Guanajauto, Mexico, el veintisiete de Deciembre, 2019

I had a very slow day, I guess because I have a cold.  It’s in my chest so my coughing is nasty and I’m shivering.  Hope it doesn’t stay long because IT’S NOT WELCOME!!

I played Scrabble, surfed the Internet and read my book which is very interesting -A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It’s on my Kindle so I have no idea how many pages it is but I’ve been reading forever and only 36% through which is okay because I am really enjoying it.

I eventually forced myself to go for a walk after a huge lupper of camarones.  The place was just as packed as it has been so I’m always fighting for walking space on the sidewalk so usually I end up on the street.
Next to the Catedral Basilica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora in the Plaza de la Paz is Monumento a la Paz, raised in 1897-

There are a few people in costume trying to make a living-

Further along is the Church of San Diego which dates back to the beginning of the Spanish settlement and used to be three times bigger. In 1663 the Barefoot Franciscans came to Guanajauto to begin this church but they had issues with politics and flooding.  In 1784 the walls were raised 6 meters because of the flooding.  That’s why the tunnels were also built.  The stone used for the front is red sandstone.  During The Laws of Reform, it was confiscated and turned into the Hotel Emporio.  Then, parts of it were demolished to make room for the Juarez Theatre which is next door.  There are 3 of the original 5 rooms remaining-

In front is a statue mimicking the performers in the Callejoneadas-

I have no ideal who this monster is, I mean the taller one, on the right-

I had a warm churro filled with chocolate sauce and then was very thirsty.  The sun was setting but it was still warm enough so I bought a beer and found a bench.  Halfway into my beer, the police arrived to tell me it’s illegal to drink in public places.  Really!  So I headed home and crawled back into bed. I still have the University and the Museo de los Mummies to visit before I leave this beautiful town.  Maybe tomorrow.

P.S.

Guanajuato, Mexico, el veintiseis de Deciembre, 2019

I was out and about by 11, sort of just wandering and the first thing I found was the Old Railway Station.  I’m not sure why it’s a tourist stop but it is.  You can’t even go inside and they don’t use it anymore, in fact the only passenger train in Mexico as I understand it is El Chepe which I rode in the Copper Canyon-

Guanajuato has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988 and the Glorietta UNESC0 monument is at the entrance to Old Town-

Nearby is the Fuente de las Ranas, or frog fountain.  Big deal I say-

I decided to head north a few kilometres to see the Templo La Valenciana which was built between 1765 and 1788 by a silver baron.  The Mina Boca where he worked is next door.  The exterior walls are made of pink stone and the front facade has some beautiful carvings and some unfinished sections-

Inside it’s all gold leaf-

and there is ivory at the front-

The side altars-

There are huge paintings on the side walls depicting scenes from the Bible-

Churrigueresque architecture graces the front and side altars and the second bell tower has never been started-

El Museo del Purgatorio is nearby and it’s filled with torture instruments.  Once again the tour was in Spanish so I didn’t catch a lot of it but torture was used only to get a confession, not meant to actually punish the accused heretic for his crimes.

The prisoner was put inside the Iron Maiden-

that has large spikes coming out of the walls.  The victim would be unable to move due to the steel spikes impaling him from every direction-

The head crusher would slowly be tightened-

Victims sat naked in the Judas chair on top of 500 - 1500 long spikes.  Straps restrained the victim and because it was made of iron, electricity and heat jolted throughout and beatings to the arms, legs and feet would push the body into the spikes-

A prisoner would be strapped to this wheel and rolled along breaking bones.  It was used for execution-

Prisoners would lie on the rack of nails and the rollers would be turned, piercing the body-

A person would be tied to this rack and left to hang-

People were tied to the board, castrated, had their intestines removed and then were quartered in public squares-

The Bridle, or Mask of Shame has spikes inside so the person couldn’t eat, drink or open their mouth-

A person was put in water in the pot, then the fire was lit and they were scalded, boiled to death-

People who needed to be shamed were put on display in plazas-

People had the rope around their necks and then were lifted up just enough so their feet didn’t touch but they wouldn’t die-

The blade was lowered and swung back and forth slowly slicing the person apart-

More hanging-

I liked the bathroom sign-

I enjoyed El Museo del Purgatorio way more than the Casa de los Lamentos which is just down the road.  It’s a mansion that dates to the 18th century.  During 1890 - 1900, Tadeo Fulgencio Mejia committed serial murders in this mansion.  He was motivated by the idea of contacting his deceased wife Constanza de la Rivera, who died in 1890 during an assault. Her murder occurred during a domestic invasion orchestrated by employees of the mine where Mejía worked.  He was accused of corruption because their salaries were late but it was because the mine was in crisis.  Constanza was stabbed in the neck and died in the street.  Supposedly, her death caused the mental breakdown of Tadeo Mejía.  He consulted with a "witch" who showed him strange rituals that included human sacrifices of young men and women. Tadeo Mejía committed an unknown number of murders and several human bones were located in the mansion's basement.  Once again the guide spoke very fast and I truly did not understand a word so I’ll make the next part up.

One of Mejia’s victims-

Mejia keeping track of his victims in a ledger-

 Other victims-

The living room where Constanza de la Rivera used to spend her evenings-

Tadeo Fulgencio Mejia-

The witch Mejia consulted--

Very weird, fake and a waste of my time.

Riding home, I came in to Guanajauto from the north-

I wandered some more, bought some camarones for supper and am just hanging out.  I don’t have a clue what I’ll do tomorrow!

P.S.

Feliz Navidad de Guanajauto, Mexico 2019

I had a relaxing morning and then thought I better get a move on to enjoy the fine weather.  I headed up, not really knowing where I was going but hoping I’d come to some sort of mirador.  El Pipila was erected in honour of Juan José de los Reyes Martinez who performed a heroic act on September 28, 1810 in the first battle of the War of Independence when he burned down the door of the Alhóneiva de Granaditas-        
      

The view from up top is awesome-

Walking down I spotted a butterfly-

It was a day for wandering. I came across el Templo de San Juan Bautista, now called San Francisco-

It was built in 1828 and changed names when it became part of the Franciscan order-

Pretty weird beams of light there Scotty.

This apartment was well ready for Navidad-

I love how the Indian Laurels are groomed-

Another nice square, just around the corner-

Quaint streets-

Statues of Miguel de Cervantes and Jorge Negrete, le Charro Cantor-

There’s quite a tunnel system for cars and pedestrians.  It’s like the city is built in layers-

The Teatro Juarez was built in the late 1800s.  The tall ornate columns give the city a European flair.  It’s a popular place for buskers-

The Callejón de Beso, kissing Alley, had to have 200 people lined up to take a picture of themselves kissing.  It’s just down the hill and around the corner from where I’m living.  The local legend tells of a young girl from a well-to-do family who fell in love with a poor miner boy.  Her parents did not approve of him so he rented the room across this narrow alley from the girl’s room and at night they would sneak out to their balconies and kiss across the little alleyway. Sometimes the boy would climb into the girl’s room and one night her father caught them in the act.  In a fit of rage, the father stabbed and killed his daughter.  Meanwhile, the boy tried to escape out the window but fell to his death in the alleyway below.  The superstition lives on that if you kiss in the alley, you will have seven years of good luck-

The Collegiate Basilica of our Lady of Guanajuato-

was built between 1671 and 1696.  It is in baroque and neo-classical styles and was built by the miners of the city.  The pipe organ has 1098 tubes-

The Fountain of Plaza Baratillo is a Florentine style fountain with a pedestal holding four bronze fish, a characteristic of the 19th century-

There are many men and a few women dressed in costume roaming the streets, selling tickets to the nightly callejoneadas. They are one hour evening strolls through Guanajuato’s alleyways and plazas accompanied by strolling musicians singing, dancing and storytelling-

They were performing in front of the Templo de San Diego de Alfaía-

I haven’t gone yet but will one of these evenings.  I saw a lot today and am looking forward to tomorrow and what surprises might be around the next corner.

I didn’t have turkey or ham for Christmas supper but something better-

Today was a better day than yesterday that’s for sure. I did lose my hat though - I had it velcroed to my belt loop and it either fell off or I left it in a shop.  I’ll backtrack a bit tomorrow to see if I can find it.  It really helps to keep the sun off my face.  Happy Christmas 2019!

P.S.-