May 13, 2007

We had arrived in Guanajuato to study Spanish and immediately fell in love with the city, so much so that we stayed for three weeks when the original plan had been to stay for only one.

And even then we were reluctant to leave.

The city itself was so appealing to us, and our overall experience so fulfilling, that it is difficult to know where to begin. But here goes.

Located in almost the dead centre of Mexico, Guanajuato (pop. 120,000) is about a five-hour drive east from Guadalajara, and about four hours northwest of Mexico City.

The historic centre of the city is located in a little valley and many of the residential neighbourhoods, including where our home-stay was located, are perched on the surrounding hills. Most of the houses are box-shaped and colourfully painted (blues, greens, browns, oranges, etc.) and serve as a cheerful backdrop to the city.

Underneath the city is a rabbit warren of tunnels which were originally built to divert flood waters but were converted to traffic tunnels in the 1950s to ease congestion above ground.

Driving through the labyrinth of dimly lit, rock walled tunnels - which we did twice, getting lost both times - was like trying to escape from a cornfield maze.

Above ground, the city is connected for the most part by "callejons", or narrow alleys, most of which do not allow cars, making it a perfect walking-city.

The most famous callejon is Callejon Del Beso (Alley of the Kiss), which is so narrow that the balconies of the houses on the opposite side of the callejon almost touch.

In the centre of the city lies the triangle-shaped Jardin de Union, which is shaded by low-lying Laurel trees and which is lined with restaurants, bars and stores on two sides. On the third side is a striking theatre - Teatro Juarez - and an orange domed church, Templo San Diego.

The Jardin is the hub of activity and on any given night is crowded with strolling mariachi bands, families and free-spirited students (the University of Guanajuato is just a few blocks away).

(In a moment of pure bliss, on our second night in Guanajuato, we sat on the Bar Van Gogh patio on the Jardin, shared a bottle of the cheapest white wine on the menu, and watched the Vancouver Canucks beat the Dallas Stars on the big screen in Game 7, with the ageless playoff warrior, Trevor Linden, scoring the winning goal. And with about five minutes left it started to drizzle, our first rain of the trip. It was so fitting).

The Spanish colonial architecture (16th -19th Century) throughout the city is highly appealing. The Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato, which is in the Plaza la Paz, a stone´s throw from the Jardin, is the largest and most impressive church and is dedicated to the Virgin Guadalupe, Mexico´s patron saint.

It is Europe but without the hordes of tourists, the idling busses, the Gaps and the Zaras. And with its historic infrastructure, it should come as no surprise that in 1988 Guanajuato was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For a relatively small city, Guanajuato has had an immensely interesting history: it was the world's leading silver-extraction centre in the 18th century; it played a key role in Mexico´s battle for Independence from Spain (early 1800s); it is the birth place of Mexico´s most famous painter, Diego Rivera, etc., etc.

Because of this, and because it is a university town, it oozes with cultural activities - museums, galleries, concerts, street performances, etc.

The pinnacle, we are told, is the month-long Festival Cervantino (named after Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote) which occurs every October and is the biggest cultural arts festival in Latin America.