I just got a long weekend for the day of the revolution, and decided to go to Guanajuato! Atli and his family were going to Leon for a family reunion, which is very close to Guanajuato, so they gave me a ride to Leon Friday after work. I had planned on going on straight to Guanajuato on Friday, but the traffic was horrible because of the long weekend, and we didn't arrive to Leon until 12:30, so I spent the night there and went on to Guanajuato in the morning. My hostel was on this little pedestrian walk, and the room I was in had doors that opened up right onto the street (like mini balconies) which was pretty cool. Just up the street there was a bridge that went over the street with a little café there so you could sit overlooking the walkway on both sides. Half of the roads in Guanajuato are in tunnels underground, and it feels like dungeons when you're walking through them which is cool! It's an old silver mine colonial town.
Callejon de Beso
Saturday afternoon I wandered around town for a bit. This place is impossible to navigate, even with a map. Every street winds around and changes names about 5 times. And there are all these callejons and little stairwells that aren't on the map. Anyways, after popping into the market for a bit, I headed to the Alhóndiga de Granaditas. Guanajuato is where the fight for independence started, and the Alhóndiga is where the Spaniards had barricaded themselves. Despite being outnumbered, it looked as though the Spaniards were going to win, as the Alhóndiga was impenetrable. But then the Mexicans sent el Pípila, who is now a local legend, with a stone on his back to protect himself to set the Alhóndiga on fire. The plan worked and drove the Spaniards out to be beaten in battle by the Mexicans. And then the fight for independence travelled from there to the capital. Today the Alhóndiga has been turned into a history museum about Mexico's history in general and about the country's battle for independence.
Mummies
After tht I went to the house Diego Rivera was born in which has since been turned into a museum of both his art, and some other exhibitions. I only really knew Rivera's amazing murals before that, and I had no idea he did art in so many other mediums and styles. So it was really cool to see such a variety of his work. There was also a photography exhibit called "Angelitos" by Romualdo García and was images of families with their dead babies. It was very eerie, but also really interesting. Some of the families looked like they were in such physical pain, while others were completely expressionless, as though in shock. And so many of the parents were so young! Mexicans seem to have this obsession with death that is explored in so many mediums of art. There was also an exhibit by Jorge Emilio Espinosa Torre called "Mute," and was giant paintings of people's faces up close being silenced. The paintings were so realistic I initially thought they were photographs! Even from a metre away they looked like photos, and the faces were so full of expression.
La Catrina
I then walked into a few little shops, in which I wanted to buy EVERYTHING. There were so many beautiful hand-painted tiles, and bowls, and plates. And I also stopped in a few little art gallery/shops with some gorgeous prints. That evening I headed to the Callejon de Beso. There are a lot of really narrow passageways in town, and with many of the buildings having mini balconies, it makes them quite close to the ones next to them. There's an urban legend in Guanajuato, that the daughter of some wealthy people in town fell in love with a working class boy that lived across the street from her. Their love was forbidden, but their street was especially narrow and their balconies were practically touching, so they would go onto their balconies and exchange kisses with each other. Their romance was discovered and it didn't end well for them, but now you can visit the place. Guanajuato is a university town, and the streets come alive at night. After this, I went to the steps outside the Juarez Theatre and there was a free clown show, which happens every night. I thought it was just because of the long weekend, but apparently the city is always like this.
Guanajuato
Sunday morning I went to the Museo de los Momias. A while back, the city began to dig up the bodies of some people whose families' couldn't afford to continue to pay the maintenance fees to the cemetery anymore, and they discovered that many were perfectly mummified! There were so many nutrients in the soil, that the bodies never decayed. It was really creepy--the people were still wearing the clothes they were buried in. And there were a bunch of baby mummies too. The museum was at the top of a cerro, so I got a good look over the city after climbing up too. I then went to the Museo de la Puebla. There were some really cool exhibits there as well, but I only had about an hour there as it was Sunday and the museum closed early. I had wanted to check out the contemporary art museum as well, but it was closed :(
El Pípila
I then planned on climbing up to the mirador with the statue of Pípila, but after asking for directions, the tourist office lady said it wasn't safe to walk alone, so I headed back to the hostel to find some people to go with. When I got there, I met some guys who had just moved into my room from Mexico State (just outside of DF). They were really friendly so I recruited them to check the Monumento de Pípila with me. They didn't speak any English, which was good for me as I was forced to speak Spanish only for the next day and a half. There was a fernicular we could have taken, but we decided to walk instead and we saw some really cool street art along the way. The view was beautiful and there was a little artisan market at the top too. We then all headed to a bar before partaking in the street festivities. We then found some street musicians and listened to them for a bit before heading back to the hostel for the night.
Monday I had a bus ticket back to DF, but I wanted to try to change it to go to San Miguel de Allende first, and then go to DF, but the guys I had met had driven there and were going to San Miguel de Allende before returning to DF and offered to give me a ride, so I just returned the ticket and went with them. I must be bad luck, because the last time I accepted a ride from people at a hostel in Patagonia, the tire blew and the car flipped...and as we were driving from Guanajuato to San Miguel de Allende and we were in the middle of nowhere, the tire blew out! Luckily there was no crash this time and they had a spare in the trunk, but I seem to bring bad luck to cars when they're in very remote places. Once we got to San Miguel de Allende, we headed to the market for some food and then wandered about town. It's a really pretty place, but quite small. As it was a holiday, all the museums were closed, but there were a ton of churches with really cool architecture throughout the town. After walking throughout the town we headed up to a mirador to overlook the city before heading back to DF. It was a really fun weekend! And I made new Mexican friends! yay!
San Miguel de Allende
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