Morelia: Shopping, golfing...loving?

No one would think of the San Miguelito in Morelia as a singles bar. It’s a restaurant, gallery, museum and bazaar. Antiques clutter every spare nook and cranny, making it look a lot like the Olde Curiosity Shoppe.

But what most captures your attention is the collection of sculptures of Saint Anthony - all of them standing upside down.

The faithful, explains Cynthia Martínez, a manager at the San Miguelito, come to pray to the saint and then stand him on his head until their prayer is answered. Men and women alike come; most are looking for a spouse. And many leave behind messages in San Miguelito's growing stack of guest books. "We have 17,000 entries," says Cynthia. How many have had their prayers answered? "We know of perhaps a dozen," she says. "But there undoubtedly are more who have never recounted their success."

Morelia, in case you haven't heard, is becoming a fashionable weekend haven for those bored with Valle de Bravo, Cuernavaca and San Miguel de Allende. Perhaps it's the 27-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus that has made it such a favorite. Golfers must be lining up, for two more courses are under construction with talk of yet another along the shore of nearby Cuitzeo, the second largest natural lake in Mexico.

Meanwhile, new hotels are opening in ancient buildings on almost every block in the historic center. Notable is Los Juaninos, across from the Cathedral. It began as the palatial home of the Bishop of Morelia in the viceregal era. If legend is to be believed, public censure of episcopal opulence obliged the lordly cleric to seek more modest quarters.

The most famous of the luxury hotels in Morelia, however, is not new at all. Villa Montaña dates back more than half a century. Built by an American, it, along with the Villa San José and the Posada Vista Bella, attracted great numbers of vacationers from the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Now a new generation of Americans - if Baby Boomers can be called a new generation - is returning.

This swarm of potential customers has fostered a growing community of artists. They gather along the Plaza de las Rosas on Sundays to display their works (Sundays only, because Morelia has banned peddlers from its streets). Collectors more interested in profits than aesthetics peruse and ponder. Many also stop in at the Casa de Artesanías, which features strikingly imaginative crafts and sponsors contests in which artists take innovative approaches to traditional designs.

In the 16th  century, the first Bishop of the area, Vasco de Quiroga, encouraged indigenous Tarascan artisans and urged every village to specialize in one product. Possibly to counteract this coddling of the na- tives, the church and the viceregal government began importing entire families from Spain to become the new landed gentry. The colonizers moved the capital from Patzcuaro to Morelia, and gave it the grand ar- chitecture and aristocratic feel that still dominates the historic center.

Nights need not be dull in what was once a conserva- tive city; Morelia now boasts more than its share of discos and antros. There is a year-round roster of festivals and, being a university town, higher-brow diversions for those who prefer the staid and proper. On top of that, there is always the shopping.

Visit the Mercado de dulces, which sells more than candy. Stringed instruments from Paracho - a town fa- mous for its guitars - can be found at Iranpa in the historic center. Copperware from Santa Clara de Cobre is avail- able at Cobre y Arte in the Colonia electrícistas. Among the better art galleries are Galeria Oñate in the Plazuela Sonterraña in the historic center, and Creadores de Arte en Michoacán in Colonia Vista Bella.

And of course, many of the antiques on display back at the San Miguelito are for sale. Though what lures most people there, in addition to the good food, is the chance to petition Saint Anthony for a soulmate.