Guanajuato City

Guanajuato streets

Overview, attractions and local festivals

Long a rich gold and silver mining center in the central plateau called El Bajío, Guanajuato was decreed a city in 1741 by King Phillip V of Spain and is considered one of the loveliest colonial cities of the country and hemisphere. It was declared a “World Heritage Zone” by UNESCO in 1988 and holds a wealth of quaintness and attractions for the visitor.

Guanajuato City lies in a crevassed ravine system in the state of the same name, surrounded largely by arid, rocky hills from which largely silver has been extracted for centuries. Under the city itself lies a web of tunnels which were built in the early 1900′s by the townspeople to prevent flooding by the Guanajuato River and are now converted into underground thoroughfares, allowing motorists to avoid the narrow and twisting labyrinth of streets above ground, and providing a medieval-type air to the city.

Colonial Mexico 2 Ed: A Guide to Historic Districts and Towns

Guanajuato is a wonderful city to explore on foot. The narrow, winding streets are lined with old colonial structures and wrought iron balconies, fountains and plazas, and romantic nooks and crannies that can only be fully appreciated by close inspection.

The town’s centerpiece and main plaza, called El Parque de la Unión, is an unsually small and oddly-shaped gardened area thickly shaded by old laurel trees and lined along one side by sidewalk cafes where one can catch some food and other refreshment while watching the passersby. Across from the Parque is the stately Teatro Juárez (Juarez Theater), started in 1873 but not inaugurated until 1903 with a performance of Verdi’s Aída. The steps of the theater seem to serve as a favorite resting perch and vantage point in the Plaza for students, townspeople and visitors. This elegantly ornate theater can be viewed  from Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1Ñ45 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

• Guanajuato hotels

Guanajuato Church

Entering Guanajuato

El Alhondiga

Attractions

Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato – This baroque structure was built between 1671 and 1696 and houses the patron saint of the city. The statue of the Virgin seen in this church is thought to be the earliest piece of Christian art to arrive in Mexico.

Templo de San Felipe Neri – Built between 1747 and 1765, this temple was originally the Templo de la Compañía of the Jesuit university. The name was changed when the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico.

Iglesia de San Diego – This structure, with its extraordinary façade, was built by the Franciscans in the 18th C.

Museo Regional Alhóndiga de Granaditas – Originally a granary and the site of the first battle during the war of Independence, the museum now exhibits in a number of different salons historical artifacts and documents from the Independence movement as well as prehispanic, mesoamerican artifacts. Open to the public Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sundays 10 a.m..-2:30 p.m. Located at Mendizábal 6, Guanajuato.

Museo Casa de Diego Rivera – Located at Positos No. 47, this is the childhood home of artist Diego Rivera and displays family heirlooms as well as a collection of Rivera’s sketches and paintings. Open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sundays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrerra – Now a museum showing 18th C. furniture and artwork, surrounded by fabulous gardens. Open Mon-Sun. 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

El Museo Iconografico del Quijote, or the Cervantes Museum – The Quijote Iconographic Museum shows works by Dali, Picasso, Rafael and others from the collection donated by Sr. Eulalio Ferrer. Open Tue-Sat. 10 am-6 pm; Sundays 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Located on Doblado in front of the Templo de San Francisco.

Mercado Hidalgo – Large town market offering arts & crafts, dating from the beginning of the 20th C.

Museo de las Momias – The Mummy Museum is a display of over 100 mummified bodies that were naturally preserved because of the unusual conditions and high mineral content of the soil in the local graveyard. Open daily 9 a.m. -6 p.m. Located at the entrance to the Municipal Cemetery in Guanajuato. Official site: Museo de las Momias, Guanajuato

La Valenciana Silver Mine – Still operating, the La Valenciana mine, between the late 1700′s and early 1800′s, produced most of Guanajuato’s silver.

Teatro Juarez

Guanajuato mines

Guanajuato tunnels

Local Festivals

Late June/Early July: Fiestas de San Juan y Presa de la Olla, and the ceremony of the opening of the dam – Fiestas are held during the last days of June, leading up to the opening of the dam on the first Monday in July. Artistic and cultural festivities.

Sept. 28: Día de la Toma de la Alhongida de Granaditas – parades celebrate the actions of the Independence hero “El Pipila” and the beginning of the overthrow of the Spanish

October: Festival Internacional Cervantino – International Cervantes Festival – Mexico’s most well-known and attended cultural festival, with the participation of more than 25 countries. The Cervantino has been held yearly in October in Guanajuato since 1972 and includes theater, dance, music, opera, film and the arts in general.

Among the cultural luminaries who have participated in this festival since its inception are: Claudio Arrau, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Leonard Bernstein,  Jorge Luis Borges, Paco de Lucía, Ella Fitzgerald, Zubin Mehta,Yehudi Menuhin, Rudolph Nureyev, Octavio Paz, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Joan Manuel Serrat, Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, Narciso Yepes, Bolshoi Ballet, Camerata Academica des Mozarteums Salzburg , Le Cirque Invisible, La Comédie Française, Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico de España, Dresdner Philharmonie, The King’s Consort, New York Philharmonic , The Royal Shakespeare Company, Tokio String Quartet and Wiener Philharmoniker.

Official website: Festival Internacional Cervantino.

End of October/Beginning of November: Feria del Alfeñique – Fair featuring small and ingeniously elaborated figurines made out of sugar and highly decorated for the celebrations of All’s Soul’s Day and All Saint’s Day at the beginning of November.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Laser-mapped subterranean passages (makezine.com)