About

When I moved to San Miguel de Allende a little less than a year ago, the murals stood out as one of the defining features of the town. I wanted to see more of them, so I asked someone whether a list existed anywhere. They told me: "It's impossible. There are way too many."

So I started taking pictures. I have a background both in software and photography. I worked professionally in technology and spent years traveling the world taking pictures. Today's AI tools made it easy to build a site to map and display them, so I did.

A few things matter to me, and they've guided the project from the start:

• Bilingual. I'm rapidly improving my Spanish, and the site should work for everyone here.
• Credit the artists. Every piece I can gets properly attributed.
• Respect the art. If a photo has bad light or a car in the way, I try to go back and re-shoot it.
• Non-profit. The site exists to provide something that didn't exist before. That's all.

The murals aren't just in Colonia Guadalupe, which has the highest density but is only a fraction of what's out there. They're all over town, including colonias like Luis Donaldo Colosio which no tourists and most locals never see. I'd heard the center had none, to protect its colonial character, but turned a corner and found beautiful art in a parking lot almost next to the Parroquia.

Every mural has a story, and sharing those stories is part of the point, not just a photo and a pin. Sometimes it's an artist's statement; sometimes it's the man who walked up to me in Colonia San Rafael to tell me the mural I was photographing was a memorial for his brother. Strangers walking up and sharing their stories felt very San Miguel.

It turns out there aren't an impossible number of murals here, but there are a lot: more than 800 pieces so far, and counting. There's always new art in San Miguel, so this project will never really be finished.