For the weekend preceding Mexican Independence Day (September 16), we made a trek from Queretáro, which calls itself la cuna de la independencia (the cradle of independence) to Guanajuato, where the first major battle took place in 1810. Guanajuato is also famous for being a mining town, and colorful buildings occupy narrow valleys and climb the mountains. We visited Colleen, a Fulbrighter who is located there this month (she is one of the ones who planned to live in several different locations during her time in Mexico), and met up with several other Fulbrighters (Caley, Nina, Abbi, Katie, and Chelsea), who are living in D.F. It was fun to meet up with people and hear their tales of settling in… the general consensus is that the first few weeks are more about getting settled than about the project proposals. The views in Guanajuato are incredible, colorful, and brilliant. Because of the steep mountains burros and mules are used to transport goods and help people move in and out of apartments!
Milkman delivering milk
There is a great view at the top of a funicular (mini train up the side of the mountain) where there is a statue of the hero of the battle of Guanajuato. Apparently he approached the granary (where the Spanish were holed up and hiding from the revolutionaries) using a rock for protection, and burned the doors of the granary to allow the revolutionaries to fight the bloody battle.
Cathedral and main square from above
.Colleen’s guacamole was some of the best I’ve ever had, and we enjoyed the beautiful views from our host’s apartment and roof.
View from apartment
Guanajuato is also the birthplace of Diego Rivera, so we visited the museum in the house where he lived until age 5. We got to see such a variety of his art pieces: paintings reminiscent of Picasso, Gauguin, and Cezanne from his student days, sketches for paintings and murals, early portraits, and a series of cartoon-like illustrations of early Mexican history and mythology.
Guanajuato was quite the happening town (population is approximately 150,000) and I’m not sure if that is generally true, or if it was because of the many holiday visitors adding to the festive feel. We hung out in a really cool joint with high ceilings, red walls and art made from tape on the wall. One of our crew suggested that the original plan might have been to paint using tape stencils, but they realized that it looked cool and left the tape to create the art pieces. Part of the excitement was the rain, which we had been warned about. The steep alleys of Guanajuato become rivers when it rains. We also got to experience a blackout… and it was cool to see how people responded to being in a crowded space without electricity. Basically everyone was very calm and the security guards had an excellent system in place to ensure people paid their bills before leaving.
View of Guanajuato
The following day we visited the Museo de Momias, which was not at all what I expected. First of all, it was extremely crowded and we had to wait in a very long line to get in. Secondly, I imagined mummies like I had seen before: remains that had been carefully prepared, wrapped and laid to rest. These were more like freeze-dried bodies that were removed from their graves because their gravesite taxes weren’t paid. Somehow the elements in Guanajuato preserve the bodies, hair, and even sometimes shoes or clothes! Our group had long discussions before (while we waited in line) and after our visit to the museum including the following topics: the modern Bodyworks exhibits, Dia de los Muertos and people’s relationship with death in Mexico, and possible differences between museums in the U.S. and Mexico. It was kind of bizarre to me in the museum that couples and families were posing for photos in front of the mummies. In the past the mummies were not in glass cases and people used to put clothes on the bodies and cigarettes in their mouths. I started feeling nauseous at the final display case, but I’m glad that I experienced it, and we all agreed that we are glad to be alive.
JOSE:
Leaving Querétaro on Saturday morning for Guanajuato (wah-na-wah-toe), I felt the excitement of adventure to explore another historic city. Guanajuato, supposedly claims to be one of the birth places of the revolution for independence in Mexico. And they say the celebration in Guanajuato is off the map, especially with Dia de Independencía right around the corner (16, Sept).
We were invited to Guanajuato by Colleen, another Fulbrighter, who we have become good friends with. We also met up with a few other Fulbrighters; Chelsea, Caley, Katie, Nina and Abi, also becoming good friends.
Parking was a bit of a hassle, especially with the hilly environment (think San Francisco) but we got an overnight place that charged by the hour (ouch). Having Fulbright contacts across Mexico gives us the ability to visit or host others in the spirit of discovery and getting to know other parts of Mexico. Colleen seemed to have gotten the lay of the land so far, but Caley also had good familiarity with the city since he had been several times before.
Teatro Juarez
After parking, Colleen Naomi and I went off to meet the rest of the gang, which had come by bus from el Districto Federal (Mexico City). The center of Guanajuato was bustling with tourists from all over and the buildings and churches seemed steeped in European colonial architecture. Before meeting up, Colleen, Naomi and I braved some street food with a Comida Corrida. Its safe to say that we all survived and enjoyed an inexpensive meal of enchiladas en salsa verde with a consume de pollo.
Meeting up in the center
The city seemed to be preparing itself for dia de independencía, with decorations of wired framed signs fringed with what seemed like Christmas tinsel (Mexican colors). We decided to do some touristic things like take the funicular up the side of a mini-mountain to see a magnificent view of the city.
We were greeted by a beautiful view that did not disappoint. Nestor, a young tour guide (all of 10 years) looking to make some lana, sat with me and explained the sites below. He was very articulate and knew most of the history of Guanajuato, but I would be lying to you if I picked up even half of what he was saying not because of lack of understanding but it seemed rote and my batteries were on low by that time of the day.
Nestor giving me a history lesson
I forgot to mention, the city was in such a festive mood that it was hosting its second annual musical festival which invited different universities from across the country to be part of some huge jam. Most of them were dressed up in medieval costumes (ala jesters).
Musicians
After taking a tour of the city we headed back to Colleen’s great apartment. She was the ultimate host, with tons of food and drink and a great view of the city from her rooftop.
Caley and Colleen on rooftop
Katie and Chelsea
What I’ve been noticing about Mexico is that people eat late and stay up later than in the states (New York City being an exception). We headed out at about 9:30 to a very cool jazz bar. We met the owner and stayed for two pitchers worth of time. There were tons of musicians on the streets and Katie (who is making documentaries on music in Mexico) did an interview with a few of them.
Katie interviewing street musicians
After hitting a few more bars we knew it was time to head home when the lights went out.
The next day we headed out to the birthplace of Diego Rivera, which was converted into a museum. I was pleasantly surprised with his early art. He was totally into making sequential art. He would have made a great cartoonist but he had bigger fish to fry like capitalists. After the Diego Rivera museo, we headed out to Guanajuato’s claim to fame which is the Museo de las Momias (museum of the mummys). I was tentative whether I wanted to see them at all. But when in Rome, and who knew when we would be getting back to Guano. I was impressed by the number of people waiting in line. The story behind how exhibiting the ‘momias’ started was that the families had to pay a tax in order to keep their loved ones buried. If the taxes were not paid, then the dead were unburied and put on display as a sort of humiliation. However, the corpses became mummified by some natural process involving the soil in Guanajauto (no where else in the world does this happen). There was some decorum in the way the momias were presented. They were behind glass (in the past they were out in the open and visitors would light cigarettes and place them in the mouths of the momias, etc.) and most people just took pictures.
Las Momias
Guanajuato all in all was a great city to visit and I would recommend it to travels looking for great night life and for its rich history.
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