“The first annual Taste of Chicago took up the three city blocks just north of the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Nearly 250,000 people showed up that day to sample restaurant food in the sunshine.” It was 1980 and my sister Sal and I were among those present for that first annual “Taste” – just as we had been for the first annual music event called “Chicago Fest” held at Navy Pier two years earlier in 1978. According to WTTW, Chicago was just beginning to get serious about its summer festivals.
Fast forward 45 years to 2022: connecting the dots between Chicago and Guanajuato City with a focus on food, music, and art
In this “new normal,” subjects of universal interest – tastes, sounds, and sights – have prompted the 2022 review which follows.
My sense of taste has been heightened by a generous amount of gratitude… To be on the receiving end after so many have helped open doors for me in these recent years… To be an adventurer exploring this totally remarkable and unique landscape… To be reflecting and savoring these moments of 2022…!
The phrase, “an embarrassment of riches,” comes to mind.
Savoring the “Tastes of Guanajuato City” – a brief 2022 retrospective
This is Mount Sirena viewed from the ex-hacienda drive leading to my casita. The ex-hacienda dates back to the 1500’s. Due to the growth of the city, today it is considered part of Centro. The photo is from May 2022 when the jacaranda trees with their bluish-purple hues were starting to bloom on the mountainside.
“I believe that with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves.” – Brene Brown, PhD, MSW, Professor, author, and podcast host
I celebrate each day living in this vibrant cultural center in the central highlands of Mexico. In its character, it is like that of a European mountain town – and known for its colonial architectural treasures. Altitude: 2042 meters (6700 feet).
“Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.” – Guy Fieri, restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winner
It’s a short drive to the beautiful grounds of Museo Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera. The Barrera property includes an impressive number of distinct gardens – in total, 17 stunning gardens. The landowner, Gabriel Barrera, was heir to the Valenciana silver mine.
“Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees.” – Rumi, Persian poet, and mystic
Mid-afternoon lunch (March 2022) with Branko and Vince at Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera – These Canadian snowbirds hailing from Toronto are co-hosts of “Evenings with Brince,” an arts series in GTO. Knowing them first as my neighbors, I always feel more tuned-in and enlightened after being in their company. They know how to spread the love and have many amigos in GTO, Toronto, and around the globe. Foto credit: Brince
“Only from the heart can you touch the sky.” – Rumi, Persian poet, and mystic
From GTO’s central mountain location to East and West Coasts: During this period, an indelible impression gleaned during lay-overs in the Mexico City International Airport was the respect shown among fellow travelers not only for each other, but especially for older people. With few official words being spoken by the attendants at the gate, the crowds respectfully and gracefully parted, creating an aisle to allow people in wheelchairs to board the planes first.
“… what I find so typical in Mexican culture is the helpfulness of the people to each other. I think, at this point, that is the highest good and the highest we can hope for, which is to be of help and use to each other wherever we are.” – Alice Walker, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist
For me, “soul food” includes delicious Mexican food. As an immigrant, a foreigner, a gringo, an expat, a turista, an adventurer – and a guest – in this adopted country in later adult years, I have a growing awareness that travel is a journey of the spirit. Travel nourishes body, mind, and soul.
“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle, Suquamish and Duwamish chief after whom the city of Seattle was named
Coming home – on the ex-hacienda driveway leading to casita. Having moved within Guanajuato a number of times, I have had more than one home while living in two of the most beautiful cities in Mexico! San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato City are both frequently recognized by travel magazines and travel bloggers. The ex-hacienda is my current homebase.
“Home is not a place… it’s a feeling.” – Cecelia Ahern, Irish novelist
November 2022 – Another al fresco lunch with friends at “Barrera.” The grounds are in Marfil, a suburb with easy access to Guanajuato. Away from busy streets, one experiences tranquility amid the cultivated beauty found here. Just so peaceful!
“Nature itself is the best physician.” – Hippocrates, Father of Western Medicine
Special event: Foro Cultural #81 – a piano recital by Ronald Tomarelli, a Canadian pianist and Steinway artist. From left: Branko, co-host, “Evenings with Brince”; Ron, guest pianist; Sal, Cultural Center proprietor; Vince, co-host, “Evenings with Brince”; Suz, grateful enthusiast; Steve, lighting specialist. Foto credit: Brince
“The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds.” – Dalai Lama, Spiritual leader of Tibet
Ron Tomarelli, Canadian pianist and Steinway artist. Foto credit: Brince
“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” – Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist, composer, and conductor
Branko Deronja, co-host, “Evenings with Brince,” reconvenes the audience following refreshments during the intermission. Foto credit: Brince
“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” – Lao Tzu, mystic philosopher of ancient China
Thanksgiving meal at Quinta Las Acecias Restaurant – located across from a park – dense with trees, foliage, and all shades of greenness.
“Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live.” – Jacqueline Winspear, Author
A delicious Thanksgiving meal which began with a special treat to please the tastebuds while being visually delightful: Ensalada de flores – Flower Salad (lettuce, flowers, goat cheese, strawberries, chia seeds with caramel dressing). As we exited the gate following the meal, a vendor entered with a cardboard box, delivering the flowers like those in this salad. I showed him the fotos I had just taken. 
“A meal is an event for the soul of a person as well as for the body.” – Father Robert Fabing, liturgical music composer and author on the topics of psychology and spirituality
Sunday brunch with Adriana Iwinski, an Uber driver, and her daughter, Alexa, in Santa Rosa, a small town in the mountains known for its gorgeous pottery. Elevation: 7356 feet…
Alexa is an excellent student with a strong network of family support. After graduating from a Montessori school, she is in her first year of an international baccalaureate program. Her classes are taught on the public-school campus by university professors. The course load is rigorous! Alexa appears to take it in stride. How does a family keep up with the challenging schedule? Mother and daughter are both very organized!
Since January 2020 – before the pandemic lockdowns began – Adriana has provided my transportation, weekly grocery shopping and errand runs. If she’s already booked, her partner, Omar, is also an Uber driver. And when Omar is booked, his father has driven me. Adriana states, “It’s a family affair.” They are very special!
“Perhaps it is true: It is a heart which moves the world.” – “Tal Vez Sea Verdad: Que un Corazón Es lo Que Mueve el Mundo.” – Damaso Alonso, a Spanish poet
December 2022 – Poinsettias outside casita entrance.
“As you rise with the morning Sun, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive.” – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher
O, Christmas Tree! … A few inches taller today than when we potted it during Thanksgiving week… Still smells lovely. Yes – Adriana helped me transport the tree from the nursery – and then shopped for the tiny lights which were highly-visible from the entrance of the grounds.
“… and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?” – Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch painter
Art is everywhere – from the Art Institute in Chicago where I attended a 1996 exhibit of the work of Diego Rivera and purchased a print which has hung in every apartment I have lived in since! … to the city of Diego Rivera’s birth. Who knew where my wanderlust spirit would lead? Foto below is from a late December Al Fresco lunch at Hotel Casa del Rector.
“The secret of my best work is that it is Mexican.” – Diego Rivera, a leading artist of the 20th century (1886-1957). He was born in this city – Ciudad Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.
An embarrassment of riches – real food, good music, and supportive global community
“21 Day Plant-Based Challenge” (January 1-21, 2023) with Dr. Will Bulsiewicz (“Dr. B”) – I jumped on board without any hesitation. “Dr. B’s Microbiome-21 – Reset your gut, restore your health, and revitalize your routine.”
I had heard this GI specialist speak at the Food Revolution Summit and recalled that he had been a Chief Resident at my hospital in Chicago – Northwestern Memorial. He has personally experienced life-altering changes with this nutritional approach.
The timing was right. I was ready to renew my commitment to a plant-based diet in just 21 days! At the beginning of a new year would be ideal! It was a food journey which Mother and I had begun in the mid-2000’s following Dad’s death. As a “working daughter,” I relied upon some remarkable care partners who helped ease our transition to plant-based eating by taking charge of the shopping and cooking. Among them were some excellent cooks who prepared delicious meals from cookbooks in our growing food library. I am ever grateful for how they supported our food journey.
In this course, I was able to reset, refresh and revitalize my routine with all the new material including the latest science of recent years – presented by GI specialist, “Dr. B” – Will Bulsiewicz, MD.
Dr. B used Nina Simone’s music in a discussion about being “harmoniously healthy – from the ecosystem within each of us to the ecosystems surrounding all of us.”
It’s a new dawn.
It’s a new day.
It’s a new life for me.
And I’m feelin’ good.
Progress over perfection – small tweaks lead to major change! How our food conversations, choices, challenges – and venues – have changed since that first “Taste of Chicago” and “Chicago Music Fest” over 45 years ago!
It’s notable that more physicians like Dr. B are now teaching us about food, how we can transform the ecosystem within us by the food choices we make, and how to heal and restore our health by what we consume. In addition, this sustainable nutritional approach may be one of the most significant ways in which we can all contribute to the health of the planet. It’s a moment! 
Food and music are subjects of almost universal interest – from Chicago to Guanajuato and around the globe.
The course attracted international participants from many countries around the globe. We concluded the 21 days of the challenge with the knowledge we were connected with participants from many nations. It’s universal – we are “in it together.”
Cheers! Bring on those dance moves, Dr. B! Music and dance were a perfect way to conclude this “challenge”! Find Website of Dr. Will Bulsiewicz here.
Taste of Guanajuato City 2023 – Creating a lifestyle that heals
Next up – more 21-day challenges will be shared. These will include challenges on a variety of topics – such as ways to express gratitude as a spiritual discipline.
You are invited to stay tuned.
Author: Susan Troyer, BA, MS
“If you wish to know the divine, feel the wind on your face and the warm sun on your hand.” – Buddha, a wandering religious teacher and founder of Buddhism
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