Editing Guanajuato (city) (section)

==Layout and transportation ==
[[File:PositosStUniGTO.JPG|thumb|Pocitos Street, looking toward the [[University of Guanajuato]]]]
Initially, the city was divided into four barrios or neighborhoods: Marfil/Santiago, Tepetapa, Santa Ana and Santa Fe. The last is considered the oldest and is in the current colonia of Pastita. The city was split by a small river that serves as a main thoroughfare. Because of the extremely hilly terrain, only one main road enters and another one leaves. The main street into the city, called Belaunzarán, now runs for three km underground and follows the original course of the [[Guanajuato River]].<ref name="mexconnect"/> 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.<ref name="mexdesgto"/> Most are paved with square cut stone,<ref name="mexdesgto"/> with only a limited number that are passable to cars.<ref name="mexconnect"/><ref name="stampart15">Guanajuato, p. 15</ref> Most of the passageways are really alleys with a limited amount of open space in the way of very small plazas, which gives the city a more European flavor than other Mexican cities.<ref name="mexconnect"/>
[[File:Tunel en Guanajuato.jpg|thumb|Tunnel entrance]]
A number of these alleys have no names and some have whimsical names such as “Sal si puedes” (Exit if you can).<ref name="leyendasgto12">Leyendas, p. 12</ref> Another famous alley is the Callejón Tecolote, through which [[Ignacio Allende]] and Miguel Hidalgo entered with their army in 1810.<ref name="mexconnect"/> One alley near the State Government Palace is called the Callejón de la Condesa (Alley of the Countess). The name comes from the lady of one of the mansions who lived there in the very late 18th and very early 19th centuries. 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.<ref name="leyendasgto12"/>

The most famous alley is the Callejón del Beso (Alley of the Kiss). Located on the slopes of the Cerro del Gallo hill in a neighborhood that dates back to the 18th century, it is only {{convert|168|cm|0|abbr=on}} wide in places with balconies that nearly touch each other. Folklore states that couples who kiss on the third step (painted in red) are guaranteed seven years of happiness together.<ref name="descubre">{{cite journal |editor1-first= Beatriz |editor1-last= Quintanar Hinajosa |date=August 2010 |title=Guanajuato |journal= Mexico Desconocido (Descubre Guanajuato Ruta de la Independencia Guia Especial) |pages=32–40 |publisher= Impresiones Aereas SA de CV |location=Mexico City |issn=1870-9397 |language=es}}</ref> The name comes from a legend of two young lovers who come to a tragic end:<ref name="stampart15"/> Doña Carmen and Don Luis. Carmen's father forbade the courting of his daughter by the young Luis, threatening to send her to a convent if she left the house to see him. Carmen's balcony reached over this alley and nearly touched the balcony of the neighboring house. Luis found out who owned it and arranged access. One evening, while the two were on these balconies, Carmen's father discovered them as Luis held Carmen's hand between his own. 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.<ref name="leyendasgto26">Leyendas, p. 26</ref>
[[File:Guanajuato Subterra.jpg|thumb|Street tunnel]]
The narrow streets and alleys have given rise to a pastime called "callejoneadas". These are roving parties, traditionally held by the students of the University of Guanajuato with live musicians.<ref name="stampart15"/> Today, there are callejoneadas arranged for tourists as well.<ref name="mexconnect"/><ref name="descubre"/>

Juárez Street is one of the few through streets on the surface. It is filled with stores and restaurants and has a constant flow of people and traffic.<ref name="descubre"/> The other through streets of town are either partially or fully underground, following the old drainage ditches and tunnels dug during colonial times. Originally they were used for flood control, but modern dams have controlled flooding and left them dry, so they have been turned into thoroughfares in a city with little surface area. The most important of these roads is Miguel Hidalgo or Belaunzarán, which carried the runoff from the river that used to divide the city in two.<ref name="mexdesgto"/><ref name="rincones104"/> Guanajuato's version of the [[La Llorona]] story has the woman wandering its tunnels, some of which had rivers or streams running through them.<ref name="leyendasgto46">Leyendas, p. 46</ref>

The streets and alleys of the city are filled with mostly colonial era buildings, restaurants, bars, cafes with terraces and small plazas. Buildings have been constructed of sandstone in pink and green, adobe and other stone, filling the streets with shades of pink, green, ocher and red.<ref name="stampart15"/> Most of these plazas are in front of or to the side of the many churches, such as the Plaza San Fernando, [[Plaza de San Roque, Guanajuato City|Plaza San Roque]], Plaza de la Valenciana, Plaza de los Ángeles, and Plaza de Mexiamora. Exceptions to these are Jardín Reforma and Jardín Unión.<ref name="mexdesgto"/><ref name="descubre"/>

===The underground tunnels of Guanajuato===
The Guanajuato underground tunnels are a network of wide channels that help lead traffic away from the city center. These tunnels have different layer crossroads and underground junctions. The tunnels are used for traffic which is heading in an eastwards direction. The westward direction passes through the center of Guanajuato. All of the tunnels have footpaths and even some of the bus stops are subterranean.

The tunnel system of Guanajuato was built to prevent flooding. 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. In 1960s the old river tunnels were strengthened, as they were in a bad condition and showed signs of collapse and subsidence. After the reconstruction, they were converted into a road tunnel. The first road journey was in 1961. But the old tunnels were of a suitable size for cars, medium-sized bus and vans but prevented larger transport getting into the city. A second tunnel was dug during the late 1960s, which diverted the river much deeper. Several additional tunnels were excavated during the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mexicanroutes.com/guanajuato-tunnels/|title=Guanajuato tunnels|date=2 February 2020|publisher="Mexican Routes" [mexicanroutes.com]}}</ref>