allende, this extraordinary collection has returned to be safeguarded, studied, restored and exhibited permanently in the Museum.

This great effort towards recovering such important heritage derives from the confluence of diverse participants: historians, archaeologists, restorers, museographers, photographers, designers, draftsmen, activists ..., a vast collective work with the support of INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) and local donors.