26 September 2006

Sanmiguelada update

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Two local men were shot - one in the abdomen, the other in the leg - following last Saturday's Sanmiguelada, San Miguel de Allende's annual running of the bulls. The victim shot in the stomach was apparently sent to Leon for medical care. According to people in the area (much of this "news" was obtained from second-hand sources) gang activity is to blame and the shooter, 16, is known.

All of this has some civic officials questioning what the Sanmiguelada has become. Many people complain about the influx of drunken fresa kids, but this dust up was between locals.

The economic impact - for some - is hard to deny; one nightclub charged a 450-peso cover on Saturday night, hotels were reportedly full. The estimated 20,000 visitors supposedly spent $1.5 million over the weekend - none of it in liquor stores, which were closed due to a ley seca (dry law) that forbade retail booze sales. Public drinking was rife, though. (Visitors brought their own stuff.)

A total of 53 people were injured, according to the local Cruz Roja. (Figures vary, but I'll go with what the Cruz Roja said.)

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