Es muy "FUNKY"

Guanajuato is unbelievably rich in art and culture. The University of Guanajuato has an arts program that attracts many talented students from theater arts to all types of music. As you can imagine, there are many guitar players – classically trained musicians by day, friendly mariachis by night – no joke! (Granted, they all don´t look like Antonio Banderas and play sexily on bar tables like in the movie Desperado, but close enough.) Since June is their semester end, the students' final recitals for parents, patrons of the arts, and locals in the community highlight most evenings' agendas.

One evening I attended one of the student musical performances. Although the technical elements were still amateur, the passion behind the music was unmistakenable. This was entirely evident through their selections of music and arrangements of songs. It´s always so refreshing to see such tremendous support for the arts!

The above is a picture of a three cats doing an incredible jazz trio (a piece, I regretfully, don’t recall the name of.)

¡Vamos A Comer! (Let´s Eat!)

Virginie (our University of Guanajuato liason during our stay) was gracious enough to offer the students of the healthful living class a cooking course in her home. When we arrived to her house, she suggested we start by dressing in matching aprons (an ensemble I rarely get caught wearing, seeing as I’m not much of a cook), but the kitchen-attire seemed to have suited the students quite fashionably, don´t you think?


Virginie guided us through 2 different types of salsa (a jitomato-based and a frijole-based) and also taught us how to make an amazingly delicious (pudding-like) mango-dessert. She directed the entire class, speaking only in Spanish, which definitely helped the students get familiar with cooking terminology (especially for me, since the words “taco” and “margarita” were my only food-related ammunition. Up until now, I had been surviving only by pointing to pictures on menus and saying "Quiero por favor."). Virginie was very mindful in making sure every student had the opportunity to be involved in the culinary experience.

Here, for instance, we witness Emily and Eddie cutting into a ripe tomato. Indeed, in Mexico it actually takes 2 Americans to cut a tomato properly. Despite their hilarious struggle, both made wonderful contributions to the magnificant salsa! Good job, guys!








Wendy also stepped up to the hot plate to stir the pot...








...but then Nic went "Emeril" on everyone and took over (in a good way, of course). Look at him go! BAM!!









And Nicole seems to be having way too much fun cutting.






I wish I could post the actual foods for your sampling, but the current internet technology limits this possibility – so you’ll just have to image the goodness and recruit your senses virtually.

Thanks for a great experience, Virginie!

Enjoy!