Present Day – Guanajuato, Festival Cervantino

Guanajuato, Church of San Roque

Present Day – Guanajuato, Festival Cervantino

Excerpts from my book, “Walking Tours of Guanajuato.”

Guanajuato is filled with many popular legends, and linked these days with Miguel Cervantes, romantic Quixote spirits, and the Festival Cervantino (a yearly festival of music and dance)….

[On the tour.]

11. EL TEMPLO Y PLAZUELA DE SAN ROQUE, The Church and Plaza of St. Roque is one of two XVIII century intermediate baroque style churches. It was built in 1726, and is located in a medieval-style plaza, Placita de San Roque (what else!).

In 1953, this placita was chosen for the performance of the famous “Entremeses de Cervantes”, winning the title for Guanajuato of Cervantine City of México. (These are literally “intermissions”, or short sketches written and presented by students intended to be presented between performances during the Cervantino Festival.

This was the beginning of the Cervantine Festival, billed as the most important Artistic-Cultural Festival in Latin America. Now held every year in Guanajuato for two weeks from the middle of October (varies).

The show takes place in a courtyard with galloping horses, water thrown from windows, church bells ringing, gusts of wind blowing out all the candles, and people in authentic period costumes looking not too out of place in XXI century Guanajuato. Don’t miss it!

Also present in Guanajuato—logically it has to be—is that indispensable poetical ingredient known as “fantasy.

It is said that down under the mountain range of Guanajuato there is a city, a city made of gold. And this city is guarded by a beautiful and alluring young woman in a cave. She was bewitched by a powerful sorcerer who rules this region with an army of terrible ghosts, phantoms, and powerful malignant spirits. And she can’t escape from the cave without help. One day a handsome, strong, and valiant shepherd lad heard the story being told. He was determined to help this poor creature whose loud and piteous screams were legend.

He climbed up into the mountains one night, up the declivities until he reached the haunted region. As he drew near a cave he began to hear those same frightening screams that other terrified passers-by had heard, and then he saw her. Oh—she was beautiful indeed!

“Brave and handsome young man,” she said. “I know you are the one who is going to liberate me from my terrible torture.

“Over there you can see the enchanted city. It will be yours if you succeed in taking me out of this cave. All that you have to do is to take me in your arms, and set me down at the main gate of the parish church.

“You must conserve your intrepid courage. Do not pay attention to noises or what they may say. Do not stop. Do not turn your face back because….”

“I will succeed,” said the boy.

He picked up the woman in his arms and began the descent of that abominable region. Noises of something dragging iron chains rang in his ears, and then screams, and wretched lamentations whose supplications seemed to come from human beings on the verge of death. He began seeing scenes of torture and murder, people being hanged, mutilated bodies lying in their spreading blood, terrible ghosts falling down before his steps and begging mercy.

Many times he forced himself to close his eyes, causing him to fall repeatedly. His lovely load became heavier and heavier as he descended the slopes. The smell of those horrid phantoms filled his nostrils. Making the sign of the cross before him as best he could, he went down, down towards his beloved Guanajuato.

The persecution increased every second. The demons were shouting blasphemies, insults, curses, and filthiness. A great explosion rang out. The sky seemed to be on fire. He couldn’t control his nervousness and he got lost.

Stopping, he looked back, and immediately the beautiful lady was transformed into a huge snake. It crawled up the mountain becoming larger and larger covering the peaks until its body became a low mountain.

The shepherd was thrown into the air, and came to earth as an immense rock in the shape of an upright man.

The snake became that high mountain now know as “La Bufa” and the smaller mountain behind is called “The Shepherd”.

The city of gold, they say, is still there, bewitched as always by the powerful sorcerer.

(La Bufa means bare rock cliffs, and you can see the mountain named in the legend from all parts of the city.)

Guanajuato, Festival Cervantino