this is just to show you guanajuato

guanajuato

2007-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

click on this one for a better view. stitch just is not very good for viewing on a screen, but the city is lovely nonetheless.

view from el pipila

2007-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

guanajuato is a designated world heritage site. the views of the city are very important. when satellites came out citizens began putting them on their rooftops, thus marring an otherwise pristine view of the city; they were made to take them down.

cupulas y jardin

2007-12-31T23:26:00.000-08:00

IMG_0281, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

another church. this one faces the gardens, the main common area of guanajuato. the trees of the garden can be seen here. they are planted in a sort of triangular formation, and the trees are trimmed and squared. inside the triangle are benches and a gazebo where bands play. the light green building to the right of the church is the theatre (teatro juarez). beginning in the afternoon, the steps of the theatre become populated with people hanging out, oftentimes a performer is putting on shows on the sidewalk facing the theatre.

tarde en guanajuato

2007-12-31T23:15:00.000-08:00

IMG_1336, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this is the view from my friend's house, i am facing towards my house. it is at the top of the most distant hill. every afternoon looked liked this, with the beautiful thick clouds rolling in, later it would rain for a little while. the thunder there was incredible.

anochecer

2007-12-31T23:11:00.000-08:00

nights falls on guanajuato. this is the view from my terrace.

iglesia y universidad

2007-12-31T23:10:00.000-08:00

IMG_0282, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

the yellow building is the church; the white building with the circles in the parapet and the adjacent gray building are the university.

legoland

2007-12-31T23:07:00.000-08:00

the look of this city fascinates me. one of my teachers said that 'in guanajuato neighbors don't live side to side, but top to bottom'.

niveles

2007-12-31T23:05:00.000-08:00

i really like this shot because it shows how the levels of the city are constructed, and how the the buildings have
the effect of looking stacked.

mi casa esta muy lejos

2007-12-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

okay, so this is hard to explain, but i'll try. if you look at the left side of the picture about halfway up, there is a smallish white dome. now look up to the top of the hill line directly above it, there is a white building. that is my neighbor's house, mine is directly to the right, but it is covered by a tree.

church before storm

2007-12-31T22:55:00.000-08:00

church before storm, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

domes

2007-12-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

all those domes are churches. every single time a catholic mexican (a little redundant, i know) passes a church, they cross themselves, that's a lot of crossing.

plaza

2007-12-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

because i arrived at night, i couldn't see the city. the next morning i walked to school with my roommate. to get to school we walked down tiny alleys that were all under construction, when we got to the center, where the streets were paved with cobblestone, this was the first thing i saw, i cannot remember the name--maybe the plaza del sol.

callejon del beso

2007-12-31T22:44:00.000-08:00

IMG_0222, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

alley of the kiss...
there is a legend a tad too long to tell here

the movie set

2007-12-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

IMG_0739, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

seeing a barren street in guanajuato was rare... at the moment this picture was taken, the street felt as artificial as it looks

alambrada

2007-12-31T22:41:00.000-08:00

this is what all the buildings look like. i just love all the wires in this shot.

buildings over tunnels

2007-12-31T22:40:00.000-08:00

buildings over tunnels, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this is another nice display of how the different levels of the city are constructed, at the bottom you can see a car driving in the tunnel

luz y sombra

2007-12-31T22:35:00.001-08:00

IMG_1079, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

these are some of the buildings that are built over and around the tunnels; these were difficult to take because the light is at such extremes; walking in an out out of these shadows was also difficult

more buildings over tunnel entrances, version 1

2007-12-31T22:16:00.000-08:00

IMG_1069, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

more buildings over tunnel entrances, version 2

2007-12-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

IMG_1064, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

more building near tunnel entrances, version 3

2007-12-31T22:05:00.000-08:00

more buildings over tunnel entrances, version 4

2007-12-31T10:25:00.000-08:00

facade

2007-12-31T10:23:00.000-08:00

IMG_0624, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this is a church facade under construction; i really love when a building is simply it's facade and all that exists behind it is empty space

kitchen

2007-12-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

i had no idea what to expect when i got to guanajuato, especially regarding my living arrangements. i arrived at night, so when i got out of the car, all i saw was a wall and a locked gate. i rang the bell (literally a rope attached to a bell), beto (mi hermano) answered and let me in the house. had someone asked me before arriving what i would expect as an ideal house, i would have said 'a brightly-colored multi-level home with tiled floors and a terrace'...i did not epect to actually get that, but that is what i got. it was beautiful, and my family was even better...i love them and miss them.

living room

2007-12-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

this is the living room of the house i lived in

escuela

2007-12-31T08:55:00.000-08:00

IMG_0212, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this is the outside of my school. the two pictures that follow are the inside. this is the only series i have that represents the surprises that lie behind facades in guanajuato. most of the streets are so narrow, it's too hard to capture whole facades. although they do have colorful exteriors, the building exteriors are relatively simple, the real treat is when you open the doors and walk inside

escuela!

2007-12-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

this is what i saw when the doors opened on that dreary first morning. all schools should look like this.

view from the stairs

2007-12-31T08:45:00.000-08:00

IMG_0219, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

more of my school

floating door

2007-12-30T23:55:00.000-08:00

IMG_0300, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

i know this shot is grainy, but i still love the colors and lines.

tienda

2007-12-30T23:45:00.000-08:00

in my neighborhood, cerro del cuarto, all of the stores looked like this, just an opening in a wall, a small space with a counter and some some shelves, and people sitting around, the people in this store were watching tv

mercado hidalgo

2007-12-30T23:40:00.000-08:00

mercado hidalgo, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

party decorations

2007-12-30T23:30:00.000-08:00

in mercado hidalgo

dulces

2007-12-30T23:15:00.000-08:00

IMG_0309, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this is the candy section at the market. it all looks sort of brownish because most of this candy was made from cooked sugar and not dyed--ranging from super-soft caramels to hard candies. however, my favorite candy was the stuff that was sweet and salty and spicy all at once.

carne

2007-12-30T22:55:00.000-08:00

i took this in the market right when i entered so i hadn't changed my settings for the lighting, but what you're looking at is a man (butcher, i assume) carrying a side of raw meat on his back, no plastic, no nothing just a side of raw meat on his back

burros

2007-12-30T22:35:00.000-08:00

burros, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

blowing bubbles

2007-12-30T22:26:00.000-08:00

i love seeing people doing somewhat random things, like standing around blowing bubbles on a sunday afternoon

bubbles blown

2007-12-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

street food

2007-12-29T23:55:00.000-08:00

IMG_0301, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

jugos

2007-12-29T23:45:00.000-08:00

IMG_0770, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

the juice stand. unfortunately i am more visually curious than gastronomically curious, so i never tried these juices. but here is how they are served: the juice is ladled into a baggy, a straw is inserted then the bag is fastened shut around the straw with a rubber band. it's like mexican capri sun.

vendedor de aguacates y granadas

2007-12-29T23:40:00.000-08:00

IMG_1040, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

at the open air market on a sunday

la momia mas pequena del mundo

2007-12-29T23:25:00.000-08:00

IMG_0811, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

the smallest mummy in the world...
the mummy museum was fun to shoot in because everything was lit by blue lights, and all the mummies are behind glass so i couldn't use a flash, therefore all the pictures came out somewhat creepy--especially this one

mummy tunnel

2007-12-29T23:20:00.000-08:00

mummy tunnel, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

another creepy mummy shot

nada mejor puede pasar que la muerte

2007-12-28T23:55:00.000-08:00

"nothing better can happen than death" the mexican obsession with death and the dead is fascinating. at the mummy museum everyone got their pictures taken standing next to mummies. and these mummies don't look like your standard issue egyptian mummies; they look like dried-out people dressed in suits.

marmol

2007-12-28T23:45:00.000-08:00

IMG_0656, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this was a hippie that i saw all the time, he was stunning, he looks like he was carved from marble, his skin really looked like it does in this picture

mujer

2007-12-28T23:25:00.000-08:00

IMG_1042, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

outside the open air market, she was so striking, those wrinkles, her white skin

innocence and avoidance

2007-12-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

IMG_0569, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this woman sat down on the curb right in front of my table at a cafe, i became obsessed with her outstretched hand, so i just kept shooting, then this happened. i don't have to get all deep about this, but i think the picture says a lot.

the beggar's hand

2007-12-28T23:05:00.000-08:00

i couldn't stop looking at her hand. sorry the chair is in the way. it was the only way i could get her without her really knowing. i don't really like people to know i'm taking pictures of them unless i absolutley have to tell them. when i left, i did give her money.

getting dressed

2007-12-28T22:35:00.000-08:00

IMG_0903, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

fully dressed

2007-12-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

IMG_0905, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

here she is in full dress, i had other versions of this, but i love this one becasue you can see the baby in the gap between her arm and torso

detail

2007-12-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

IMG_0904, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

she was in a hurry in all of these shots so i just shot as quickly as i could, she's a little fuzzy

change

2007-12-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

change, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this is a vendor outside the museo de las momias (mummy museum), i asked her if i could take her picture, she said yes, and then just kept handing me my change, she didn't bother posing or anything; i didn't want her to, but feared she might because i asked if i could take her picture. look at those blue eyes.

rondalla en la lluvia

2007-12-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

IMG_0717, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

many nights in guanajuato, you can see rondallas, this is one of the musicians. rondallas are groups of musicians in traditional dress who stroll the streets leading large groups of people in songs. they sell tickets and then huge groups of people follow them through the winding streets of guanajuato singing traditional songs. it's really amazing, you hear this loud singing coming from around a corner and then there they all come, musicians leading the way, then following them fifty to one hundred people singing at the top of their lungs.

the rosary

2007-12-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

IMG_0598, originally uploaded by Gretchen O.

this is my absolute favorite picture. the geometric shapes, the colors, the typewriter tacked to the door with paper in it, the bike wheel in the doorway, the rosary he's holding...
i just love it