This entry was posted on 8/14/2007 6:57 PM and is filed under Mexico.
We had an early start today and drove 1.5 hours to Guanajuato with Alberto at the wheel of our big Suburban, not an easy vehicle to navigate through the narrow streets of Mexico.
Guanajuato means "place of frogs" and the local Tarascan Indians believed that the frog represented the god of wisdom. This town was one of the first areas of Mexico colonized by the Spanish in the 1520s for its rich silver deposits. Today its mines are still among the richest producing silver mines in the world. The city is also in the state of Guanajuato.
Here's a view of the colorful houses on the hillside...
Guanajuato is also known for its many underground
tunnels. The city was originally built over a river, which flowed
through tunnels underneath the city. In the mid-twentieth century after
years of raising buildings to accommodate repeated flooding, engineers
built a dam and redirected the river into underground caverns. The
tunnels were lit and paved with cobblestones for automobile traffic and
this underground road now carries the majority of cars driving through the
city today. It's a two mile subterranean transportation network and one of the most noticeable features of the city.
The weirdest thing we did was to visit "The Museo de las Momias" where some of the world's strangest mummies are on display. Some were clothed and some weren't. A few were wearing only their socks and/or shoes. Some were old and others were only infants.
Between the years of 1896 and 1958 a local law required relatives to pay a kind of grave tax. You could pay the tax one time (170 pesos - about $17) or pay a yearly fee of 20 pesos ($2). If you couldn't pay or had moved the bodies were dug up and placed on display. In 1958 the law was changed and no more bodies were dug up.
A combination of the soil conditions and the dry climate
of this mountainous area caused the bodies in the local cemetary to dry
out naturally before they could decompose.
It was really extraordinary to see these 108 fully preserved mummies. It reminded us that we are all going to become bones and dust and that there is a good reason to not get too attached to our personal bodies.
We also visited El Museo de Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican artist who was married to Frida Kahlo. The Museum is located in the home where he was born.
There was one of his murals on display as well as many of his early drawings and later paintings. Diego Rivera gave Mexicans a feeling of national pride and unity through his paintings. We captured these 2 early paintings before we were asked not to take photos. These paintings were illustrations for a version of the "Popol Vul", ancient Mayan heroic sagas.
Here's a bust of Diego Rivera...
The Teatro Juarez, in the center of town, was a beautiful building...
Momma with her boys under the ficus tree arbor...
We visited 4 of the city's 35 cathedrals and again marveled at their opulent altars and life like depictions of Christ and the Virgins. Look at the blog entry called "Iglesias of the Towns We Visited" to see photos.
And our lunch at Casa del Conde de la Valenciana was quite delicious. Here are the mole enchiladas, the smoked tuna salad and the hot apple soup.
