Landeta is a pretty name that has been featured in San Miguel de Allende since the Inquisition. Back then members of Landeta family-owned textile factories held important municipal offices and were elite movers and shakers in colonial San Miguel.
Today Landeta is most closely associated with the namesake park and many of the real estate developments adjacent to it.
Landeta Park sits along the botanical garden featuring dry scrubland and wetland ecosystems. Not particularly large, a 30-minute stroll will circle the perimeter. In the mornings the area is favored by foreigners and their unleashed pooches. Around sunset, Mexicans tend to stroll the area. At either time of day it is a pleasant area to have a picnic.
You can venture out of the park and visit the nearby village of San Jose de la Amistad. I always wanted to go there if only because we were both named for the same lad. There isn’t much in the village of San Jose, but if you come back during one of St. Joseph’s two feast days (as the most powerful saint and Jesus’ stepfather, he was awarded not one, but two, feast days) the parties last all day.
Be careful though as the park and village feature a surprisingly large number of free-range dogs. So many that last year a man was mauled to death by wild dogs in the park.
If feeling ambitious, you can continue to stroll past the park and village, out to the road towards Rodriguez. Crossing the highway you’ll come across the old Landeta Hacienda known for its lovely chapel and orchards.
As recently as the 1980s the hacienda was in operation as an overnight Catholic retreat center. Then it sold furniture for a bit and today hosts restaurants and a venue for destination weddings. (I told you the chapel was lovely!)
The name Landeta has a variety of meanings in real estate. There is the large colonia adjacent to the park and public hospital where my napkin selling sweetie, Isabel, once lived. There are other, more upscale, pool-laden gated communities going up around the park with names like Casco de Landeta.
Again, I think Landeta is a pretty name and the park is a pretty area to gambol about with your pet and picnic. Another option is to gambol a bit farther afield for a meal at the old Landeta Hacienda!
by Joseph Toone
- TripAdvisor’s top tour guide in San Miguel de Allende with History and Culture Walking Tours and Joseph Toone Tours.
- Amazon’s best selling author of the San Miguel de Allende’s Secrets book series on making your adventures around town unique.
- Creator of the Maria Dolls coloring book helping indigenous doll makers.