Guanajuato Part Dos

Our big excursion of the week was a return trip to Guanajuato - this time on our own for a couple of days to further explore the town at a more leisurely pace. Took the local "Primera Plus" bus, which cost us about US$6 apiece. The nonstop service in a clean, modern, and efficient vehicle took about an hour and 15 minutes to make the journey. Pretty painless actually, and gave us another chance to see some of the countryside in this part of Mexico. Once there we stayed in a nice local hotel located near the lookout we visited on our first trip last week. They had a little funicular train that transported guests up and down the hill, so we didn't even have to get out of breath unless we wanted.



First, another look at one of the pretty streets of San Miguel.




The street where we live.





The view from the balcony of our little room in Guanajuato. Thank goodness for Trip Advisor, else I never would have found this place on my own. Cost US $60 per night, which included breakfast and free use of the funicular to get up and down the hill.



The view towards one of the plazas from our lunch table. Really a pretty place.


During our wanderings we noticed advertisements for an evening event at the local Teatro Principal, sponsored by the classical dance club at the University. The title was Juegos de Gatos (Cats). Sounded interesting so we got tickets to attend, even though we didn't quite know what to expect. Turned out to be a dance program performed to the sound track of the broadway show. Most of the dancers were obviously students from the University, but the show included about 20 or 30 local children, ranging in age from about 7 to 11, as extras...all of them dressed up in their little cat outfits complete with makeup and whiskers. Was like an extended Halloween school play set to music, and the theater was absolutely packed...I mean Standing Room Only as (apparently) all of the local families came to see their kids on stage. Looking around it appeared that we were just about the only tourists there, with everyone else being a local. It turned out to be a very enjoyable program...in a charmingly amateurish sort of way. Afterwards we stopped in a local outside restaurant in the Jardin for a glass of wine and noticed a lot of the dancers, both large and small, on their way home - still wearing the makeup and fake whiskers from their outfits...really pretty charming.



Some of the action onstage. We arrived a bit early and so wandered around the theater before finding our seats. Saw some of the smaller kids getting made up and preparing to go onstage for the first time - all of them extremely nervous, and super cute.


Back in the 1970's one of the local prof's at the University started organizing stage plays based on the story of Don Quixote as part of one of his classical literature courses. The thing eventually evolved into what is now known as the Cervantino, a three week celebration of Cervantes in general and the story of Don Quixote in particular that takes place here every September. It's a pretty big deal locally. There's even a local museum dedicated solely to the theme - basically art from all over the world that's based on the story. If you like Cervantes then this is the place to be - room after room of paintings and sculpture depicting individual artists interpretation of the centuries old tale.



The artwork ranged from the fairly standard and straightforward...



...to the more edgy and bizarre




This one is by Salvator Dali.



Lest anyone miss the point that Guanajuato is the epicenter of everything Cervantes in Mexico, this is the sculpture that greets visitors as they enter the town.


The rest of our time in the city was spent exploring and enjoying all of the crooked little streets and alleyways, sort of grazing as we went.

A street scene in Guanajuato.



The local basilica facing the Plaza de la Paz downtown.


One stop was the Alhondiga, once the old corn exchange and now a municipal museum commemorating the events of the Mexican Revolution against Spain from 1810-1821. Lots of displays telling the story of the their War of Independence. Seems that early-on in the struggle the Spanish captured four of the ring leaders, including Ignacio Allende (for whom San Miguel is named), who were quickly tried for treason and executed by firing squad. Just so no one would miss the point, the Spanish authorities then had the bodies decapitated and displayed the severed heads in iron baskets around the four corners of the building...for 10 years. Needless to say it created martyrs out of the revolutionaries and further stoked local hatred and resolve against the Spanish occupiers. The scene above is the Eternal Flame in their Hall of Honor.

After a very enjoyable three days in Guanajuato we caught the bus back to SMA and our little oasis of peace and tranquility on Callejon Pilancon.