By Carolina de la Cajiga
Of all the things San Miguel de Allende is celebrated for, we can now add mending broken hearts.
For twenty years, Patrice Wynne had owned and managed Gaia, a thriving bookstore in Berkeley, CA, when in 1995, an unimaginable shift took the book industry by surprise—the world's largest online retailer entered the scene. Like thousands of other independent bookstores, Patrice tried to reinvent hers to no avail. She was devastated, her heart broken. “Gaia had been the center of my life. I sorely missed hosting nightly author readings and being part of the community,” she says.
After a year of misery and grief, a childhood dream of living abroad gave her the impetus to stand up again. “I chose Mexico because I loved the culture and the people since my first visit in 1973. The beauty of light and art in San Miguel, and the kindness of strangers started to heal my spirit and restored my faith in living with gusto again,” Patrice recalls with great joy. “I now see the upset of having to close Gaia as a re-creative opportunity. Though I had hardly any money when I arrived in San Miguel, I applied my ancestors' inherited social entrepreneurial teachings and the skills I’d gained running Gaia.”
Patrice’s mind ignited when one of her new San Miguel friends showed her a fabric featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe. She immediately envisioned how to give the iconic image a new life. This was the start of Abrazos San Miguel, her gateway to becoming productive and self-supporting again. “I began designing and producing aprons, bathrobes, shower curtains, and other popular items,” she recounts. “Working with Mexican people has been a great honor for me. I’m most proud of mentoring young Mexican women eager to become economically independent. I teach them accounting, social media, decision-making, problem-solving, business communications, product design, and quality control standards,” shares Patrice. “Seeing these women develop their skills and become outstanding seamstresses and managers at Abrazos is gratifying.”
Serendipity crossed Patrice’s path when a New York Times article about a San Miguel friend’s home featured one of her Guadalupe shower curtains. With a big grin, Patrice says, “Orders came in from all over the world! I had found my footing again!” Later came the Frida Kahlo world explosion, and Abrazos was ready. She adds, “We sold zillions of my Kahlo designs to museums worldwide”
To round out her newfound life, in 2013, Patrice met the love of her life, Ernesto Pérez, a self-taught local artist who proposed six days after they met. They are now soulmates, wife and husband, and share their life with Lil Rudi, their dog-daughter. “We enjoy savoring mornings in our colorful living room with a skylight to the clouds, chatting about art, the world, and our lives. I also belong to a group of wondrous, fun, smart women who meet monthly in each other’s homes to chat, support each other, and enjoy life. The magic of San Miguel is now real to me!”
Aside from working at Abrazos, “which is more like playing,” says Patrice with a wink, she and Ernesto travel around Mexico for inspiration and relaxation, to enrich their minds and learn more about Mexican culture. She also visits New York City and Pennsylvania regularly to see her 92-year-old mother and meet with textile producers. For 2025, Patrice has various innovative plans. One is hosting festive parties where customers design their own clothes with Abrazos fabrics and seamstresses. When the time comes for Patrice to focus on other creative explorations, she dreams of finding an energetic buyer who will continue Abrazos' founding fair-trade practices, strengthen relationships with museums, and expand its global reach.
After opening Abrazos, she took a hiatus from writing. “I’m now planning to bring to paper my memoir, Reborn on Cobblestones, to recount my adventures and experiences as an expat in San Miguel de Allende, particularly after a crisis,” she shares. Reflecting, Patrice says, “Every painful experience has a hidden gift that will change us for the better if we are patient and allow it to reveal itself.”
You can reach Patrice Wynne-Pérez at Abrazos San Miguel, Zacateros #24, Centro.
@AbrazosSanMiguel and @PatriceWynne
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