Mexico
Guanajuato
The Mexican city of Guanajuato is the capital of the state of the same name. It is located at 21°02′N, 101°28′W, 370 km (230 miles) northwest of Mexico City, at an elevation of 1,996 m (6,550 ft) above sea level. The 2005 census population was 70,798 people in Guanajuato . Guanajuato is also the surrounding municipality of which Guanajuato is municipal seat. The municipality had a population of 153,364 and an area extent of 996.74 km² (384.84 sq mi). The city of Guanajuato lies near the western edge of the municipality, which includes numerous smaller outlying communities, the largest of which are Marfil, Yerbabuena, and Santa Teresa. Guanajuato, although it is the state capital, is only the fifth-largest city in the state, behind León, Irapuato, Celaya, and Salamanca. The historic town and adjacent mines are a World Heritage Site.
History
Guanajuato was founded as a town in 1554 and received the designation as a city in 1741. It is located in one of the richest silver mining areas of Mexico, and is well known for its wealth of fine colonial era Spanish architecture.
The name "Guanajuato" comes from the Tarascan (P'urhépecha) word, "Quanax-juato", which means "place of frogs".
The city was originally built over the Guanajuato River, which flowed through tunnels underneath Guanajuato. However, after years of raising buildings to accommodate repeated flooding, in the mid-twentieth century, engineers built a dam and redirected the river into underground caverns. The tunnels were lit and paved with cobblestones for automobile traffic, and this underground road network carries the majority of cars driving through Guanajuato today. It is one of the most noticeable features of Guanajuato.
The city played a major role in the Mexican War of Independence since it is the capital of the State Guanajuato in which Miguel Hidalgo started the independence movement. The Statue of El Pípila and the Alhóndiga de Granaditas still remind of that time.
Spanish Immersion Schools in Guanajuato, Mexico
There are at least 7 Spanish immersion schools in Guanajuato, Mexico. The following is a list of Spanish immersion schools in Guanajuato, Mexico:
- Instituto Miguel de Cervantes
- Escuela Mexicana
- Español Universal
- Don Quijote-Guanajuato
- Instituto Tonali -Spanish School
- School of Spanish and Artistic Studies
Attractions
In the Panteón catacombs to the west of Guanajuato is a famous cemetery noted for the natural mummies produced by unknown means. About 1 in 100 bodies buried here experience natural mummification. In the late 1800s the town instituted a "burial tax" for the families of the deceased. When some of the poorest families were unable to pay the tax, their relatives were dug up and placed on public view in a purpose-built museum. The 'Guanajuato Mummy Museum' still adds corpses to this day; two children were added who died in 1984 most recently due to their relatives' failure to pay the $ 20 per 5 year rental fee. The museum holds 111 corpses resting on velvet pillows. Today, it is reported that the proceeds from the museum help fund Guanajuato 's coffers to a considerable degree.
The city of Guanajuato was the birthplace of artist Diego Rivera, whose house is now a museum.
The city also harbours one of the largest places in Mexico for mathematical research, a public institution dubbed CIMAT.
Each October Guanajuato holds the Festival Internacional Cervantino, an international festival of the arts named after Miguel de Cervantes. The festival is a popular draw for young students from across central Mexico, but attracts participants and spectators from around the world.
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