De Colores; The Most Beautiful City Ever pt 1

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So finally I get to tell you about my favorite half of my Semana Santa trip. Get ready for excitement, thrills, and long winded descriptions, that tends to be how i write when describing something exciting. So once again grab a snack or meal, favorite 2L drink, popcorn, maybe a movie or two if you get bored of reading.

This Adventure starts on Wednesday, April 8, day 3 of our week trip. From Guadalajara we traveled back to the bus station early in the morning so that we could catch our 7:30 am bus to Guanajuato. We get there and load the bus and start our second super comfortable ride to Guanajuato. Three hours later we arrive in Guanajuato, or what we that would be Guanajuato. As we got off the bus we looked around we thought, "Man this looks a lot like the Leon bus station". After more looking around we realize, YIKES! This IS the Leon bus station! So what did we do? We did what the experienced traveler inside me told me to do.....we yelled and screamed, ran back and forth, and acted like panicked idiots. Not really. I calmly went to the counter and asked if that bus had already left. They told me yes and that we weren't supposed to get off of the bus if we were on our way to Guanajuato. Seeing as they figured that we were gringos and probably weren't told that, they told us that the next bus to Guanajuato was at 12 pm. Sweet no big just wait a couple hours and we'll be on our less than an hour bus ride to Guanajuato. So after two hours of Amy destroying me and many games of Egyptian Rat Screw, we loaded our bus and made our way to our destination of Guanajuato. We arrived at the bus station around 12:45 and took a city bus to our Hostel area.

So, First impression of Guanajuato? There are no words to describe what i felt. This was the most beautiful city that i have ever seen. The streets are barely big enough for one car to fit through, lined with shops, hotels, restaurants, houses, and theaters; not to mention the many elaborate Catholic churches. Everything was filled with beautiful, vibrant colors and intense, detailed architecture. As we entered into the section where our Hostel was, we had to go through a tunnel system. This was too cool! The houses were built above to tunnels with planks of wood to give some bottom support. As for the tunnels themselves they curved and turned and split and connected, just like a labyrinth under the city, lined with cobblestone and brick. I believe i would have been stuck in that place forever if i ever got out during that time. We eventually arrived to a place where we could surface and easily get to our Hostel. So, we started our hunt for Hostel Truco, named for the street it lays on but in spanish it means trick. After about 15 min of searching this 30 second long street for our hostel we found the TRUE reasoning behind the name of the place. As you walk down the street one way the numbers are odd on one side and even on the other going down to 7 from 35. We were looking for #4, this was our problem. What we came to find out is that as you go down the street the other way the number also go down but this time from 7 to 1 i believe, if not then 4. Upon entering the second hostel that i had ever stayed in my first impression was this is kinda cool, in old cities they didn't have enough space to build outward because all of the buildings are connected, so they build up. This was definitely the case for this hostel as we had to climb for flights of wrapping stair cases to get to our room. Upon inspection this place was slightly poorer than the one in Guadalajara, but that's okay because the city is at least 10 times more awesome!

After dropping off our bags in to Hostel we immediately started our excursions of Guadalajara. Traveling around is kind of confusing at times because of the twisting streets, but after a few hours you get used to it. We walked around and almost immediately found the #1 must see spot on my list, Teatro Juarez. As we walked up to it we found that it didn't open till around 5. Okay! At least it opens! So what next? As we continued in our original direction we ran into a beautiful art gallery, that we once again treated as a free Museum! This time we had a "tour guide"as we passed through, a guy who worked there that told us about each artist and their style and the different types of artwork they did. Sweet! It was here that i found an answer to a question that had developed in my head after seeing an image of a pineapple on the back of a cross from the Spanish Conquest part of the Mexican History Museum in Monterrey. When i saw this image i had asked my teacher who was there at the time if it meant anything, her response was the same as the tour guides in the museum, "I'm not sure, maybe just a decoration but i'm not sure." So what i found out at this art Gallery is that the symbol of the pineapple comes from the area of Michoacan as a symbol of its fruitfulness, the pineapple being the most commonly used for it's unique shape, texture, and taste. So connecting these two ideas, thoughts, histories together, as i had learned in my Mexican Culture class is that the Spanish Conquistadors used familiar symbols and figures to the indigenous population of mexico in their sculptures, and architecture of the Catholic religion so that the people could phase into the religion. If not at first accepting the new god as their own, then worshiping their gods image in the Christian God Sculpture and then eventually worshiping the Christian God. Taking this idea it makes since that there was a pineapple on the back of the cross because it was a common symbol to the people of Michoacan, therefore used in the new architecture to make the people feel more comfortable.

At the end of our Art Gallery tour and talking to our "guide" about places to grab some lunch, we had decided on a little place close by that our guide mentioned, a Crepery (a Crepe restaurant). Here I had the most delicious crepe that i had ever had. It was a large crepe filled with chicken, chipotle sauce, and peanut sauce. I know what you're thinking that doesn't sound like it would mix, at least that's what i thought, but it did! It was delicious! After a leisurely lunch we continued on our journey of the city finding many Churches, fountains, monuments, and Museums. We decided to make our next stop in a book fair in a little plaza located not too far away from our hostel. After a while of searching we found a Museum next door from a photographer who took photos of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo during their works. Super cool place, both of these artists have a big history in Mexican Art. While completely immersed in this interesting exhibit i happened to glance at my watch which said that it was about 10 till 5. So, we made our way back over to Teatro Juarez just in time for it to open.

Teatro Juarez is an old beautiful theatre with elegant wooden architecture. The outside of the Theatre is structured with wide steps leading up to 12 large pillars representing the 12 months of the year, or 12 sections of the Aztec and Mayan Calendars. On top are the most known 7 of the 9 Greek Muses: Calliope (Epic Poetry), Clio (History), Euterpe (Music), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (Dance), Thalia (Comedy), and Urania (Astronomy). When entering the Theatre there is a Bar-Reception made of fine wood, and a ticket desk made in a similar fashion. The theatre is filled with beautiful, and comfortable, wooden seats. Also this theatre is not without its VIP section to the left front, however i never knew why there, it doesn't seem that you can see the entire stage very well. Anyways, during the rest of this tour we were shown the rest of the theatre filled with beautiful portraits, sculptures, and ambiance.

Following our tour of Teatro Juarez Amy and i enjoyed a calm evening watching some street performers, Including Mime Comedians, Performing Comedians, and an Instrumental group named Los Hermanos Aguascalientes. These guys were fantastic! We watched them for about an hour or so, by the way all these shows were free, never getting bored. The only thing that both Amy and I wished was different was that for her she wanted her boyfriend there to enjoy it with, and me? I just wanted a non-taken women to enjoy it with. After this amazing performance and awesome dinner at a local restaurant we decided to unwind for the evening and get some shut eye.

Adventures of day 4 and 5 of our week trip to come in the next entry as well as a full picture Gallery. I figured this one was long enough right now, so i may have two more parts.

Until next time,
Live Life to the Fullest and Without Regrets

Rob

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Comments

[annabellepk]

Guanajuato is great!
As a fellow American student here in Mexico, I'm thrilled to hear your take on Guanajuato, the city I'm studying in. It's a gem of a city that more people should explore. I'm hoping to make it up to Monterrey soon, so I'll take any tips you have.