By Natalie Taylor
Imagine what this city would be like with stoplights, neon lights, asphalt streets rather than cobblestones, no Biblioteca, no Angela Peralta Theater, and a dormant ex-convent instead of a Cultural Center. The fact that San Miguel de Allende has been preserved, and all these other elements are here are in great part thanks to a woman who arrived in 1948, and made this her home for more than 50 years.
Carmen Masip was born in Spain and grew up in a liberal household, always involved with art and literature. Her father, Paulino Masip, was a writer, and journalist who worked for many newspapers in Spain, and an outspoken anti-Francoist. Intellect, culture, and art became Carmen’s polestar. When Franco was reelected as president of Spain, the family fled and moved to Mexico, which opened its doors to those who could no longer tolerate the oppressive regime. They were among the first twelve families allowed to leave. She arrived in Mexico at the age of eleven, became a Mexican national, and adopted this as her new homeland. In San Miguel de Allende, Carmen embarked on a lifelong journey to bring the city back to its former glory; a city that had become a ghost of its magnificent past. One of her first actions to promote a revival of intellectual endeavors and literacy, was the founding of the Biblioteca in 1954, together with her Canadian friend Helen Wale. She married James Hawkins, an artist from the United States, and together they opened the first bookstore in town, El Colibrí, in 1959.
That same year, she founded the language school Academia Hispano-Americana, dedicated to teaching Spanish language and Mexican culture to foreigners. That school is still here, still teaching foreigners to speak Spanish. From 1960 to 1963 she coordinated events at the Centro Cultural El Nigromante, including painting expositions by Pablo Picasso, Jean Monet, and Rufino Tamayo. Then, in 1972 she became the center’s director, remaining in that position until 2002.
Another major contribution was the actions she took in 1968 when the Angela Peralta Theater was threatened with being torn down by the city. She founded the Asociacion Cultural San Miguel, an organization dedicated to promoting restoration of the theater, and began to produce theatrical and musical events there. In keeping with her preoccupation about preserving the city’s architecture and its past, she denounced the authorities’ destruction of the cobblestone streets, long before the idea of a UNESCO Heritage site arose. In 1979 she became the co-founder of PEN International in San Miguel, and that same year she teamed up with Thomas Sawyer to create the Chamber Music Festival here. That event brought beautiful classical music to the city for the next 25 years, and gave out at least 1000 music scholarships to Mexican students.
Her contributions to culture and preservation were honored in 1995 when she became the recipient of a gold medal for her work as director of the Centro Cultural El Nigromante. The award came from the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes—the National Institute for the Fine Arts in Mexico. Only three others had received the medal, and she was the first woman to do so.
In spite of her many years here in San Miguel, her tireless work to improve and promote the city, few seem to be aware of her and of her work to benefit sustaining and safeguarding all the treasures of the city. There is, of course, a bronze bust of her in front of Centro Cultural El Nigromante, and a small historical plaque high on the exterior war of the Angela Peralta Theater. The words are those of Federico Garcia Lorca, a poet who was executed for speaking out against Franco. The plaque states: “A town without theater, is a town without a soul.”
And yet, according to renowned sculptor Pedro Friedberg, not enough people know about her, and about her many contributions toward the betterment of San Miguel de Allende. Friedberg dubbed her “valurosa capitana”—brave captain, for championing a cause. From a desire to preserve the beautiful colonial architecture, to keeping alive music, and art in all its forms, Carmen Masip left a rich and enduring legacy. As we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, let us remember her as one of the important women of our city; someone who worked tirelessly for the benefit of the community, and whose works benefit everyone who calls San Miguel their home today.
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