"THE COLONIAL CITY OF GUANAJUATO " a Guanajuato Travel Page by vaticanus

Guanajuato (Alt. 6855 ft) sits atop rich veins of silver buried in the earth. Originally, the Otomi Indians settled here until driven out by the Tarascan Indians from the west who were conquered, in turn, by the Aztecs. The name Guanajuato is a corruption of the Tarascan Cuanaxhuata (Hill of the Frogs); who represented the rain god.

Today Guanajuato is the state capital. Narrow, zig-zaging streets climb up from the winding main street.

The main plaza, El Jardin de la Union faces the Teatro Juarez and the Jesuit El Templo de San Diego . Above it all is the Statue of Pipila . Nearby is the Plaza de la Paz and the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuata . Adjacent is the Palacio del Gobierno with numerous murals by Chavez Morado.

La Universidad de Guanajuato , which you can see for yourself in Robert Rodriguez's new movie Once Upon A TIme In Mexico which includes numerous shots of the nearby colonial city of San Miguel de Allende.

Dominating the skyline is the adjacent Jesuit La Compania .

In the opposite direction from El Jardin de la Union is Mexico's most organized market (Oaxaca is the second)- El Mercado Municipal - and the nearby warehouse/fortress Alhondiga de Granaditas ; now an enormous museum. (Note: you will see a hill here where prisoners were drawn and quartered which is why it is called El Cerro del Cuarto )

On another hill (take the bus up and walk down) is the infamous Pantheon with its infamous mummies.
Here is one of the finest example of Churrigueresque architecture in all of Mexico- La Iglesia de San Cayetano ; but better known as La Valenciana - about three miles outside of town on a hill overlooking the city. Cross the road to visit the ruins of La Valenciana Mine where miners descended 1000 feet.

This is a beautiful city that once was the capital of Mexico. Guanajuato is a short trip from San Miguel de Allende (popular wih American residents, Canadian "snowbirds" and students who attend the art school.

The city is built in a ravine. Cars can navigate the central street (part of which runs in the old riverbed below the city)- but for many neighborhoods the only way to them is on foot.