San Miguel and Puerto Escondido: A tale of two cities

Published August 3, 2024

by Martin Fletcher

They’re both gems of Mexico living, but San Miguel de Allende and Puerto Escondido couldn’t be more different: the desert of the central highlands and the tropical beaches of the Pacific coast; colonial grid and urban sprawl; a cultural treasure trove and a natural paradise.

But the two towns’ greatest faceoff comes in the shape of facelifts and tattoos. In San Miguel, residents crowd the benches and cobbled alleys around the Jardín Allende, where mariachi bands serenade matrons sporting the smoothest faces and whitest teeth money can buy. In Puerto, shaved heads and tanned bodies are a wrinkled canvas of fading tattoos.

Decades ago, artists discovered San Miguel while surfers discovered epic waves in Puerto. Many came and went, but those who remained stamped the towns with their image. They couldn’t be more different.

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