Blogs from Guanajuato, Mexico, North America - page 4

Gotta confess. There was nothing dangerous about it. Mostly, it felt like cheating. We were armchair builders, watching our Mexican house happen in photos, two borders and 5000 kilometres away from us. All summer long, we sat in a double armchair up north, supervising complicated instalments as if they were easy, destroying and reconstructing like we were gods. But let me back up. I was the one who, after a year of looking, found the spot. Stumbling onto it, I felt goose bumps rise on the back of my neck. The house was tall and dilapidated, with a magnificent jungle in the backyard, the kind that holds promise. There was nothing redeemable about the house itself and it didn’t take much persuading to have it torn down. But the land was something else. A double lot ... read more

We arrived in Guanajuto Feb 9 after a long journey through Zacatecas. Feb 10 we took a city tour. This is the only state with drinkable water and the capitol of the state. Known for the students with over 30,000 at university. Originaly built in the 1500.s after the river flooding and buildings sinking new buildings were built over top. With long tunnels joining the city. Visited Lahacienda San Gabriel de Barrera. This was the rich Spanish homestead built in the 1500.s. This area was the first to have piped plumbing. Visited the theatre Tijaiez Theoto built in 1876 by the Europeons. Beautiful and huge laced with gold. Had lunch at the hotel, visited many churches and went to the market place. Tonight we went back to town and were treated to a music festival. February ... read more

In a world distracted by beheadings and Ebola, a surfeit of horrors, who can concern themselves with the disappearance of forty-three young men from a rural teachers’ college in Ayotizinapa, a small town in Mexico’s Guerrero province? Forty-three Mexican mothers, for starters. Fast-forwarding to the alleged conclusion, the nation’s Attorney General claims that the students were abducted by police by order of the local mayor, then turned over to a gang that killed them and burned their bodies before throwing their remains into a river. Some say that the government is getting ahead of itself in order to end the protests and get the public to stop demanding answers. The Arab Spring, after all, was born by one man’s brave protest and self-immolation in Tunisia. His youthful refusal to accept the status quo sparked a revolution ... read more

===English version below=== Onze eerste Mexicaanse huisoppas opdracht is in San Miguel de Allende. Iedereen lijkt het te kennen, wil er zijn, zou er graag willen wonen. We lijken wel de laatste twee mensen die er nog nooit van gehoord hebben. Veel Amerikanen hebben het wel al ontdekt. 15% van de bevolking zijn buitenlanders. Het blijkt inderdaad een zeer speciale stad te zijn. Unesco werelderfgoed met heel veel kunstenaars, koloniale gebouwen, vele goede restaurants, hotels en culturele evenementen. We vragen ons af of de Mexicaanse charme op termijn niet verloren zal gaan wanneer nog meer buitenlanders de binnenstad bevolken ? Het weer voelt overdag aan als een mooie lentedag. 's Morgens en 's avonds kan het fris worden. Wij zijn hier om op 3 honden en een kanarie te passen. De kanarie en de waakhond Maggie ... read more

The first stop of my week-long trip outside of Guadalajara is the wonderful town of Guanajuato. Its history dates back to 1559, when it was founded after huge gold and silver deposits were found in the surrounding area. In the Mexican War of Independence in 1810, the town played an important role as the site of the first battle against Spanish troops, who barricaded themselves inside the public granary, before suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of the rebel army. Wandering through Guanajuato's cobblestoned lanes and alleys, which wind and twist themselves around the hillsides, I can't help but notice the decidely revolutionary feel emanating from every nook and cranny, be it from statues of important revolutionaries, commemorative plaques reminding passers-by of crucial moments, or the faces of the people, proud and reticent, seemingly ready ... read more