By Kris Rudolf
Like so many of us, Daniel Rueffert didn’t plan on spending his life south of the border. In 1969, he was headed in a completely different direction. And that direction was west, all the way to Vietnam. With only four months left as an enlisted medic in the army, the deployment papers came as a surprise. He was instructed to sell any items that wouldn’t fit into a duffle bag and report in the following morning. One of his possessions was a car and in his attempt to sell it—on the “shady” side of an Alabama town—the police discovered another of his possessions: a matchbox full of joints. Dan was thrown in jail for his remaining months of service.
This twist of fate might have saved Dan’s life. It also led him to San Miguel. After his release, he stuck out his thumb and a passing vehicle stopped. The driver was a Canadian sculptor who was heading to Mexico—“to a magical art colony in the mountains.” Dan was ready for a little adventure; he had nothing else awaiting him. As a youth in South Dakota, he had read Norman Rockwell’s biography and was fascinated by his work. It inspired him to start drawing. Arriving in San Miguel, which he describes as love at first sight, he discovered artists making a living while honing their craft. His first stay was brief due to lack of funds, but it left a mark. Returning to the States, he enrolled in art school in Denver, choosing a new path and a new life.
One of Dan’s claims to fame is his ability to sketch quickly. He can do a painting—start to finish, in 90 minutes. He developed this skill while doing portraits in the squares of New Orleans. It was a pit stop on his way back south. By 1981, Dan was settled in San Miguel where he opened a small art gallery. Within a short time, he became one of our noted artists. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, his signature paintings featured a reflective puddle that mirrored the colonial buildings on the street. These scenes became popular and people began collecting his work.
Dan continued to paint our local life—fruit vendors, laughing children, women with rebozo-covered heads. His models were the everyday people of San Miguel.
Landscapes followed, countryside scenes of our cactus-covered desert and neglected haciendas with crumbling facades. More than fifty years after first stopping at the mirador that overlooks our town, Dan continues to capture the essence of San Miguel, its beauty, and time-honored traditions.
Kris Rudolph is a local chef, restaurateur, and tour operator. Her book Voices of San Miguel: An Oral History is a collection of memories that tells the story of one of Mexico’s most fabled towns. It’s a mosaic of personal accounts, told by a diverse group of residents.
You can find Daniel Rueffert's work at his gallery on Sollano #15, Centro
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