The Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato is a beautiful church up the street from the state legislative building (Guanajuato is the capital of the state of the same name; Mexico has 31 states and its official name is "Estados Unidos Mexicanos").


The church has a very old statue of the Virgin that Felipe (Phillip) II gave in the 16th century as as thanks for making Spain very wealthy through the silver and gold mined here. The statue is made of wood, but don't assume the King was being cheap (or ironic): it was a sacred relic having been hidden from the Moors for a couple of centuries.