[6] The colonial architecture includes some of the best Baroque and Churrigueresque examples in the New World—such as the Valenciana, Cata, and La Compañía (Jesuit) Churches, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato.

One event foreshadowing the Mexican War of Independence was a revolt carried out in the city attacking the heavily militarized Caja Real (building to hold the Crown's share of mining production) to protest the high taxes.

[4] Instead, royalist troops and many of the elite made their stand at the Alhóndiga de Granaditas granary, an imposing building with few windows and thick walls.

[4][5] The insurgents were unable to take the heavily defended building as royalist gunfire kept them from approaching the only entrance until a miner by the name of Juan José de los Reyes Martínez, better known as El Pípila, strapped a large flat stone onto his back for protection.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries this renewed economic activity spurred new era Mexican projects such as the Juárez Theater, the Esperanza Dam, the Monumento a la Paz, the Hidalgo Monument and the State Government Palace.

[16] Unlike the regular layouts of many other Spanish and Mexican cities, the streets of Guanajuato follow the extreme irregularity of the terrain, with small alleyways, plazas and in some cases steep staircases up hillsides.

Ashamed of her husband's bad reputation with other women, before and after the marriage, the Countess began to enter and leave her home through the back door into this alley to avoid the glances of the townspeople.

Located on the slopes of the Cerro del Gallo hill in a neighborhood that dates back to the 18th century, it is only 168 cm (66 in) wide in places with balconies that nearly touch each other.

Enraged, Carmen's father stabbed her, leaving the shocked Luis holding the hand of his beloved as it grew cold and lifeless, giving it one final kiss.

Túnel La Galereña is the longest tunnel of this network and was excavated in the early 19th century to lead the Guanajuato River away from the center of the city.

The best-known mines gave their names to a number of the city's oldest neighborhoods such as Cata, Rayas y Mellado, La Pastita, San Luisito and Valenciana.

The study has found evidence of medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, extreme anemia lung damage from smoke inhalation and tuberculosis.

[41] The festival hosts events such as opera, theater productions, film showings, art exhibitions, academic conferences and talks, concerts and dance recitals.

The most important venue in Guanajuato for the festival is Juárez Theater, which is located close to Jardín de la Unión (Union Garden).

[40] Festival International Cervantino Callejero is a parallel event sponsored by Centro Libre de Experimentación Teatral y Artística (CLETA).

Later, the Counts of Valenciana left their influence as well with the donation of a clock for one of the towers and the acquisition of relics related to a saint and martyr named Faustina obtained from the Pope.

The current building was constructed by Cecilio Luis Long in a European style popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and inaugurated in 1903.The façade has a Neoclassical portal in sandstone of colors typical of the Guanajuato area.

It was originally built to store enough grain to feed the city for a year to protect the population against famines such as those that occurred in 1783, due to crop failure.

This miner, whose name was Juan José de los Reyes Martínez, is better known as El Pípila, who had joined the insurgent army as it passed through his hometown.

[47] El Pípila strapped a large flat stone over his back and, carrying a flask of tar and a torch, crawled towards the main entrance.

[41][49] The large courtyard within the Alhóndiga is a traditional place to celebrate Mexico's Independence Day with the reenactment of Miguel Hidalgo's “El Grito de Dolores.” It is one of the sites for a number of the events of the Festival Cervantino.

The interior has paintings from the 18th century, Neoclassical altarpieces and a crucifix called Cristo de Burgos, which was donated to the church by the Count of Valenciana.

[56] It has a façade with narrow estipite columns in Churrigueresque style, but its more famous aspect is a colossal cupola with three levels, which was added in the 19th century by architect Vicente Heredia.

[61] The theater was built from 1872 to 1903 by Antonio Rivas Mercado, who designed the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, and was inaugurated with the opera Aida by Giuseppe Verdi with President Porfirio Díaz in attendance.

The upper floor of the market contains a large number of crafts and souvenir shops containing products such as baskets, knit items, ceramics, leathercrafts and more.

[24][60] Very near Jardín Unión, on Luis González Obregón Street is Casa de Gobierno, where Benito Juárez made the city the temporary capital of Mexico.

The museum contains visual representations of the character, including some created by notable artists such as Pedro Coronel, José Guadalupe Posada and Salvador Dalí.

[55] Museo de Arte Olga Costa y José Chávez Morado is in Pastita neighborhood, installed in a building in the former Guadalupe Hacienda.

Today, the event stretches over the second and third week in June and has taken on new elements such as a beauty contest and dances with techno, reggaetón, Duranguese and Grupero music.

[68][69] The Christ the King Monument was constructed on the top of Cubilete Mountain in 1923 by architect Nicolás Mariscal Piña and sculptor Fidias Elizondo.