As the end of our Guanajuato trip approached, it was the first
time I could remember that I really didn
’t want to
leave. What's not to like? Sunny
days, long relaxed lunches, music concerts, the Jardin de la Union, attempts at
speaking Spanish. Everyone seems
to love Guanajuato, and the Mexicans are justly proud of this jewel of a city.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/482/
Only a few of my friends and family have been to our wonderful
spot, so I’m writing this
for those of you who often wonder about my frequent visits to this part of
Mexico.
I usually sleep in a bit, have my coffee, check my email, all
of this while sitting in the lovely living room (sala) and looking out at the
incredible view.
Most mornings we have breakfast on the terrace, which always includes
fresh fruit, usually pineapple or papaya, with ‘limones’ (small limes) and freshly
squeezed orange juice. We sit
outside looking down towards the town.
It was on our last morning while soaking in the beauty, that I tried to
remember why I was going back to Toronto.
At some point during the day, I sit outside on a patio which now
has a functional fountain, just to look at the garden. I’ve
planted some gardenias and jasmine, which aren’t
doing that well, but I’m
coaxing the plants along and hope that one day their scents will join those of
the lemon-scented geraniums which do so well here.
One morning we had coffee at the home of a Mexican American who recently
finished a first draft of a novel.
She is also working with an archeologist here, and collaborating on an
exhibit with a museum in Los Angeles, on the culture of the Chupicuaro, who
first settled in Meso America 2500 years ago.
Last week we had drinks with Cuahtemoc Trejo, a professional
flute player whose latest project is his recording and concerts played on a
crystal flute from the time of Maximilan in Mexico. We heard him play at the university and we were enthralled
with the music and the unusual sound of the instrument.
http://macchinatempo.com/
During our 12 days here we attended four concerts, two of the
symphony orchestra, a wind quintet at the Gene Byron museum, and the crystal
flute concert.
We also heard of an upcoming puppet theatre presentation based
on the Magic Flute which will be presented next month, led by a professional
German Canadian Mexican who makes her home in Valenciana. She and her family live close to a
well-known mime artist, who teaches and sometimes gives performances at his
house.
After the orchestra concert a few nights ago we went out for
drinks with friends and met someone new, an Israeli Mexican who is a professor
at the math institute.
http://www.cimat.mx/ His 16 year old son is an expert
juggler who will be attending a major juggling conference in Israel this
spring,
We also shared a comida (lunch) with Americans who live here
full time, having recently retired. They started coming down here for a
week or two at a time, which expanded to a month at a time, then two months,
then it got to the point where they just needed to stay longer. They now live
in the middle of the town, don't have a car, and among other things, are very
active as volunteers with an organization that mentors and provides support and
university scholarships to very poor but high-achieving Mexican students.
I really could go on and on talking about what seems to be an
endless array of people doing interesting and creative things with their lives.
On our last day we visited with our friend, an American woman
who came here as a student and met her husband, had her six children here, and
stayed to become a well known bicultural matriarch of her large influential
Mexican clan.
There is so much to see and do here, and numerous ways to live a
creative and social life filled with beauty, art, colour, and sunshine. I look
forward to singing a concert next fall when we're back a the beautiful Gene
Byron Museum.
http://museogenebyron.org/
