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ken_in_dfw

Oct 18, 2008, 3:15 PM

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Observaciones desde El Cervantino en Guanajuato

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Hola amigos from beautiful Guanajuato city where the internationally recognized Cervantino festival is in full bloom!

The soul of Mexico is on display here until the 26th of October. And while there are some incredible performances going on (including the Poncho Sanchez performance at La Alhondiga tonight, which my partner and I will be seeing), I thought I would give you all a few casual observations of life in the midst of this beautiful chaos that envelopes Guanajuato.

First thing - man there are a lot of young people here! I know that Guanajuato is a university town. But it's absolutely amazing to see the throngs of youth walking, riding buses or whatever else can get them here. The roads leading in to Guanajuato yesterday afternoon were just filled with young people. And then walking along Juarez Avenue last night after our dinner of pollo rostizado at El Carrete (yum!) was just an eye-popping sea of humanity - mostly young people again. But the thing is, unlike in the States or many parts of Europe, the youth here were remarkably well-behaved - very respectful and polite. They're just exuberant and ready to have a good time.

Which leads me to my second observation, there are parties on every street corner, jardin and plazuela! Mimes, a man playing a sitar, a troop of men in kilts playing bagpipes, and, of course, various bands playing pretty much every type of music you can imagine. Guanajuato is party central right now.

Some folks are complaining about the cool, damp weather. But after living through another "summer from hell" in Texas, my partner and I are short-sleeved and reveling in the cool breezes. There are some folks from Guadalajara staying here at the inn where we are. I think they thought we were un poco loco for taking our breakfast on the patio! Our hosts here at the inn said that there has been a drop-off in tourists from el Norte, but they have seen a pick-up in domestic tourists. We took a little trip to Santa Rosa to buy some majolica pottery. The shopkeeper there said that the gringo business, on which they really depend, had fallen off. They seemed really glad to see us.

Oh, I should also say that the police and army presence here is muy obvio - there are checkpoints at every major approach into the city. Although it can seem a little intimidating at first to see army officers and their rifles, I'm actually glad to see them here ensuring that everyone has a fun and peaceful time.

That's all for now. Got to get ready for Poncho Sanchez. We're in San Miguel starting Monday. I'll try to post once more from there.

To all my gringo friends and neighbors, y'all come on down! Mexico is open for business and for fun! Hasta luego,

Ken

raferguson

Oct 18, 2008, 5:34 PM

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Re: [kenhjr] Observaciones desde El Cervantino en Guanajuato

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Have fun.

We still tell jokes about some of the more experimental and incomprehensible Cervantino events that we saw there. At one point one of the musicians crawled into the grand piano to pluck the strings.

Years later, if we see some strange performance, we always ask if it rose to the level of a "Cervantino" show.

My advice: Forget buying tickets for shows that you know nothing about. Go to the free performances at the explanade. The explanade performances are less esoteric and more entertaining.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

Oscar2

Oct 18, 2008, 8:04 PM

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Re: [kenhjr] Observaciones desde El Cervantino en Guanajuato

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Ken, since I first visited Guanajuato in 06’ its always held a special place in memory. The sight and reveling of youth, as you are enjoying, so did we. Its vibrant, wide-eyed youth milling around seemingly everywhere, somehow spell out a contagious exuberance, which had us on the streets, cafes and shopping most the week we were there.

I’m not sure if you’ve been there yet but there is a semicircle windowed restaurant on top of the hill above the large statue of Pipila that serves great Martini’s (if that’s your pleasure) and other beverages with a relaxed panoramic picture post card view to die for. We had lunch and cocktails about 3or 4 in the afternoon when la vista es major.. There is actually a tram, which takes you up close to it, or you can take a cab. We took a cab up and the tram down.

I’m not sure if you like tamales but enclosed is a photo of a guy who dared us to taste his tamales and pay nothing if we didn’t like them and he was spot on. They were steaming hot, right out of the big hoya he had them wrapped in and we bought more for additional meals. If your down that way, he’s probably a few blocks from where you maybe staying, swing by. Enjoy and have a good time!

Buena Suerte

Just in front of the purplish/blue like colored hotel front door, where you see a small spec of red, that’s him standing there daily, especially early in the mornings. It's located right off the main street downtown, I believe it was Juarez Ave.

(This post was edited by Oscar2 on Oct 18, 2008, 8:10 PM)

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