San Roque Plaza, Public plaza in central Guanajuato, Mexico
San Roque Plaza is a public square in central Guanajuato featuring a stone cross erected in 1952 at its center. Six wrought iron lampposts surround this cross, with the San Roque Temple rising prominently in the background.
The San Roque Temple was built in 1726 on the site of a 1651 chapel of the Cofradía de la Misericordia. The space in front of it served as the temple's cemetery before becoming a public plaza. In 1952 a stone cross was erected there, and in 1953 Enrique Ruelas staged the first Entremeses Cervantinos, the annual outdoor plays that in 1972 became the Festival Internacional Cervantino.
The plaza's name comes from the San Roque Temple it faces. Since 1953 it has hosted the Entremeses Cervantinos, short comic plays directed by Enrique Ruelas, who chose the square partly because he had courted his wife Alicia Barajas there. The tradition became annual and in 1972 grew into the Festival Internacional Cervantino.
The plaza sits centrally in Guanajuato's historic district and is easily reached on foot, with shops and restaurants nearby. As a public space, it is open during the day and provides a good starting point for exploring the surrounding area.
The stone cross in the center was placed in 1952, the same year Enrique Ruelas staged his first outdoor play here. Ruelas chose this plaza partly because he had courted his wife, Alicia Barajas, there. The bronze statue honoring him has been moved several times, partly because of pigeons, and now stands beside the San Roque Temple.
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