Blogs from Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, North America - page 3

A couple of weeks ago the State of Guanajuato began its Film Festival. It started in the city of Guanajuato this past Wednesday. We went to the movies for the past four days. Wednesday night we went to the movies on the University of Guanajuato’s staircase. The staircase is 113 stairs, so it held approximately 300 people. When we walked down the hill, the sky was very ominous. Lightning was flashing all around the statue of El Pipila, the famous miner from the Mexican War of Independence, as well as all the churches. Luckily, I brought my umbrella, so it never started to rain. We watched a classically old Mexican movie; unfortunately, it was in Spanish with no subtitles, so while we didn’t get everything that was said, we got the humor from the crowd. Thursday ... read more

I have taken Spanish classes for seven days and my mind is fried! I know it’s a necessary evil, but I want to not think about it for now and remember why I came here. Here are some other things I learned while being here. HAIRCUTS: Once we found the Barbershop, David proceeded to get his haircut. The Barbershop is a little hole in the wall place that barely had room for two barbers and their chairs. Once David got what he wanted across to the Barber, he went to town and cut his hair in about 10 minutes. The cost? $3.00! CHURCH BELLS: These church bells go off all day long. It doesn’t have to be on the hour and it doesn’t matter if it’s noon to hear 12 chimes; in fact, I’ve counted 15 ... read more

David here... We left Puebla on the 10:00 bus to Cuarnavaca and arrived early afternoon after a 5 hour, uneventful journey. The bus station was out of town so we jumped on a bus heading to the centre. This took about 20 minutes and the helpful driver told us where to get off the bus. The centre of Cuarnavaca is very small so it was easy to find our chosen hotel. We checked in to the Hosteria del Sol and found we were the only guests. It was a shared bathroom however the room was massive and seemed nice enough. We settled in and set off into town. The town centre is not quite as nice to walk around as say Oaxaca or Puebla however it did have some remarkable architecture and churches that pop up ... read more

As we were going down the hill into town, we came to the realization that we really do need to take Spanish lessons. After trying to find our landlord’s office and giving the ‘deer in the headlight’ look when I asked for directions in both the bank and the grocery store, we’re all set for Monday. Both David and I will be in the same class and I think we’ll be his only students in this class. Wish us luck! After we spoke with our landlord, we went down the street and visited the Museo del Pueblo de Guanajuato. It is an art museum that housed the photographic works of Romualdo Garcia. Senor Garcia, according to The Bable, knew how to portray the soul. It was very moving. We then went to the Museo Regional de ... read more

We arrived in Guanajuato yesterday afternoon. Guanajuato is a town of 71,000 people. Guanajuato was rich with silver. There are several tunnels going through the city where there were once rivers. These tunnels are SO confusing when trying to drive in the city! I’m sure it’ll get easier once I get used to it, but I was almost on the verge of tears! We finally made it to our casita. It’s gorgeous! It’s a one bedroom, one bath casita that has a kitchen, living room, and a balcony. It’s up on a hill overlooking the city. Across the “bowl” of Centro, we can see a statue of El Pipila. El Pipila was the hero who torched the Alhondiga’s gates on September 28, 1810, enabling Hidalgo’s forces to win the first victory of the independence movement. Lonely ... read more