Colonial Mexico
(Day 4 & 5) Guanajuato
There are two routes one might take to Guanajuato. The most direct route would be to head south out of Zacatecas on the main highway to Aguascalientes and Leon. This route takes one through the industrial cities and is primarily a four lane "Interstate" type highway. The route this author favors takes longer but is a much more pleasant ride. Take the road out of Zacatecas heading east toward Guadalupe. This will be highway 49 with signs indicating to San Luis Potosi. About 30 miles east of Zacatecas you will come to an intersection with highway 51 heading south to the small towns of Pinos, Ojuelos de Jalisco, Ocampo, San Felipe, Dolores Hidalgo and on into Guanajuato. This is back country type road and will not be signed well in the small towns. Simply keep a piece of paper handy with each town you want to go to and if you get lost in the villages show the paper to someone and they will usually point you straight ahead. In reality, it is very difficult to actually get "lost" as there is only one paved road along this route and its the one you want! After all, getting there is part of the adventure!
The
road from Dolores Hidalgo to Guanajuato has about 25 miles of
good mountain roads. Watch the curves as they can tighten up
quickly! Great vistas and great roads are a perfect way to end
the day. As one approaches Guanajuato you will begin to see the
town far down in the valley. Be sure to stop on top of the mountain
and visit the Valenciana Church and silver mine. They are hundreds
of years old and are major attractions for visitors. More on
the mine and Church later.
As you wind your way down the mountain into town you will be faced with a choice of hotels. This author prefers the Hotel Hacienda Los Cobos as it is on the approach side of town and very convenient to the historic center of town. The nature of the streets and tunnels in Guanajuato requires a technique often used by travelers in Mexico. Simply stop a taxi, hand the driver a piece of paper with the name of the hotel on it and indicate that you want to go there. If you know a little Spanish just say "go to this hotel." This is a lot less frustrating then getting lost in town for an hour after a full days ride!
Guanajuato
is one of Mexico's most beautifully preserved colonial cities.
Steeped in history, rich with culture and perched at the bottom
of a scenic canyon, it offers numerous pleasures for the traveler.
Leafy plazas, ornate mansions and flowerpot-bedecked alleyways
add to Guanajuato's charm. So much of the city's colonial aspect
endures, in fact, that it has been declared a national historic
monument.
Capital of the state of the same name, Guanajuato (the name means
''place of frogs'') was founded in 1548. Silver is its reason
for being. For a while the fabulous strike at La Valenciana Mine
alone supplied more than half of all the silver received by the
Spanish monarchs, yet it was claimed that the mother lode was
never found. Several nearby silver mines as well as some gold
and lead deposits are still producing.
La Valenciana Mine is across the highway from the Church of La
Valenciana. You will pass the mine and Church as you approach
Guanajuato from Dolores. Park near the church entrance and take
a brief tour. Discovered in 1760, it ranks as one of the greatest
silver mines in history, at one point said to produce more than
a fifth of the world's silver. The outer walls of the mine area
are peaked to symbolize the crown of Spain. The shaft is exceptionally
wide and and more than 1,500 feet deep; visitors can look down
it but are not permitted to descend. The mine was reactivated
in the late 1960s after decades of lying in ruin, and still brings
up silver, lead and nickel.
Iglesia de la Valenciana Actually the Iglesia de San Cayetano
(Church of San Cayetano), it is commonly referred to as La Valenciana
and is one of Mexico's finest colonial churches. Dating from
1788, it was constructed by the wealthy owner of the La Valenciana
Mine, who later became the first Count of Valenciana.
The pink-stone facade, adorned with a profusion of delicate carvings,
is a fine example of the grandly florid Churrigueresque style.
The interior is a visual feast of floor-to-ceiling wood carvings
overlaid with gold leaf and contains beautiful religious paintings.
The three hand-carved wooden altars are encrusted with gilt decorations,
and the inlaid pulpit was brought from China.
This
mineral wealth made Guanajuato the commercial and financial center
of a region known as the Bajío, or heartland, for its
green, rolling hills and fertile farmland. Along with Querétaro,
San Luis Potosí, San Miguel de Allende and Zacatecas,
it was one of Mexico's richest and most important colonial cities.
The establishment of a university by the Jesuits in 1732 began
Guanajuato's reputation as an intellectual center and seat of
learning.
Ironically, the city which had become wealthy under Spanish rule
took an integral role in the struggle for Mexican independence.
In 1810, Guanajuato was invaded by a motley army of peasant farmers,
miners and other disenfranchised citizens under the leadership
of Father Miguel Hidalgo de Costilla, venerated as the ''Father
of Mexican Independence.'' Spanish Royalists--mining barons and
the landowning elite--holed up in the massive town granary, Alhóndiga
de Granaditas, which is now a museum (Described below). Under
orders from Hidalgo, a young miner nicknamed El Pípila
heroically made his way to the wooden door of the fortresslike
structure, setting it on fire and allowing the insurgents to
storm the interior, giving them the first major military victory
of the War of Independence.