Guanajuato

As for the places I've been, so far in Mexico, the State of Guanajuato has got to be the most beautiful of all the States of Mexico. The first images are taken from Cubilete, which is the geographical center of Mexico. It is two hours (which I was told it was only 45 minutes out of) the capital city of Guanajuato. Barely made my bus! The terrain is beautiful as are the people. During the Cristo Rey revolution, the statue of our Lord, Christ the King, was destroyed, but was rebuilt in the 1930-60s to what we see today. The chapel at the top, underneath the statue, was breath taking, when I walked in, what a treasure.

The city of Guanajuato is absolutely beautiful. The city folks thought so as well and with the advent of cars, the folks decided to build tunnels to preserve the style of the city. Additionally, the folks also preserved the culture of following musicians through the streets (as you see in the first photo). While I was in Guanajuato, they were having their international film festival, oops, missed that memo! At least I was able to secure a hotel room (one of the last hotel rooms left, from what I could gather, in downtown Guanajuato). In this photo, it is still early, so the older folks are dancing, in about another hour, the music changes from Mexican Polka to American/Mexican Pop/Rock and many of the young folks emerge from the bars, coffee shops to dance.
The legendary "callejon del beso" or alleyway of the kiss - it's worth a quick read at:
http://www.guanajuatocapital.com/ingles/Nleyen.htm
This is just a quick shot of the colors, right before nightfall, of the houses. Plaza practically litter the town, but how I have come to truly enjoy those plazas. One of the interesting things concerning the town of Guanajuato, supposedly, when the folks want/need to paint/renovate the exterior of their houses, they need to secure a permit...so as to maintain the color and style of colonial Guanajuato.
The Cathedral of St Ignatius of Loyola, on the feast day of St Ignatius (July 31). The Cathedral marks the center of the city with a small plaza in the center.


I had a layover in one of the towns, Irapuato...thought this would be a great thing to add to a parish picnic!