Mummy's and Mariachi's, Oh My!

Guanajuato means Frog City

 
Guanajuato is between the arid north of Mexico and the lusher south, and is geographically in between the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Mexican Plateau.  Initially settled by the Spanish in the 1520s due to silver deposits found around the city, it was another rich, mining town. Most of the Pueblo Magico’s we’ve visited are in the colonial style, the architecture in the Centro of town is of the Baroque style and quite frankly amazing.

The Centro is not a square, it’s sort of a triangle (with a big church, of course) and the roads emanating from it are charming winding, narrow streets. It’s quite reminiscent of Mediterranean cities and very different for Mexico.

Quinceanera photo shoot

Our first impression of town, was of fear – the kind you might experience on a bad carnival ride. Our driver was a maniac on the road from SMA to Guanajuato. As he didn’t know exactly where our hotel was, he googled directions. Seems fair. He did know we were going to Centro. Anyway, sometimes google gives you the closest route, which is not the best route. We ascended high above the city, in what could be termed not the best of neighborhoods. Suddenly, the road began to dive into the valley, where Centro is. I mean, straight down. As we continued, the road became narrower and narrower. Pull in the rear-view mirror narrow and no way to back up. Pray to a deity you don’t believe in narrow.

After a harrowing 15 or so minutes, we reach the center of town, find a place to stop and get out for the lovely El Meson de la Poetas, our home for a couple of days.

 

One of the many outdoor sitting areas at Poeta's

Close to the Kissing Street (so narrow is this street, that one can stand on either side and still kiss your sweetie) and the birthplace of Diego Rivera, the hotel is a maze of corridors, as several large homes have been combined to create the space. We were in room 404 and the Primos in Room 403. Not next door as one would expect, but down a hallway and down a set of stairs and up another set of stairs, around a corner. The first night we got lost in the hotel, trying to find our room, after only one drink!

Most of the major roads thru the city are in tunnels.

Arriving in afternoon, we head toward the Guanajuato Funicular, which provides a cheap and scenic way to climb up the hillside to the Monumento Al Pipila. The monument offers panoramic views of the bright buildings and rolling hills in and around the city, as we wait for sunset. A hive of activity, there are young girls in their Quinceanera dresses to document the occasion in photos and we get to witness engagement wedding pictures, replete with drone footage, such is the beauty of the surroundings.

Monumento Al Pipila

 

Afterward we head toward Jardin de la Union, a delightfully landscaped park, near Teatro Juarez, where we have a lovely cocktail and try to avoid the multiple Mariachi Bands competing for attention. The night is spent trying to outrun the musicians, so that we can have conversation.

The next day, none of us are at our best and we once again ascend the hills to the Museo Momias de Guanajuato. In 1865, city officials deemed it necessary to remove some of the bodies from the overcrowded public cemetery – Santa Paula - in order to make room for more, as a pandemic of Cholera was raging throughout the city and country side. However, authorities quickly discovered that what they were finding weren't skeletons as they expected, but rather mummified bodies complete with facial expressions, as it is believed many were buried alive. It turns out that the combination of area's dry atmosphere and the mineral content of the soil preserves and naturally mummifies bodies- a process which only takes 5 or 6 years.

Most of these Mummy's have known names.

I don’t mind mummies, but good lord, the operators packed in the tourists, in spite of the notices to wear a mask and to social distance, which is the law in Mexico. Hot, stuffy, packed like sardines and with an anxious cousin and husband, we pushed thru the crowds and grabbed the first exit out that we could.