I arrived in Guanajuato at 10:30 a.m. the next morning and the kind taxi driver took me on a little detour to show off some of the most beautiful buildings his city has. Alia told me to get dropped off in a little plaza where she met me and brought me to breakfast with 6 or 7 other Fulbrighters. It was such a nice surprise to see so many friendly faces. Two had to leave that morning and the others were going to Dolores Hidalgo, a little town with great historic importance nearby. I was eager to see this Cervantino and stayed behind with Alia, who is living there, to check out the scene.
You know when you get this huge, blown out of proportion expectations and then you go, "oh, what was everybody so excited about?" That kind of sums up my Cervantino experience. It didn't help that I arrived on a Sunday and hadn't done my homework to figure out what events to go to. Basically my trip was a nice visit to Guanajuato and there just so happened to be Cervantino posters all around. Sunday Alia walked me around town and I picked up a beautiful ceramic frog and lizard I had been eyeing to decorate my classroom with next year, but at a lower price than I'd seen anywhere in Querétaro. We had a lovely dinner with the other Fulbrighters before they took the midnight bus back to Mexico City and were in bed at a reasonable hour so Alia would be ready for work the next day.
On Monday I wandered around by myself and came across an enchanting looking cafe and was drawn in by a piece of art that reminded me of a wave.
I ordered the seasonal fruit plate and a delicious sounding mocha. Looking through the shelves, I came across a book of poetry by José Martí and thought my day was off to a brilliant start. My breakfast arrived and I was a bit dumbfounded by the thimble of "coffee" and plate full of cantaloupe and apple. Frankly, it was probably the worst breakfast I had ever had. The coffee was itty bitty and half of it was the grinds and the cantaloupe was just plain awful. At least I had found the book, after just a few pages I was loving Martí's writing. I went to pay and discovered that the little pencil note on the inside cover that said "consulta" meant it was only to be read in the shop... total fail. I went next door and ordered another coffee and some molletes (french bread with beans and cheese on top) and started over.
Next I went to the Universidad de Guanajuato to see the exhibit of Diego Rivera's drawings. So romantic sounding, isn't it? Seeing sketches and drawings of one of Mexico's most famous artists at the beautiful, European style university! Oh but wait, "pencil sketches? Aren't those just practice drawings?" you may have asked yourself. Why yes, yes they are. Far from the masterpieces they would later become, the sketches were.... boring.
To the mummy museum! Guanajuato is known for it's Museo de Momias and I would not, could not, miss it. The city is built amongst steep hills, which creates beautiful views of the nearly neon and sherbet colored buildings. It also makes any walk into a hike. I followed the signs for the museum until they led me to a steep staircase. I started to climb and paused. "Is that a hand? Maybe it's a fake hand and I'm at the museum." I thought as I saw an eery figure dangling outside a window tapping against the side of the building.
I stared, not knowing weather it was real or fake. I saw the face that belonged to the hand and still couldn't determine what I was looking at. Finally, I continued to climb the steps and realized it was indeed a real human being. I pointed up the staircase and asked "¿el museo?" he nodded his head yes and I moved past his window. When I finally made it to the top, I was faced with a cemetery. It seemed quite appropriate considering where I was going.
The Mummy Museum was around the bend and when I arrived, I realized how weird it was of me to go it alone in a hall full of mummified bodies. A few of them had little stories that went along with the body, but most of them were simply on display.
I met a family from Santa Rosa, just north of San Francisco, who were there visiting family. We were in the extra creepy room with the skeleton that looked like a vampire and the mummy in a coffin full of metal stakes that pierced through his body.
I headed back down the hill to meet up with Alia and wasn't paying attention as I walked down the stores. I heard a loud voice shout from directly above me and I screamed and ducked and covered. It was the man with the hand who I had spoken to on my way up. I burst out laughing and sputtered in Spanish "I've just come from the mummies! You scared me!" He laughed and I continued giggle to myself as I headed back into town.
That night, Alia and I attempted to go to one of the Cervantino events, a free performance of a band from Uruguay with multi-media effects! We sat in the cement-seated stadium and did our best to watch and listen, but the music was mediocre and the "multi-media effects" were weird videos that weren't very interesting either. We left early and went back to Alia's house and watched a movie on Netflix.
Guanajuato really is a charming city and I was happy to have the opportunity to visit. I was a bit let down I didn't get the full effect of the Cervantino, but what can you do? Such is the risk of high expectations.
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