Guanajuato

by Dorothy Lear (SKP 26646)

(La Conexión Mexicana, Vol. 15, no. 3)

Before the Spanish arrived in 1546, Guanajuato (wahn a wha toe) was occupied by Chichimeca and Puechas Indians who called it mountain place of the frogs.  The city lies at the bottom of a river valley and therefore its layout is long and narrow.  The streets were formed from narrow ravines that fed the river and several of the main traffic routes are actually tunnels.  The bus that travels from the rural area past the RV park stops at a tunnel intersection where a stairway leads up to the surface at the square containing the mercado.  The market is a large, two story building in the French style with elegant wrought iron balconies.  Essentially an indoor mall, it is one of the best in Mexico.  The brick-paved streets are narrow, winding and hilly, made for walking (wear sturdy shoes)!  One of the pleasures of wandering those streets and lanes is coming upon little plazas, many with fountains, and gardens.

Another pleasure is to sit in the outdoor cafe next to the splendid nineteenth century, neo-classic Teatro Juarez (Juarez Theater), sip a cup of cappuccino, watch the parade and maybe ponder whey the theatre has bronze statues of only eight of the nine muses along its facade.

Sit on the steps of the theatre on a Friday or Saturday evening and eventually a group of university students will ask you to join them as they sing, dance, drink and clown their way along the streets to Kiss Alley.  They will tell you the story of Dona Carmen, the only daughter of a stubborn and violent man who insisted she marry an old, rich Spanish nobleman.  She and her dama de compania Dona Brigida cried and implored to no effect, so Dona Brigida carried the bad news via a letter to Don Luis, the woman's love.  He knew the alley by Carmen's house was so narrow that he could span the alley with outstretched arms.  If he could enter the neighbor's house, he could hold her hand as she stood on her balcony and talk to her as they sought a solution to their problem.  Unfortunately, her father caught them and stabbed Carmen in the chest.  All Luis could do was kiss her beautiful, lifeless hand...thus Kiss Alley.  

Guanajuato has several museums with specialties ranging from fine art to one of the largest displays of minerals in the world.  The weirdest one is Las Momias.  It's a ghoulish collection of mummies of people who were buried in the local graveyard but whose families did not pay the maintenance fee.  The bodies, which were exhumed, had mummified because of the local soil conditions.  For a while, the mummies were just left laying around but eventually ended up on display.

Your visit to this interesting city will be enhanced if you read its history and place in the revolution, before you come to the Chapter 8 - 2007 Rally.

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