Guanajuato Basics

Guanajuato is the state capital of the state of Guanajuato. It has been a Mexican tourist destination that is just now becoming popular with Gringo tourism. During the early 1500’s it was a mountainous canyon or ravine. It was uninhabited with settlements to its south. But, then in the mid 1500’s the discovery of silver led to the masses pouring into the area with more than half of the world’s silver supply being produced by the 18th century.

Four mining camps formed the proto-Guanajuato. In 1554 these camps were merged to create the city. The name derived from the Tarascan Indian word meaning “The Place of the Frog.” Being close to a river, as were many mining towns of that era, the river along side which the town was built, was used for power to turn the water wheels.

The state of Guanajuato, located in the geographical center of Mexico, is surrounded by the states of San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Jalisco, and Michoacan. Forty-five minutes west of Guanajuato's capital, also named Guanajuato, is the Guanajuato International Airport (BJX). Other cities in the state include San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, and Leon.

The name, Guanajuato, originally spelled "Guanaxuato" or "Quanaxjuato", is the Tarascan Indian word for "Hill of Frogs". No one knows exactly why the tribe gave the area this name. One story is that, on looking at the terrain, they decided nothing could live here except frogs. Another story is that some of the rocks on the mountain peaks around the area looked like frogs.

Founded in 1548 close to the Rio Guanajuato, the city is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. Standing in the downtown area is like being in the bottom of a bowl. Breathtakingly beautiful Baroque and Neoclassical buildings, many of which were homes during the Spanish occupation, fill the bottom of the bowl. The discovery of rich silver mines in the area provided the wealth to produce the grandeur that is still evident today. Some consider the architecture of Guanajuato to be the most beautiful in Central and South America.

Looking up from the downtown area, you witness a remarkable feat of engineering skill. In Guanajuato, the residential areas surrounding the heart of the city had nowhere to go but up the sides of the mountains. It seems the builders used every available inch of the mountainsides. Houses stair-step up the sides and follow the terrain in undulating rows. In some places, the roof of one house is at the next house's foundation.

Many of these houses are not accessible by car. The only way to gain access to them is by narrow, twisting Callejóns. These are cobblestone alleyways, some containing steps carved into the rocky mountainside, which snake up to the summits. The city of Guanajuato has been called the crown jewel of Mexico's heartland. In 1988, UNESCO declared Guanajuato "Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad" (Cultural Legacy of Mankind). Since it is a World Heritage Site, any new construction or remodeling in the historic center must conform to strict rules. Also, they must build gas stations and other modern buildings outside the city center. For these reasons, the city keeps its historic charm.

The silver mines discovered here put Guanajuato on the map. At one point, silver made Guanajuato the commercial and financial center of central Mexico. The silver mines once supplied the world with one-third of its silver wealth, much of it going into the coffers of the Spanish royalty. Most of the mines stopped producing in the 1800s, but a few continue to be active today.

Guanajuato played a unique role in Mexico's struggle for independence from Spain. The mines made many of the Spanish overlords wealthy at the expense of the Mexican workers. Finally, the people rebelled.

In 1810, Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, organized and led a ragtag army that consisted of farmers and peasants. They began their quest for independence in the city called Dolores (later renamed Dolores Hidalgo) with Hidalgo's impassioned speech, "El Grito", on the steps of the parish church on the night of September 10, 1810. The army marched from place to place, slaughtering most of the Spanish as they went.

Hidalgo, known as the "Father of Mexican Independence", led his troops (which numbered around 20,000 by then) into Guanajuato, where the Spanish were barricaded in the gigantic granary, called the "Alhóndiga de Granaditas". The Spanish were able to hold out against the rebel army until September 28, when a brave young miner stormed the wooden doors, setting them ablaze. This allowed the insurgents access to the granary where they killed everyone inside.The city erected a monument to honor the brave miner named, Juan Jose de los Reyes Martinez Amaro, nicknamed "El Pipila". The statue overlooks the center of town. It provides a magnificent view of the city, one that is popular with photographers. If you are healthy, you can climb to the monument by way of the Callejon de Calvario, just east of Teatro Juarez on Calle Sopeña. For those who are not inclined to make the half-hour climb, there is a funicular (cable car), located behind Teatro Juarez, which will take you up for a few pesos.

Trying to find your way around the city of Guanajuato can be confusing and frustrating. Instead of building the streets in a grid pattern as many cities do, the city planners had to build the streets to fit the topography of the land. The streets wind around in various directions and sometimes end abruptly. To make it even more confusing, many streets change names every so often. In addition, signs do not mark many streets. The tourist office can give you an assortment of maps that are helpful, though some are not drawn to scale and some have few, if any, street names. A unique feature that you will find in Guanajuato is the series of subterranean tunnels. Some of the tunnels follow the old riverbed. After a devastating flood in 1901, city engineers diverted the river away from the city to prevent further flooding. In the 1960s, engineers converted the original riverbed to an underground street. Since then, the city has built more tunnels to try to alleviate the traffic-clogged aboveground streets.

If you ride or walk through the tunnels in the downtown area, you will see brick arches close to the ground. These are visible traces of the buildings that existed in centuries past, but were damaged by flooding. Eventually, people built other buildings on top of them. There are legends that many of the people who lived and worked in these buildings have not been able to find their eternal rest. Instead, they roam the underground streets, tunnels, and buildings.