Festival Cervantino

Friday morning we tried to leave the city bright and early in route to Guanajuato and the Festival Cervantino. I feel I must warn my blog readers if they ever attempt to drive in Mexico that the police here can be bought! It happened last week-end while we in Acapulco (100 pesos) and then again this week-end. We were so frustrated at being singled out probably because of the "Maine" plates, that we took a stand and refused to pay or deal with these 3 motorcycle cops. Advice: always have the American Embassy on your cell phone speed dial and make sure your phone is working in Mexico! After much drama and a call to the embassy these 3 young officers decided against pursing us any further and left with an apology! Consider yourself warned about driving in Mexico....p.s. the embassy is open 24/7 for help.

After the drama and the need for a shot of tequila at 8:00am in the morning, the rest of our week-end was wonderful. The drive up north was quite different from the drive to Acapulco...still very mountainous and scenic. On the road into Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo, we stopped at several talavera ceramic shops (one of the things this area is known for) and I made some early Christmas gift purchases. The prices were fantastic and the pieces are beautiful. We took a short break at a restaurant and encountered the UNAM American football team there! They were in route to their annual rivalry match with our school the Polytecnico on Saturday. College American Football is taking hold here and from the size of these boys I would say they would fair well against some of our schools in the U.S.

Next stop, Miguel de Allende, a small colonial art colony that has been discovered by Americans, in fact there is a huge retirement community there and you see many Americans around on the street. Very different from where I live in the D.F. This town is definitely worth a visit, being rich in history, the place where the Father Dolores Hidalgo, who started the move for freedom from Spain was born. It reminded me very much of small villages in Spain with the cobblestone streets and small alleyways...beautiful. Churches here dates back to the 1500's.

We arrived in Guanajuato around 4pm and after checking in at our hotel, the Camino Real...we were off to check out the Festival Cervantino. It is considered the biggest art, theater, music festival in Mexico. The streets were filled with college aged teenagers and lots of activity. Most of the big venues were sold out of tickets for their productions, we ended up purchasing one for the Auditorio del Estado and a Brazilian dance troupe....very entertaining. Other than that there were random acts of strolling musicians, mimes, Ecuadorian flute music and art and history around every corner. Saturday we visited approximately 5 different musuems and paid only $1.50, teachers are admitted free with an I.D. My favorite was the Iconográfico del Quijote. This is the museum dedicated to the author Miguel de Cervantes character Don Quixote. My second favorite was the museum, or birthplace of Diego Rivera. Each museum is so comprehensive and teachs one so about the culture and history of Mexico. This town has got to be on your list of places to visit.

Finally, on the way home Sunday we stopped in Queretaro, which claims to be the crossroads of Mexican history. They have an incredible antique water aqueduct running down the middle of town, very similiar to Segovia, Spain. Also, some beautiful churches and of course a zocolo area (center of town). Here we tried the barbacoa, and really enjoyed their open air restaurant. The temperature during the day in almost all of the towns we visited was in the 70's...very pleasant for strolling through Mexican pueblos!