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 Travel & Outdoors | April 2006 
Viviendo en México - Guanajuato, Day Two
 Korah Winn - PVNN
| | One of the most well-known places is the Museo de las Momias (Mummy Museum.) | 
| | Following the crowd of people through the streets to see the Estudiantina Imperial. |
The whole experience of visiting Guanajuato was so unique for me. In all the time that I have lived in Mexico, I have never seen a city like it. Actually, I have never seen one like it in my entire life.
There are many attractions that draw people to the city. One of the most well-known places is the Museo de las Momias (Mummy Museum.) Philana and I went there during our second day in the city.
The Spanish phrase I would use to describe how I felt is "Me da asco." That roughly translates into "it grosses me out." It was definitely one of the weirdest "museos" I have ever visited.
The fact is that I do not know if these cuerpos (bodies) can actually be called momias. They are not momias in the Egyptian sense of the word because they are not embalmed. The circumstances surrounding them are that there is something about the soil in part of the state of Guanajuato that actually slows down the decomposing process. The majority of these "momias" were corpses that were dug up and placed on display.
My friend and I walked through the museum and did our best to grasp that gist of what the tour guide was saying in rapid español. He rushed us all through the tour. At first, Philana and I thought we would go back and recheck the areas we had skimmed through. When we did reach the end of the tour, we decided we had seen enough. The whole experience bordered on being macabre but everyone told us, "You can't go to Guanajuato and not see the momias."
The rest of the day passed by much more pleasantly. We left the museo and tried to find our way back to the center of the city. We must have looked like confused tourists because a random guy offered to give us directions to our destination. He ended up walking with us most of the way there. He gave us information and background about the city. It was like having our own personal tour guide.
| | The Estudiantina Imperial is the collective name for groups of young musicians who take tourists to the Callejón del Beso while playing songs for them along the way. |
We visited more of the city and also went to see la Universidad de Guanajuato. A storekeeper close to the school recommended a nice, cheap restaurant called Truco 7. After feeling refreshed by getting off our feet and getting some food, we hit the cobblestone streets again and had the great fortune of stumbling across another attraction Guanajuato is well-known for... Estudiantina Imperial.
There is a legend in the city that resembles the story of Romeo and Juliet. The legend took place at the Callejón del Beso (Alley of the kiss.) The Estudiantina Imperial is the collective name for groups of young musicians who take tourists to the Callejón del Beso while entertaining and playing songs for them along the way.
One of these musicians came up to us and offered to sell us a boleto (ticket) so we could see the performance and the ubicación (location) of the balconies at the callejón. Philana and I shrugged our shoulders and said, "Why not?"
We had such a blast! Being a part of the crowd following the musicians up the tight streets made us feel slightly like a herd of cows, but Philana kept making me crack up by putting her arms straight forward like a mindless zombie following the music. The Estudiantina put on quite a show. Almost everyone had a smile on his or her face as we listened to the legend. It was a wonderful way to finish our second day. |
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