My partner and I made an appointment to visit Galeria Atotonilco when we were in San Miguel de Allende at Christmas. You'll need to take a taxi, as it's a few miles outside of town; but taxis are so cheap in San Miguel that you won't even notice the cost. Once you arrive you'll see you have come upon a visual paradise. The gallery is in a building connected with the owners' own home by a covered walkway. Both are products of the San Francisco firm of House & House, which has designed a number of spectacular houses in San Miguel. This is no exception. What is exceptional is the quantity and quality of the art itself. The owners travel all over Mexico and as far as Guatemala in search of hand-crafted works of art of the very highest quality. By profession I am an art historian and by avocation a collector; as such I have an allergy to the tacky, cheap, "tourist art" that one sees everywhere in the world. Galeria Atotonilco, by contrast, is *the* place to find genuine handcrafts made by people whom the owners have befriended. This is a spectacular collection as well as a noble endeavor to nourish indigenous arts at a time when commercialism and mass travel have collaborated to ring the death knell for the superb artistic standards the Galeria Atotonilco offers in abundance, and at affordable prices. I couldn't recommend it with any greater enthusiasm -- for the owners as well as for the art they have on offer. The visit itself is a kind of life-altering experience. read more