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 Travel & Outdoors | March 2006 
Viviendo en México - Guanajuato, Day One
 Korah Winn - PVNN
| | Colorful houses on a hillside in Guanajuato. | 
| | Plaza de la Paz in Guanajuato. |
During one of my very first Spanish classes here in Mexico, my teacher Cynthia told me and the other students stories about a wonderful place called Guanajuato. Please understand that I was just beginning to get accustomed to listening to Español day after day and was just starting to make some sense out of the things I was hearing.
I was not sure if what I was getting was what she was actually trying to communicate to me, but if I took away anything correctly it was that Guanajuato was a must see. With that seed planted in my mind, I just became more and more intrigued about this city as I heard it mentioned over and over by different people during my time here in Mexico.
So, it was no wonder then that I suggested to Philana that we go to Guanajuato after I found out she was also interested in traveling. We packed our bags and set off on a Friday for the five-hour bus trip to Guanajuato.
We arrived at Guanajuato’s central camionera by early evening. We caught a city bus down to el centro. The city was so alive with people out walking down the quaint little streets.
Some history about Guanajuato is that it is the capital of the state that bears the same name. It was an important mining town. Spanish settlers came and officially established the city in 1570. Because of that, the city has a colonial, slightly European feel to it.
The amazing amount of silver that came out of the city’s mines allowed beautiful buildings to be created in the center of the community. Guanajuato is historically and culturally one of the most important cities in the country.
One thing that I really had a misconception about before I came to Mexico was the time line of when the country was first colonized by Spain. I suppose I just assumed that because Canada, the U.S.A. and Mexico were all a part of the New World, that they were all colonized around the same time.
I should have taken more history classes because I was seriously mistaken. All three countries celebrate Christopher Columbus making his trip across the ocean to arrive here, but what I did not realize was just how long it took before the colonization of the United States really kicked in.
The Spaniards had made large inroads into Mexico much earlier than I ever realized. When I came here, my mental picture of Mexicans was of people who looked indigenous to this part of the world.
The fact is that the majority of Mexicans are mestizaje (of mixed ancestry.) There were many immigrants who came from Europe to start a new life here in Mexico. Those people did not just isolate themselves from the local people. Different races combined to form mestizaje, which in my mind, I now see as the face of Mexico.
After finding out a little more of the history of the city, Philana and I decided to find a place to spend the night. We found a reasonably prices mesón (inn) right in the middle of the city.
We dropped our bags off, cleaned up a bit and then hit the cobblestones to find a nice place to relax and get a bite to eat. We must be getting old because by the time we had walked a while and then ate, we were ready to head back to our room and call it a night. |
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