OK. There's a lot to cover here. Four amazing cities, much food, the ranch, a revolution that lasted 10 years and a balneario. All will be explained but perhaps not cogently. First the Cliff Notes version of the start of the Mexican Revolution.
In 1810 there was a conspiracy afoot in Queretaro. The peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain) controlled everything and were hated by everyone. The crillos (Spanish blood but born in Mexico) were annoyed second class citizens and everyone else (mestizo, indigenous) were worse off than that. Key to the conspiracy was Father Miguel Hildago, a crillo and a pretty eccentric and not without flaws priest, who had a parish in Dolores (now renamed Dolores Hildago for soon to be obvious reasons). They'd planned the revolution for December but the plan was uncovered and, in September, it was now or never for the insurgents.
Hildago gathered 3,000 peasants and other disaffected persons in front of the church and delivered what is known as the "grito" or cry for independence. Actually, in typical Mexican fashion no one can say for sure what he said. Some say that he invoked the blessing of the Virgin of Guadalupe. However he hadn't yet gotten to the city where the standard bearing her image resided and it is said that it was an impulse decision to grab the standard and march with it. Some say... well, never mind. No one knows for sure but he got the group psyched for ousting the peninsulares, grabbed the flag and marched on to Guanajuato.
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| Church before which Padre Miguel Hidalgo issued his grito for Independence |
The rebel forces marched into the town and perceived immediately that their machetes, pen knives and stones were not really up to the task at hand. In order to vanquish the enemy it had to be hand to hand and the granary was unassailable. Until Pipila. Pipila was an indigent miner and clearly a man on a mission. He realized the only way to get in to the granary was through the front door but the Spaniards had guns -- lots of guns. So, Pipila utilized the poor man's body armor and strapped a large stone to his back. He then lit a torch, crawled several hundred yards on his hands and knees and burned down the door to the granary. He lived to tell the tale. They don't make them like Pipila anymore. The 3,000 revolutionaries overpowered the far fewer, but much better armed, Spaniards and the revolution was launched.
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| Statue honoring El Pipila |
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| Granary in Guanajuato |
Hildago joined up with Ignacio Allende in San Miguel (soon to be renamed San Miguel de Allende for obvious reasons) and they gathered more soldiers and marched on toward Mexico City. The Royalists were very strong there though and Hildago and the crew decided to retreat to near Guadalajara. Even though they had amassed 80,000 predominantly indigenous troops they were not prepared for the 6,000 well armed and disciplined troops that followed them and engaged them. It did not go well. Not well at all. So poorly in fact that Hildago, Allende, Juan Aldama and another guy (sorry I forget) were captured, beheaded and their heads were hung on the four corners of the Granary in Guanajuato FOR 10 YEARS! I mean really. TEN YEARS?
Okay. After that it gets boring. If you want to cover the remaining 9+ years just log on to Wikipedia. Actually, Mexican history is very interesting... and confusing. One guy was in power 11 different times. But I digress. The reason I covered the beginning of the revolution was because these four cities: Delores Hildago, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Queretaro are the ones we visited with our friends Luzma and Stanley. Appropriately enough, two weeks before the celebration of Mexican Independence Day (September 15). Well, the 16th too. How much of a party can you have in one day?
Gearing Up for Guanajuato
We decided to travel light on this trip to the Revolutionary Cities. But it didn't turn out that way. Much like our trip to Mexico, the back of the Subaru was crammed with necessities like a gigantic picnic hamper boasting full place settings of everything you could imagine, a box full of dolls that would be sold by Luzma's sister's charity, enough camera gear to record the upcoming inauguration etc. etc. Fully loaded, we hit the road to Guanajuato. Four and a half hours later we pulled into what must be the most confusing town to drive in on earth. There is a reason. Guanajuato is built entirely on hills (no really mountains). It wasn't too bad when there were horses and mules. Cars were a problem. However, think back to my earlier statement about silver. Silver mines. Silver mine tunnels. Abandoned silver mine tunnels. Presto! Turn the tunnels into roads. Around the mid Twentieth Century, they lined all the abandoned tunnels with rock, threw up a few signs with arrows and Voila! An underground road system. It is very neat but to the uninitiated it is a nightmare. No landmarks. No sun. No sense of direction. Signs in Spanish coming at you at 35 mph directing you to turn IMMEDIATELY. We got a guide pronto. Even with the guide, Michael was like Pavlov's dog as the very nice elderly Mexican gentleman muttered "right here, now left, straight, no now! right, left"....
Guanajuato is an amazingly beautiful city. But the photos will show that. It is also a University town brimming with young kids. It's almost impossible to relate everything we did on this trip and I don't want it to be the blog equivalent of one of those endless vacation slide shows. So, I'll just tell you some of the things I thought were very cool in Guanajuato and if you have questions you can email me.
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| Overview of Guanajuato from El Pipila statue |
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| Estudiantinas performing |
The Callejon del Beso - The Alley of the Kiss is an alley that at one point has two balconies facing each other only 27 inches apart. The story tells of star crossed lovers who defy the girls father and persistently kiss across the balconies. The father kills his daughter. Why not the guy? Meant to ask.
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| One must kiss in the Callejon del Beso under the balconies to ensure good luck |
The Mummy Museum - Well, it was a little cheesy but I have never seen so many mummies! Michael felt it was offensive to photograph them so you'll just have to use your imagination. Apparently, something in the soil preserves them with no human intervention. I'll just let it go at that.
Picnicking in the Park - After a long drive there's nothing like it. Feed the ducks, eat pate and cheese, drink wine, plan the afternoon a bit. Mexicans love to eat outdoors and will buy street food or grill in parks at the drop of a hat. They looked at us a bit strangely with all of our paraphernalia spread around us since they employ a more down to earth approach but a good time was had by all.
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| A picnic at Presa de la Olla in Guanajuato |
Seeing the City from the Statue of Pipila - This statue is huge, and he kind of looks like he's about to stomp on the city because he's leaning a bit forward (see photo). The views are phenomenal and the city is laid out before you. The colors of the houses and buildings are... getting vacation slide show on you.
Donde Esta Dolores?
After spending the night in Guanajuato, we used our guide to visit a silver mine, mummies museum and a wonderful hacienda with restored gardens that the Government took over. After lunch we headed out for Dolores Hildago and then on to Luzma's sister's ranchera. In Dolores Hildago we saw the famous site of the first "grito" and hung in the plaza eating street food. It was the first time I saw an actual cantina (with the swinging doors, dust particles floating in the air etc.). My Spanish teacher, Lulu, had instructed us (well the females) to never go in a cantina as rough men and whores (her pronunciation) were to be found there. Luzma concurred in LuLu's assessment. I stayed out.
Luzma's sister's ranch and her story could fill more than a blog or maybe even a book. Years ago, the family that Cecilia married into controlled vast portions of Guanajuato (the state, not just the city). They grew chilis which anyone with half a brain would realize would be lucrative in Mexico. Well, there was land redistribution during one political reign and their land holdings were reduced but were still vast. The family built a town for its employees called La California since the head of the family at the time had gone to college in California. The town has a beautiful church, school, etc. and I think about 50 families live there. Things continued apace until the late '90s when the Chinese (damn those Chinese-- aren't they satisfied with electronics?) cornered the chili market and depressed the prices hideously. It essentially drove the family out of the business. But Cecilia was resilient. She developed her own business manufacturing and marketing mole. That wonderful chocolatey-something elsey stuff you put on chicken. She started out in her kitchen and then designed and built her own factory. She now employs quite a number of people and has distribution throughout Mexico and into the U.S.
Cecilia graciously invited us to stay with her and it was a terrific experience. She is one of those hostesses who just instinctively makes you feel comfortable and welcome. And the food!!! Check out the photos. I made Michael go in to the kitchen and shoot dinner, breakfast and the sideboard table because it was so aesthetically pleasing. I'm gushing. She deserves it. It makes a tremendous difference, I think, when you travel with and mix with the people who live in the country. Luzma made everything so much better and more interesting for us not only because she speaks the language but because she can interpret the culture and innuendos of situations in a way that we never could. We ended our first night at the ranch with wine in hand, sitting on the couch and living room chairs watching Bill Clinton give a speech of a life time.
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| Sideboard with food at Cecilia's |
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| Breakfast Table at Cecilia's |
I think I might max out my blog room here if I continue. Tomorrow I'll try to continue on to San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro and maybe squeeze in Independence Day in Ajijic. Take care. Be in touch.
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| Jardin de la Union, aka Pedazo de Queso (slice of cheese) in Guanajuato |
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| Teatro Juarez in Guanajuato |
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| Church of La Valenciana (all that you see on the altar and above is gold leaf) |
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| Governor's Palace in Dolores Hidalgo, decorated for Independence Day |
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