Right out of the blocks we visited the Museo de Momias (Mummy Museum) early in the morning. According to the Museum's website, the mummies are an integral part of the "culture and traditions as a people settled on the slopes of a large ravine that has generously produced the riches of its innards since the age of Spanish vice royalty. In 1865 the first mummified body that lay in the Santa Paula Pantheon was extracted, and as the years go by, other bodies are discovered in the same condition due to the characteristics of the soil in which they rested. At present more than one hundred mummies make up the inventory of the museum created in their honor."
Next Stop: Alhondiga Independence Museum (La Alhóndiga de Granaditas). This was the town granary back in the late 1700s. The Spaniards took refuge here until 1810 when El Pipila and the peasants forced their way in to defeat the Spaniards. The mural at the entrance to the upper level of the museum was painted in 1955 and funded in part by the elementary school children of Mexico. The painting, the "Abolicion de la Esclavidtud," was painted by Jose Chavez Morado, who also donated his pre-Hispanic art collection to the museum. |
We had our picture taken in front of a replica of the bell that was rung in the town of Dolores (now Dolores Hidalgo, where we are going on Sunday) to rally the peasants to attack the Spaniards and gain back their independence. The ringing of the bell became known as the Hidalgo Grito, or the cry for independence. |
We were back in the vans and then off to the San Ramon Silver Mine just outside of the city of Guanajuato. Silver was one of the main reasons the Spanish came to this area. The mines "were so rich that the city [of Guanjuato] was one of the most influential in the colonial period." Hard hats and all we climbed down into the mine, and after a brief but disconcerting power outage, made our way to the bottom and had our picture taken. El professoras also got in on the excursion and had their pictures taken as well. |
Right down the street from the restaurant is one of the best places to get Majolica pottery-- the Santa Rosa Majolica Factory. Majolica is a tin-glazed pottery from the time of the Renaissance. We managed to contribute mightily to the Mexican economy while there and are looking forward to sharing our finds with friends and family when we return. After the factory, we went back to the hotel for a brief respite and then out on the town to explore before having dinner in the garden square. We even managed to catch a wedding on the way! Another good day---tomorrow we will explore Dolores Hidalgo. Check out the students' blog about the trip at http://mexicoblog2013.wordpress.com/ | From the silver mine, we went up the mountain to Santa Rosa where we ate lunch at a beautiful Mexican restaurant that overlooked the city of Guanajuato--the "Restaurante de la Sierra." |