| | |  Travel & Outdoors 
Hidden City: Experiencing Culture in Guanajuato
 Molly Baker - Contra Costa Times
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April 08, 2010
In Guanajuato, a popular question among fellow wandering Americans is, "How did you find this place?" A simple question that is simply answered: I heard about the city's language school from an old friend, and I bought a plane ticket.
Four weeks later, after an abbreviated glance through my Mexico guidebook, I find myself with a sufficient, yet humble, $2,000 in my bank account, a 35-pound pack on my back, and nothing more than the name of the plaza where I am to meet my host family. The cabdriver I hire at the airport leaves me in a cobblestone alleyway, pointing down the street. He mentions something in rapid-fire Spanish about "Plaza de la Paz" before driving away.
It is dawn. I am alone without even a map. My Guanajuato adventure has begun.
A one-hour drive from San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato remains one of the last authentic Mexican cities. Without even a Starbucks (the ultimate American beacon), the streets are lined with cafes, pastelerias and tortillerias. Architecturally, the city of Guanajuato resembles the cities of Granada, Seville, or Salamanca in Spain, plucked straight out of Europe and plopped down in the Central Highlands of Mexico. Rising over the basin of the city, however, hills splashed with houses in primary yellow, green and blue give Guanajuato a traditional brilliance unparalleled by any European city.
Maps are useless in Guanajuato. An endless number of tiny alleyways called "callejones" twist up hillsides, packed with tiny shops. Wandering the callejones is the best way to find restaurants and bars. To happen upon a treasured spot again, however, takes some travelers luck. A series of old underground waterways serve as tunnels for the city's main roadways, leaving most of the aboveground streets free for pedestrians.
I begin my walk down the callejon in the direction my cabdriver pointed. After hauling my pack for a few blocks, I find myself dumped into the middle of Plaza de la Paz. Suddenly, my cab arrival was not such a bad choice.
Like many plazas throughout Guanajuato, Plaza de la Paz (literally meaning, "Plaza of Peace") is a square surrounded by outdoor cafes, with a small garden and benches in the center. The 17th century baroque-style Basilica de Nuestro Senora de Guanajuato towers over the square. It is 7 a.m., and its bells begin their routine chime, awakening the sleeping city.
An hour passes, and in the traditional "tranquila" (relaxed) Mexican fashion, my Senora casually greets me in the Plaza with one kiss on the cheek. Eres Molly?" she asks. I respond with a very basic "si, si", regretting that I hadn't brushed up on my Spanish. Senora Londres Rodriguez appears to be about 65, in good health, with the bronzed skin of a woman who has enjoyed the best of the Mexican sun. As she slings my extra backpack over her shoulder and practically skips up the 70 steps she climbs daily, the source of her good health is revealed.
For $22 a day, I have landed an incredible accommodation. My private bedroom is on the rooftop of Sra. Rodriguez's four-story apartment, with a postcard view of the entire city splayed out in the canyon below. The price of my stay includes three homemade meals with the family each day. As a Californian, tamales, enchiladas, and tortilla soup are my staples, and I have basically arrived in food heaven.
House of the witches
The Academia Falcon is a 30-minute walk through town from the flat where I'm staying. The language school is one of the most established and well praised in Mexico. Founded in 1988, the school offers a variety of classes from advanced grammar and conversation to local music and cooking.
Students stay for any period from one week to a year, with new class schedules offered every Monday. Classes range from $65 to $120 a week, depending on the number of 55-minute sessions taken per day.
The school has been dubbed "Casa de las Brujas" (house of the witches) by veteran students. Rumors abound of a young girl who haunts the halls, but the real source of the school's name comes from its outer facade. Awkwardly settled between a row of restaurants and hotels, it looks like a tiny blue house from the outside, but the pointed rooftops hanging over Victorian-style windows give it an eerie, "haunted house" feel.
In contrast, the inside of the school is anything but eerie. It opens to a large courtyard with a garden and a snack counter buzzing with students who look supremely satisfied with life. Behind the courtyard, a tall building houses several brightly painted classrooms.
On my first day, I meet Brian, another American taking a nine-month "leave of absence" to learn Spanish before settling back into the "real world." His nine months puts my one month to shame.
He is just the type I had expected to meet at the school: a free-spirited traveler who came for two weeks and stayed for a year. Instead, I find myself in a mixed pot of language junkies; everyone from a young high-school teacher from Illinois to a doctor from Arizona, along with her two kids and husband.
There is a class level appropriate for everyone, even the kids. To start, I sign up for a conversation class, two intermediate grammar courses and cooking (a girl has to have a little fun). Brian tells me not to spring for private lessons because the largest group class usually has a maximum of about four students. He is right — I am the only student in my conversation class.
For one hour a day I chat solely in Spanish with my teacher, Ivan, about everything from the political battle for sexual equality in Mexico to the best bar to try a Michelada (imagine a Bloody Mary without the vodka, plus beer).
Ivan is a 27-year-old local college grad, a salsa instructor and a political activist. He teaches sexual education courses at local schools and owns the only sex shop in Guanajuato. He is dedicated to improving sexual safety and education in his hometown — a bold move in a city where Catholicism is at the heart of culture.
Ivan seems more like a friend than a teacher. He speaks slowly and clearly, adjusting his pace to my Spanish level. In four weeks, I transform from being timid about ordering tacos at a street stand, to boldly debating immigration law over a beer with a local. Six months more and I would be closing in on fluency.
Mexico's hidden gem
After class is my favorite part of the day — almuerza. At 2 p.m., I head home to chat in Spanish with Sra. Rodriguez over the largest meal of the day. On my walk home, I pass through Guanajuato's most popular markets and plazas.
Historically, Guanajuato began as a silver mining village. At one time, it was among the largest sources of silver in the world and some mines remain active today.
As I pass shops advertising "plata" (silver), I look up to see the giant statue of El Pipila, a local silver miner and war hero, towering over the city. In his hand, he grasps a replica of the giant torch used to burn down the wooden door barricading Spanish soldiers during the Mexican War of Independence. This heroic action marked one of the first victories of Miguel Hidalgo's uprisings against Spanish colonial forces.
Winding down from the school is the Embajadores open-air market: two blocks packed with stands selling the sweetest mangos, bananas, and papayas I have ever tasted. Scattered between fruit stands, other vendors sell everything from women's clothing to DVDs.
From Embajadores, many narrow callejones spill into the central plaza of El Jardin. Here is the heart of the city. Because of Guanajuato's large university, every night lively groups of students gather on the steps of Teatro Juarez to meet friends for barhopping or cafe dwelling. Next to the theater, groups of mariachi bands called "Trampadores" assemble. Their songs echo as they wander callejones, followed by crowds singing along and sipping from flasks of wine. The plaza is surrounded by some of Guanajuato's best restaurants, where $4 buys a hardy plate of enchiladas and a beer.
It turns out that June and July are the rainy season in Guanajuato; something I failed to notice in my haste to leave California. Just as I reach home, dark clouds move in. Later that night, lightning hits so close that when the thunder comes, it sounds like a baseball bat cracking open the sky above my room.
Sra. Rodriguez climbs up to the roof to put the plants out for water. She calls me over. "Regalampagos, " she says, pointing to the lightning. I store the word away; to this day, it remains one of my favorites. In Spanish, she tells me that the storm will come in fast, but will be beautiful, and like its arrival, it will leave quickly.
Poetically, my four weeks in Guanajuato turn out to be just like that storm.
Molly Baker is a freelance writer and graduate student from Martinez. Her desire to cross borders has led her to many of Mexico's cities and shores.
• • •
GETTING THERE: The Guanajuato/Leon del Bajio airport is 15 minutes outside of the city. Aeromexico, American Airlines, and Mexicana (operated by US Airways) all depart from San Francisco with a stop in Los Angeles. If you opt for the cheaper route, there are several direct flights from SFO to Mexico City, and the Primera Plus luxury bus line offers a four-hour ride to Guanajuato for $30. www.flecha-amarilla.com
WHERE TO STAY: Homestay "” Academia Falcon (www.academiafalcon.com; 011 52 473-731-0745; academiafalcon@hotmail.com) can provide a host family upon registration. Single rooms are $22 per day, while a shared room is $19 per day. Prices include three meals a day. Or, email Senora Rodriguez directly at lulu_rodriguez_lopez(at)yahoo.com.mx.
WHERE TO EAT: Truco 7 (No. 7 Callejon Truco; 011 52 473-732-8374) "” traditional Mexican plates, serving breakfast ($2-$4), lunch ($3) and dinner ($4-$8) at very affordable prices considering the great atmosphere, big plates and amazing taste.
WHAT TO DO: Museo Casa Diego Rivera (Positos No. 47) "” explore the house where muralist Diego Rivera was born and check out the upper two stories, which hold several of his works.
Museo de la Alhondiga de Granaditas (Mendizabal 6) "” originally the building was a refuge for Spanish forces under siege during Hidalgo"s uprising at the start of the Mexican War for Independence. Today, the Alhondiga is a museum containing indigenous artwork, as well as historic pieces from the Revolution.
La Buffa - this small mountain is a good escape from the busy city, and the base is walking distance from El Jardin. It takes about 45 minutes to hike to the peak. At sunset, you get the best view in all of Guanajuato.
Valenciana "” from Mercado Hidalgo, take a bus marked for Valenciana. Several traditional silver mines are open for tours. The town itself is scattered with silver shops and has a beautiful cathedral. |
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