Ignacio Allende

After a wedding celebration we bused to San Miguel de Allende for four days. While there we explored, ate great Mexican food, took a history, and a food tour and learned a great deal. I’d written about the drivers and the culture, but what really interested me was how the town got its name. 

The town got the first part of its name from an important Christian named Juan de San Miguel. But it didn’t stop there because the entire name of the town is San Miguel de Allende. And that’s where Ignacio comes in. 

Ignacio was born in Mexico to parents who emigrated from Spain. This meant that his parents, as immigrants, had more rights than he, native born, would have. The way rights were accorded and what that meant had a lot to do with his leadership in the war for independence. 

There were plots, guerrilla warfare, and eventually more traditional military battles. These lasted for years, but eventually, Allende’s side prevailed and San Miguel was the first Mexican town to gain independence from Spain. As an aside, in the mid 1700’s San Miguel had a population that reached 30,000 and at that time Boston had 16,000 and New York about 25,000. 

Now, San Miguel is largely an ex-pat town with a vibrant art, food, and culture scene. And eventually, in 1826,  many years after the war for independence was won, San Miguel de Allende became the official name combining the Christian origins and the successful war for independence.