León, Guanajuato – modern Mexican charm
The City Cathedral in León, Guanajuato Mexico (Photo: C Lefferts)
León, Guanjuato
After spending just a day in León, Guanajuato, my friend had almost convinced me to move there. The sprawling city is lively – and with all of its lion-character Christmas decorations still decorating the street posts, – delightful!
There’s only one problem – it feels too much like home –my “gringolandia” home that is. Unlike Cuernavaca, the only way to really travel in León is by car. The metrobus is efficient for those that live nearby, but if you want to get anywhere besides that north-south route you won’t be getting anywhere fast by public transportation. And the side-by-side Walmart and Sam’s Club combo, across from the Applebees and two blocks from the endless mall made me think for a moment that I could start speaking English again.
However, the attack of gringo-culture hasn’t totally decimated the charm of the city. Forgetting the big-box stores and food-chains, developers have actually done an excellent job of integrating modern architecture with colonial structures. For example, one Bancomer occupies a large, remodeled colonial home on one of the main avenues.
Roads are well-paved, and well-kept, and an international airport makes León, Guanajuato even more accessible to tourists. Shopping and cuisine have a more multi-cultural feeling to them, with more variety and at better prices. Although as most modern businesses seem to do – they cater to the wealthy, it is obvious that a middle-class presides and that a “good life” is a little more affordable to the average José.
The Famous Leon Guacamaya
Fortunately, minus a quick trip to the Walmart for some groceries, I was able to enjoy the Mexican aspects of León. Taquerías can still be found in every other commerical space or so, and a stroll through downtown is still the typical family pastime.
León is known as the shoe capital of the world, so if you’re waiting to find an affordable pair of boots or tennis shoes, this is the place to go.
And the food highlight of León is a sandwich called guacamayas – a torta piled high with chicharrón, avocado and tomato salsa. Be sure to keep napkins handy, as vendors are very generous with toppings.
If you don’t want to fly to León, the bus line Turistar/ETN has tickets for 530 pesos one way from Cuernavaca - it’s something similar, probably even less, from the North Bus station of Mexico City. If you grab the last bus around 11:30 at night you can enjoy a comfortable ride through the night and wake up to enjoy this blend of Mexican-American, modern-colonial culture.
I like your post, am doing a speech presentation and I will ike to use your post as a hand out as your experience in leon, am in kyle, an small city near austin ,am taking classes at the austin community college, and YES Austin feels much like Leon, am a panza verde