Thursday, November 12, 2009
Un Gancho al Guanajuato - a short travelogue
Ahoy all, I'm hella busy at the moment, the Thursday recap will be late, but here is a short travelogue of my trip to Guanajuato...
I had the fortunate opportunity to visit Guanajuato, Mexico a couple of weeks ago with a friend who has family there. For several years she has been trying to get me to go during the Festival Internacional Cervantino, a wonderful three-week gathering that celebrates all types of performing arts from all over the world. They run the gamut from well-known artists to street gypsies who show up hoping to earn a bit of money and join in on the fun.
My friends and I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and after enjoying the view from our hotel's rooftop patio...
...decided to stroll through the town. Guanajuato is a shopper's paradise and offers everthing from little closet-sized shops to simple outdoor stalls to full on warehouse markets.
Fueled by Pepsi:
But our very favorite pastime was eating. There was a traditional breakfast provided by our hotel, sometimes a second lighter breakfast at our friends' house, lunch, snack, dinner, then usually another meal after midnight.
You could eat on the street:
In the market:
It was all good.
Our friend's daughter attends university in Mexico City. She came home for the weekend, followed by her boyfriend and his adorable friends. One night they took us to a club, taught us to salsa, and we danced until 3:00 a.m!
Of course we got hungry and had to stop at the 24-hr. taco stand on the way home:
One day we toured some museums and lucked into a craft gallery grand opening that was serving free food (highlighting traditional dishes) and Mezcal generously poured by a local beauty:
Satan and his son were there:
In addition to outdoor concerts, chorales in cathedrals, street acrobats and troubadors, we enjoyed a Brahms symphony in the Teatro Juarez:
Our friend Jane moved to GTO 28 yrs ago. She married the Trombone player (a local guy) and they have 2 kids but he left her for a 19 yr old oboist who joined the air force and dragged him off to Colorado so they could be close to her parents who are pressing them to have kids. Recently Jane got married to the French Horn player who is originally from Detroit but who has been in GTO for 30 yrs. Jane and her husband know all the gossip about every musician in the symphony which made listening to the concert that much more interesting.
On our last day there people began setting up their Dia de los Muertos stalls to sell candy:
And we walked up the highest hill for one last look at Guanajuato:
Salud!!
I had the fortunate opportunity to visit Guanajuato, Mexico a couple of weeks ago with a friend who has family there. For several years she has been trying to get me to go during the Festival Internacional Cervantino, a wonderful three-week gathering that celebrates all types of performing arts from all over the world. They run the gamut from well-known artists to street gypsies who show up hoping to earn a bit of money and join in on the fun.
My friends and I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and after enjoying the view from our hotel's rooftop patio...
...decided to stroll through the town. Guanajuato is a shopper's paradise and offers everthing from little closet-sized shops to simple outdoor stalls to full on warehouse markets.
After a day of shopping it's always a good idea to indulge in a simple snack to regain one's strength:
We were way too busy to watch much TV, but I did catch what I think might have been the first episode of Corazon Salvaje. The kid who plays Ivan in Un Gancho al Corazón plays the young Juan del Diablo. Unfortunately it was too early in the plot for Eduardo Yañez, but Felipe Sanchez did a great job of playing the poor, tortured youth:
One night we went to see a salsa concert, the Willy Chirino band. It was great fun but the highlight was when El Hijo del Santo showed up! The entire crowd yelled Santo! Santo! Santo! and he waved to the crowd. He was pretty buff.
One of our favorite pasttimes was just walking around town enjoying the narrow, steep streets and colorful houses.
Fueled by Pepsi:
But our very favorite pastime was eating. There was a traditional breakfast provided by our hotel, sometimes a second lighter breakfast at our friends' house, lunch, snack, dinner, then usually another meal after midnight.
You could eat on the street:
In the market:
It was all good.
Our friend's daughter attends university in Mexico City. She came home for the weekend, followed by her boyfriend and his adorable friends. One night they took us to a club, taught us to salsa, and we danced until 3:00 a.m!
Of course we got hungry and had to stop at the 24-hr. taco stand on the way home:
One day we toured some museums and lucked into a craft gallery grand opening that was serving free food (highlighting traditional dishes) and Mezcal generously poured by a local beauty:
Satan and his son were there:
In addition to outdoor concerts, chorales in cathedrals, street acrobats and troubadors, we enjoyed a Brahms symphony in the Teatro Juarez:
Our friend Jane moved to GTO 28 yrs ago. She married the Trombone player (a local guy) and they have 2 kids but he left her for a 19 yr old oboist who joined the air force and dragged him off to Colorado so they could be close to her parents who are pressing them to have kids. Recently Jane got married to the French Horn player who is originally from Detroit but who has been in GTO for 30 yrs. Jane and her husband know all the gossip about every musician in the symphony which made listening to the concert that much more interesting.
On our last day there people began setting up their Dia de los Muertos stalls to sell candy:
And we walked up the highest hill for one last look at Guanajuato:
Salud!!
Labels: gancho
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Oh Sylvia, what a wonderful array of pictures! Guadalajara is so very colorful, and I could swear I could smell that good food on those streets. One thing I didn't expect to see--Hello Kitty. :) One thing I would have hoped to see--El Hijo del Santo! :D Wow.
You looked so relaxed. Glad you had a great time and are back safely. Salud, indeed.
You looked so relaxed. Glad you had a great time and are back safely. Salud, indeed.
Hi Sylvia. Nothing like some pre-trip insomnia to get me up so I could enjoy your wonderful pictures. Every picture was like a work of art...the buildings, the food market. Delicious visually and I'm sure otherwise! Thanks for sharing.
Stephe, I thought about you and several other of our fellow luchador fans when I saw El Hijo del Santo. He's a big strapping guy. I was kind of hoping he would jump up and dance some salsa like others in the audience, but he stayed in his seat.
Judy, I hope you have a nice trip and I'm glad you got to see the pics before you took off.
Hey all, my real recap will get posted this afternoon Pacific time. So sorry for the delay but I was out with customers yesterday, got home late, tried to watch the TN but bonked and had to go to bed. Hang in there...
Judy, I hope you have a nice trip and I'm glad you got to see the pics before you took off.
Hey all, my real recap will get posted this afternoon Pacific time. So sorry for the delay but I was out with customers yesterday, got home late, tried to watch the TN but bonked and had to go to bed. Hang in there...
Thanks y'all. If I ever get my picasa page loaded up I'll provide the link. Some thoughts on the trip:
1) There were images of Satan/Devil everywhere, pictures, statues, papier mache, dolls, everything. Sometimes the image was scary and evil, sometimes he was smiling and doing daily activities like riding his bike with his kid. Very interesting.
2) Someone once commented that in the churches the Virgin always seems to be highest on the altar. Yes, that was true in every church we visited.
3) Every house I visited had a beautiful interior patio that was completely open and part of the house, no doors. I asked about heating and the response was "there is no heating, we wear jackets". Our conversation on this topic earlier this week reminded me of this. Sometimes it snows (lightly) in Guanajuato.
4) We learned that if we passed a door on the street that was slightly ajar it was always worth peeking in. The plainest door was often an entrance into an enchanting patio or interior courtyard, kind of like how the houses are arranged in Un Gancho.
1) There were images of Satan/Devil everywhere, pictures, statues, papier mache, dolls, everything. Sometimes the image was scary and evil, sometimes he was smiling and doing daily activities like riding his bike with his kid. Very interesting.
2) Someone once commented that in the churches the Virgin always seems to be highest on the altar. Yes, that was true in every church we visited.
3) Every house I visited had a beautiful interior patio that was completely open and part of the house, no doors. I asked about heating and the response was "there is no heating, we wear jackets". Our conversation on this topic earlier this week reminded me of this. Sometimes it snows (lightly) in Guanajuato.
4) We learned that if we passed a door on the street that was slightly ajar it was always worth peeking in. The plainest door was often an entrance into an enchanting patio or interior courtyard, kind of like how the houses are arranged in Un Gancho.
Sylvia, these are some great pictures. It looks as though you really had a wonderful time. And may I add, in every picture I've seen of you you have the sweetest, neatest smile. Thanks for sharing with us.
Carlos
Carlos
Sylvia, what a wonderful travelogue. You perfectly captured the colorful flavor of your trip. I was wondering, how much time did you speak in Spanish?
Thanks Silvia for the wonderful pictures. Looking at them makes one feel relaxed. Thanks and welcome back.
Hanna
Hanna
Permalink posted by 
: Friday, November 13, 2009 at 12:46:00 PM EST
: Friday, November 13, 2009 at 12:46:00 PM EST
Sylvia! Thank you kindly, Ma'am! Great photos, great travelogue.
Those big white flowers the lady was selling look kinda like Juan Querendon's produce from Achichipico.
All the chow looked good!! Just had a big lunch con mi esposa y, ahora, yo tengo mucho hambre otra vez.
Carlos, having had the privilege of meeting Cap'n Sharkbait in person, I assure you her 'sweetest, neatest' smile is indeed just that!
Sylvia, I think you just set the standard for Kris and Carlos for when they get back from Mexico.
Oh, yeah, dish some dirt on the symphony's flute player. I'm suspicious of them flute players.
Those big white flowers the lady was selling look kinda like Juan Querendon's produce from Achichipico.
All the chow looked good!! Just had a big lunch con mi esposa y, ahora, yo tengo mucho hambre otra vez.
Carlos, having had the privilege of meeting Cap'n Sharkbait in person, I assure you her 'sweetest, neatest' smile is indeed just that!
Sylvia, I think you just set the standard for Kris and Carlos for when they get back from Mexico.
Oh, yeah, dish some dirt on the symphony's flute player. I'm suspicious of them flute players.
Hombre, I was able to speak a lot of Spanish. I tried to do it as much as possible. The staff at our hotel spoke no English. Our friend's daughter Julia has a Mexican dad and English mom so she spoke perfect English, however most of her friends spoke no English. I got a lot of practice which was great. There were a couple of boo-boos but overall things went fine. The funniest faux-pas was when we got some soup called Cola de Zorro, and I misread it as Culo de Zorro, so basically I thought it said fox ass soup instead of foxtail. Julia and her friends thought it was hilarious.
Mike you wanted to know about the flautist? Well, she did have an interesting story. She arrived in Guanajuato with her girlfriend, things didn't work out, and she ended up marrying another musician, a man! She is a striking beauty, so I think you'll agree that your flautist and Maria from Guanajuato have more than the flute in common. After meeting her I would have to agree that flautists rock. She was a fascinating person with a very cute son whose first words to me were "What do you know about phylum mollusca?"
Mike you wanted to know about the flautist? Well, she did have an interesting story. She arrived in Guanajuato with her girlfriend, things didn't work out, and she ended up marrying another musician, a man! She is a striking beauty, so I think you'll agree that your flautist and Maria from Guanajuato have more than the flute in common. After meeting her I would have to agree that flautists rock. She was a fascinating person with a very cute son whose first words to me were "What do you know about phylum mollusca?"
Can someone tell me which episode of un Gancho is on tonight. We are in Waco and the TV in our room doesn't get Univision. This is Texas for goodness sakes. We are here to watch Baylor play Texas tomorrow. Gee, I wonder how that'll go.
Carlos
Carlos
Carlos, I believe that tonight is episode 103.
By the way, I FINALLY posted last night's recap. It seemed like the fates were against me this week but lucky Friday the 13th finally opened up a couple of hours for me.
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By the way, I FINALLY posted last night's recap. It seemed like the fates were against me this week but lucky Friday the 13th finally opened up a couple of hours for me.
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