Guanajuato.

I love Guanajuato. Many of the streets are underground tunnels (calles subterráneas ) that run under the city leaving the streets above for people to walk on. It's so beautiful there. So full of life and colors. The tunnels give sort of an eerily beautiful vibe to the city. We also met some really great people from different parts of the world like Texas, Nicaragua, Venezuela etc. Guanajuato is very different from Pachuca. They both have their own charms, but there is something about Guanajuato that makes you feel a little more alive. A little more curious. A little more alert. Lately I have been feeling like my brain is in hibernation here in Pachuca. Like it has gone a bit numb from doing the same thing everyday. Think Guanajuato was just what I needed to wake up. Can't wait to go back there.




Another thing I love about Guanajuato is el Callejón del Beso. There are lots of really skinny little alleys in Guanajuato and there is a legend that a girl from a wealthy family fell in love with a poor miner. They were forbidden to see each other so he rented the apartment on the other side of the alley from her house and they would meet at night and kiss while standing on the balcony of each lovers' side of the alley. Of course the story ends tragically, but v. romantic nonetheless. I love it. There are so many alleys in fact, that there is actually a verb here for people who are just walking around or hanging out in the alleys: callejoneando. And there are students (estudiantinas) who do shows walking around in the alleys singing for tips and people follow them all through the city. So at night all you can hear are men singing from about 6 to 11. It is an awesome tradición. You should go there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHfnrpYyaIg


But of course, the craziest thing about Guanajuato is el Museo de las Momias (The Mummy Museum...or Mommy Museum according to the terrible English translations.) It's really quite creepy because when the family of the deceased can't pay the taxes on the burial plot, the bodies are exhumed and if destroyed they are cremated. If not, they can be put in the museum. The bodies can be dug up after only 6 years. Creepy. You could go to the museum and see the mummy of your dead grandmother whose taxes you couldn't pay. Also saw the smallest mummy in the world. It died during a c-section and was premature. The mother was only 6 months along. So basically the mummy is a 6 month old fetus. The mommy mummy is displayed next to the fetus looking very pregnant with a big slash across her stomach from the c-section scar. As the Mexico travel book says. "The museum is yet another example of Mexico's obsession with death."