Casa Allende History Museum

Steps south of El Jardin, you’ll find the birthplace of Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga, a Spanish army officer who fought as a leader for Mexican independence in the early 1800s. Originally built in the 18th century, the officer’s childhood home has served as a museum since its February 1990 restoration by the country’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of History and Anthropology). The museum’s two floors of exhibits offer insight into the life of Ignacio Allende and furnishings and paintings from the 16th, 17th 18th centuries that highlight San Miguel’s turbulent history.

Travelers to San Miguel recommend exploring the museum for about an hour and a half in order to gain a better understanding of the city’s significance in Mexican history. “The information, if you spend some time reading it all, is extensive. You will leave with a solid knowledge of the history of San Miguel during these tumultuous years,” one TripAdvisor reviewer said.

The Museo Historico is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is 37 MXN (roughly $3 USD) per person, but seniors, young children, teachers and students can get in for free with a valid ID. To learn more, visit the museum’s website.

January 21, 2023

By Rodrigo Diaz Guerrero

I read somewhere that Hemingway recommended that we never stop being a tourist in our own city. To reconquer and marvel at the place where we reside is to agree with the spirits that protect it. Many times, daily life and routines deprive us of the details that enrich our days, and we forget those important things that made us stay—or return. Such is the case for many of us who are here in our beloved San Miguel, and we process this like looking at old photographs forgotten in some dresser drawer. That is why I am proposing some short routes, to dust off the magic of our home.

Without a doubt, walking through the center without a rush in the morning is one of the greatest privileges the city offers. We recommend that after a few blocks of walking, you stop for breakfast at El Rincón de Don Tomás, a place of tradition in the heart of San Miguel, under the Guadalupe portal. Our suggestion is Otomí eggs, a delicious original breakfast with ingredients from the region. On the opposite corner, as every good resident knows, is the Casa de Allende Historical Museum. For a fee of 65 pesos—or free if you are old enough to have an INAPAM card—you get access to the old house that was the home of the first conspirator against the Spanish crown. The tour of the rooms is a true journey through time and history.

Here we learn how Ignacio Allende, the national hero, lived; the clothes, objects, and furnishings of the time; and how the independence movement began to take shape. In addition, the museum also houses a new exhibit—the Izcuinapan Regional Archeology Room. This excellent exhibit was made possible by the financial support of several San Miguel families and Friends of the Museum, and it houses the Miguel Malo Zozaya collection.

Currently, there are around 135 pieces on exhibit presenting evidence of the pre-Hispanic wealth of the Middle Laja region. The new space is arranged in chronological order and divided into different phases. Those are the Chipícuaro, Mixtlán-Morales, San Miguel, and Tierra Blanca. The ceramic pieces and clay deities in red, reddish-brown, and brown tones cover a time range from 600 BCE to the year 1050 CE. If you have yet not visited this, I do not know what you are waiting for.

We close our route with a coffee at another indisputable classic, La Ventana on Sollano Street. You can then return to the Jardin Principal, and while drinking it, you can reflect on our history, origins, and everything that has happened in bringing us to the here and now.