From
Renewing the Countryside website
La
Mision de San Miguel
Blending Culture and Commerce
Patagonia, Arizona
Part
musical venue, part museum, part restaurant and social gathering spot,
La Mision de San Miguel adds a high octane dose of culture, conversation,
and commerce to the small rural Arizona town of Patagonia. The iconographic
manifestation of a vision of local entrepreneur Cecilia San Miguel,
La Mision de San Miguel proves how one individual’s passionate
commitment to a town can revitalize not only building walls, but also
the heart of a community.
A
native of Equador, Cecilia came to Patagonia — located about 75
miles south of Tucson and close to the Mexican border — in 1997
with no specific plan or agenda. Looking for a fresh start after becoming
widowed in her 50s, Cecilia arrived after having worn different career
hats – from running an art gallery to working in immigration law.
“I came to start a new book, not a new life chapter,” explains
Cecilia, shaking her mass of dark curls while warmly smiling.
After
a year of Patagonia residency, she ventured into her first business:
Velvet Elvis, a pizza restaurant that specializes in handmade gourmet
pizzas, calzones, and salads with funky ingredient combos accompanied
by memorable names such as “The Inca Quinoa Pizza,” described
as “Chicago-style crust prepared with quinoa flour and baked in
a deep iron skillet with layers of various vegetables and cheese”
and requiring 24-advance notice preparation time. Even with price tags
of $20 to $35 for these “Designer Pizzas” as they are described
on the menu, the Velvet Elvis has succeeded in focusing on a unique,
distinct approach to restaurant eating. Cecilia admits she was lacking
in restaurant experience, but felt drawn to the challenge. “I’m
a firm believer in serendipity; if you’re following your heart
and never give up on your vision, the universe will support you,”
Cecilia comments.
The
Velvet Elvis opened its doors in December,1998, with a procession honoring
our Lady of Guadalupe, an important local Roman Catholic icon, blending
local Mexican traditions with creative marketing. Today, the Velvet
Elvis has earned a reputation as a regional travel destination, paralleling
the growing interest in Patagonia as an artisan haven with shops and
galleries lining the small main street. Cecilia was named one of the
“Great Chefs of Tucson” and in a recent visit to Patagonia,
the Governor of Arizona dubbed the Velvet Elvis and La Mision as “Arizona’s
Treasures.” Cecilia claims her success as a restaurateur stems
from the fact that she is not formally trained in the food business.
“Because I’m not a restaurateur or a trained chef, everything
I cook is as if I was preparing dinner for six friends at home,”
explains Cecilia. “Not everything may make dollar sense, but as
a result Velvet Elvis comes across as a completely unexpected experience.”
And come they do – attracting a wide range of devotees. Patrons
sit at long tables in “family style” settings, where Harley
riders, birders and local artisans cross paths and conversations.
This
passion for going against the odds — for following visions that
to the mainstream don’t make concrete business sense — led
Cecilia to her latest venture: La Mision de San Miguel. “I was
busy running the Velvet Elvis and was in no way looking for new ventures.
But I guess I’m a sucker for new challenges and this vision of
La Mision kept calling out to me,” explains Cecilia. La Mision
de San Miguel rose from the former Big Steer Bar, a cowboy bar built
in 1930 and earning its reputation through the years as a rowdy saloon
with a rough edge. The local Harris family who owned the building approached
Cecilia to take on the building after it didn’t even sell at public
auction. “I basically started with three walls and a liquor license
and my friends calling me crazy back in October of 2003,” laughs
Cecilia. “My vision for La Mision stems from a personal tribute
to Archangel Michael, celebrating life and overcoming demons. This place
was a drug-infested bar - a place of darkness. I wanted to recreate
it as the positive heart of Patagonia, a place of inspuration, beauty
and life.”
The
14-month renovation involved many artistic helping hands drawing upon
Cecilia’s vision. The building itself needed to be stripped down
and rebuilt to code, preserving the “three walls” constructed
of adobe bricks originally hand-made on site in 1915. Such historic
preservation blended with modern green design elements, such as “rastra”
construction: Styrofoam building blocks in filled with cement that have
a R40 insulation value and can be sculpted and artistically shaped.
Step
inside the 6,000 square foot La Mision de San Miguel building, and the
interior infuses a serene, mystical quality. “No churches were
desecrated in the making of this nightclub,” Cecilia smiles, although
the cool, dark yet inviting feel of the interior exudes an almost temple-like
ambiance. Various artists painted a diverse range of intricate wall
murals, from a 60-foot mural on the dance-floor wall of the Four Horsemen
of the Apocalypse to a brightly pained snake encircling a jungle scene,
reflecting the Shamanic spirituality of the Shuara Indians of the Amazon.
A diverse collection of both international and local artifacts add cultural
detail: the main bar itself is constructed from parota imported from
Mexico. The side bar was constructed from wood salvaged from barns from
a nearby century old cattle ranch. The wine cellar door came from a
temple in India. “Every painting, every piece of imported furniture
has a story to tell,” explains Cecilia. “So when you come
in, you notice that it is not only the music and the conversation resonating
in the air; the walls have something to say.”
La
Mision de San Miguel renovations shot up over $400,000, depleting Cecilia’s
savings and causing her to second mortgage her home. “Right now
La Mision is flying on the wings of the Velvet Elvis,” explains
Cecilia. The smoke-free La Mision de San Miguel focuses on live music
primarily on weekends and has plans for a full tapas menu utilizing
the stone grill in the garden. Wine tasting and other special events,
including hall rentals for private parties, supplement La Mision’s
business mix.
Cecilia
understands the importance of marketing, realizing she can’t count
on just local Patagonia traffic to fill the nightclub. “This place
needs to be marketed as a regional destination in southeastern Arizona,”
explains Cecilia. Fortunately, tourism is rising in Patagonia, based
on a strong international birding base attracted to the area’s
bird and nature habitat. Recent media articles in major Arizona newspapers
have fueled weekend traffic. Cecilia also realizes the value of participating
in joint marketing efforts that bring tourist traffic to the area. A
recent “follow the birds” regional tourism promotion involved
a local community member purchasing an artisan-crafted bird sculpture
that is on permanent display outside La Mision, Travelers “follow
the birds” by going to various locations in Santa Cruz county
that house these bird sculptures, drawing both birder and other tourist
traffic.
“I’m
a firm believer in destiny. I wasn’t looking for a bar business.
It was sort of handed to me and now I’m Miss Kitty of Patagonia,”
sums up Cecilia.
Contact:
Cecilia San Miguel
335 McKeown Ave.
PatagoniaAZ85624
USA
www.lamisionpatagonia.com
520-394-0123
email: lamisionpatagonia@msn.com
