The following morning I started the day (and the new year) at Mercado Hidalgo and then continued along Avenida Juarez. I walked through Jardin Morelos and the Plaza de San Roque. It was quiet when I started my journey at 7:00. It was New Years Day and nobody was awake. Until 9:00 am, only one pharmacy was open. I visited the Callejon del Beso (The alley of the kiss), which is wear, according to legend, two lovers looked at each other through their bedroom windows. I passed the important sites, including the house where the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was born; the University of Guanajuato; the Templo de la Compania de Jesus; Teatro Juarez; and the church of San Diego.
My next tour took me 45 km northwest of Guanajuato to the birthplace of Mexico’s independence. San Miguel de Hidalgo is a small but important town. We stopped in the plaza and visited the parroquia where Miguel Hidalgo made his famous grito to overthrow Spain in 1810 (refer to my previous post about Mexico’s independence). Two blocks away is the house he lived in, and from where he planned the uprising with Ignacio Allende and Juan de Aldama. Dolores Hidalgo is also unique for the flavors of ice cream it produces. Shrimp ice cream anyone?
My group continued to San Miguel de Hidalgo, not too far from Dolores Hidalgo. Between Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel Allende is a small town called Atotopilan, where there is a baroque church that somehow earned World Hertiage status.
In San Miguel de Allende, we started across the street from the Templo de San Francisco, an 18th-century church with a Neo-Classical tower. I passed the Templo de Nuestra Senora de la Salud, the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, and Santa Casa de Loreto. San Miguel Allende was important during the colonial era when it was the crossroads for the mule trades. Silver and gold would leave Mexico, and expensive goods would arrive from Europe. Today, it has a large American expatriate community, and is also famous for its arts. The Escuela de Bellas Artes is one the country’s most respected art institutions. I continued my walk and passed the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, a Mexican hero; the Casa de la Inquisicion; and the Casa del Inquisidor. I ended at the Parroquia in the middle of town. At sunset, my bus stopped at El Charco del Ingenio, which offers an aerial view of the city. The town is pleasant, clean, and isolated, but it’s also packed with tourists. This town and Guanajuato remind me of Venice: they’re intriguing, interesting, and beautiful, but they’re almost a facade, and they’re packed with tourists.
My next tour took me 45 km northwest of Guanajuato to the birthplace of Mexico’s independence. San Miguel de Hidalgo is a small but important town. We stopped in the plaza and visited the parroquia where Miguel Hidalgo made his famous grito to overthrow Spain in 1810 (refer to my previous post about Mexico’s independence). Two blocks away is the house he lived in, and from where he planned the uprising with Ignacio Allende and Juan de Aldama. Dolores Hidalgo is also unique for the flavors of ice cream it produces. Shrimp ice cream anyone?
My group continued to San Miguel de Hidalgo, not too far from Dolores Hidalgo. Between Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel Allende is a small town called Atotopilan, where there is a baroque church that somehow earned World Hertiage status.
In San Miguel de Allende, we started across the street from the Templo de San Francisco, an 18th-century church with a Neo-Classical tower. I passed the Templo de Nuestra Senora de la Salud, the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, and Santa Casa de Loreto. San Miguel Allende was important during the colonial era when it was the crossroads for the mule trades. Silver and gold would leave Mexico, and expensive goods would arrive from Europe. Today, it has a large American expatriate community, and is also famous for its arts. The Escuela de Bellas Artes is one the country’s most respected art institutions. I continued my walk and passed the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, a Mexican hero; the Casa de la Inquisicion; and the Casa del Inquisidor. I ended at the Parroquia in the middle of town. At sunset, my bus stopped at El Charco del Ingenio, which offers an aerial view of the city. The town is pleasant, clean, and isolated, but it’s also packed with tourists. This town and Guanajuato remind me of Venice: they’re intriguing, interesting, and beautiful, but they’re almost a facade, and they’re packed with tourists.
Where Miguel Hidalgo made his famous grito, or call to arms on September 16, 1810.
The streets of San Miguel Allende. There are handicrafts, luxury goods, and tourists on every street.
A statue of an eagle (aguilla )just outside the parroquia in Dolores Hidalgo.
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