
by John Dodge Meyer and Meryl Truett
Have you been to Guanajuato City? Maybe you drove there once, but were put off by all those tricky tunnels? More likely you’ve just never ventured the 90 minute trip west of San Miguel. Hesitate no more! This colorful colonial city has so much to offer. So many private guided walking tours to get you oriented to the history and culture. You’ll learn about the history of mining and that mysterious, daunting, yet amazing tunnel system.
And of course, the magical night walks with the Estudiantina; roaming the streets and squares with these young costumed musicians and entertainers as they revive the colonial history of Guanajuato through dance, song and legend. Inspiring indeed!
Of course for a romantic getaway like this, you need the perfect, centrally located and inviting home base to recharge for the next day’s adventures. Allow us to introduce the host with the most picturesque Bed and Breakfast in town, hands down the best B&B kitchen in town, and the organizer and sometime teacher of one of the most renowned destination art workshop programs in Mexico: innkeeper, chef, artist and all around nice guy, Hugo Anaya.
Hugo was born in Guanajuato City and spent his formative years learning the ins and outs of this beautiful urban center nestled into the steep cerros surrounding our fair Capital.
Finally testing his wings at age 21, he came to the United States to visit his sisters and ended up attending Portland Oregon State University studying printmaking and a broad range of other art disciplines. After staying in the US, working in commercial art and printmaking until age 38, he then decided to come back to Guanajuato.
At first, Alma del Sol Bed and Breakfast Inn was a combination textile museum and B&B. When Carol Summers, Hugo’s mentor and owner of the museum collection passed away, the B&B remained. It was during the recent pandemic that Hugo decided to add the bright and airy rooftop studio; to feed his passion for printmaking and to pass along this knowledge through workshops and demonstrations.
Hugo started teaching in Portland and it was there that he started to developed simpler printmaking techniques that did not involve any dangerous processes. He’s been perfecting and teaching these varied monoprint and dry point techniques ever since in Guanajuato. His interest is in using a healthier approach along with a minimum of materials.
In addition to his own workshops, Hugo provides his studio to various artists teaching in many disciplines; paper mache, mixed media, collage, painting and urban sketching just to name a few. His winter season of workshops will feature Ron Pokrasso, Jeffrey Hirst. Susan Stover, Lisa Pressman, Hilary Downes, Elise Wagner, Linda Doll, Dory Kanter and Meryl Truett. You can check Hugo Anaya @artavita
Whether you desire a plunge into your untapped artistic sensibilities or just a magical getaway, Guanajuato and Alma del Sol Bed and Breakfast Inn are just what the therapist ordered. The sumptuous morning meal, the rooftop terrace margarita sunsets and even your own personal map to help you make sense of those crazy Guanajuato streets; all this and the pleasure of Hugo’s generous company and his staff’s attention to your inquiries and your needs. Leave your car at home, take a relaxed and lovely bus ride through Guanajuato’s picturesque high desert and let the taxi drivers negotiate the tunnels so you can emerge into this bright and colorful city ready to roll. We’ve experienced it all and we know you wont be disappointed!
You can contact Hugo at info@almadelsol.com
Meryl Truett is an artist and workshop instructor in San Miguel de Allende. www.meryltruett.com IG @madinsma
John Dodge Meyer is an artist and writer living in San Miguel working on his memoir.
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