Mike Curtis

Souvenir of Guanajuato

6-movement suite for string orchestra I. Plaza del Baratillo (Plaza of the Cheapskate) Around a Florentine fountain given to the city by the Emperor Maximilian, every day is a bartering market day, and the Cheapskate could be the merchant or the customer. II. El Burro Viejo (The Old Donkey) Outside the Alhondiga (a granary where a fierce revolutionary battle was fought), a patient burro awaits an arduous journey up the cobblestoned alleys of the hillsides. III. La Banda del Estado (The State Band) Every Sunday, from the ornate bandstand among the laurel trees of the Jardin Union, come the sounds of marches, opera overtures, and paso dobles played by the uniformed professionals of the Guanajuato State Band. IV. Dulcinea Guanajuato is home to the International Cervantes Festival and this is a tribute to Don Quixote's illusory sweetheart. V. Sancho Danza Sancho Panza, the faithful, long-suffering squire to Don Quixote, deserves his own tribute, since the book was not named for him. VI. La Rana Loca (The Crazy Frog) The frog is the local mascot to the oasis that is Guanajuato, with its reservoirs and underground river. A local cafe, 'The Crazy Frog,' is a colorful watering hole.