If you had told me a year ago. . . .

that I would be sitting in an outdoor amphitheatre in Guanajuato, Mexico with an American classmate and two of my Mexican teachers listening to an absolutely first-rate jazz big-band from Scandanavia, I would have said,

“Really?  How cool is that?”

But that’s where I was Wednesday night for the opening ceremony of Festival Cervantino, a series of concerts, plays, and dance performances, plus street performers ranging from Mariachi to jugglers, that officially runs the last two weeks of October. 

Most of these could be considered world-class presentations:  Examples include the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, The Oslo String Orchestra, and the Chinese National Opera of Peking.  The Mexican National Opera is performing Il Postino, based on the wonderful Italian movie of the same name and written by the Mexican composer Daniel Catan.  There are a total of five operas, twenty-something classical concerts ranging from full symphonies to string quartets, and another twenty or so pop and jazz concerts.

Who knew there was a Norwegian blues band with an international reputation?  I’m looking forward to hearing an Afro-Cuban jazz band that’s actually from Cuba, and a variety of Afro-pop and regional musics from Latin America.  Many events are performed at the same time at various venues around the city, so there’s no way to see it all, but navigating the program is half the fun.

Festival Cervantino is the largest arts festival in Mexico, and I can’t think of anything of its kind in the United States.  Maybe New York City on a slow day, but otherwise. . . .

Guanajuato is designated a “Patrimonio Cutural de la Humanidad” by the United Nations because of its plethora of well-preserved and restored colonial cathedrals and museums, including, for example, the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo museum in the restored house where Rivera grew up.  (Been there.)  Magnificent paintings by both, but unfortuneately, there are no Rivera murals in Guanajuato.

So anyway, here I am sitting in the amphitheater back in the free seats, surrounded by mostly young Mexicans and listenting to one of the best jazz concerts I’ve attended.  I’d compare the band to Wynton Marsallis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.  The music is complex, technically about impossible to play, and a challenge to listen to.  Just my stuff. About a third of the crowd back in the free seats left after three or four numbers, but their seats were quickly taken by people who were waiting outside. 

The whole thing was magical.  How could a thing like this happen in Mexico, a country whose reputation now is almost entirely one of violence and terrorism, and how is it I happen to be here?  Life constantly throws suprises at us, and sometimes they can turn out to be among the best moments of our lives.

After the concert, there immediately began a long fireworks display, accompanied by very loud recordings of stirring classical music:  Handel, of course, and I think Brahms and Beethoven.  The whole thing was so spectacular and emotionally stirring it made me cry.  But then, cat food commercials sometimes make me cry. 

Afterwards, my classmate Eric and I went off on our own, and Eric, being a true adventurer, led me to another one of those crowded bars and restaurants I never would have gone into on my own, where he threw back shots of tequila and I, of course, had my usual Diet Coke.  We ate about a ton of tacos and the whole thing cost about four dollars.  I’ve found and been told by other students that the quality of food is usually inversely proportional to the cost.  Among the best are the food stalls in the street, and I’m still happy to report that I’ve suffered no ill effects to my digestive system.  I have a little cold, though. 

Did I remember my camera for any of this?  No.

If there’s a downside here it’s that my days have been very long and tiring between five hours of Spanish classes a day, trying to make it back up to my house for lunch with my Mexican family (the big meal of the day), homework (not much), and then back out again to explore and take in the various events.

Mary arrives Monday for ten days, and I’ll probably skip a lot of classes so we can get out more on our own and concentrate on being tourists.  I’ve held back on visiting many of the places I want to see until she gets here.

Enough for now.  More later. 

Saludos.