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Writer's pictureMatt Levin

T-Shirt O the Day #9 - The Mummies of Guanajauto

Guanajauto is a stunningly beautiful city/state located in central Mexico. It sits in a valley surrounded by gorgeous mountains filled with bright, multi-colored houses. The panoramic views from the hillsides are simply spectacular. It's a must visit if you're in the area.


The strangest attraction in Gaunajauto, an arguably one of the most bizarre places in the world is the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato, The Mummy Museum! The museum houses a number of naturally mummified bodies interred during a Cholera outbreak around 1833. Talk about social distancing! Mummification seems like the ultimate response to a pandemic.


The mummies began to be exhumed from a Guanajuato cemetery when a law was enacted locally requiring families to pay a 'burial tax' to ensure the perpetual burial of a loved one. If the tax was not paid, the body was removed. A fucking "Burial Tax"! Sounds like something Trump would do! Wait a sec, don't give him any bright ideas...


Being naturally mummified, it was stored in a building above ground, and by the 1900s the mummies began attracting tourists. Cemetery workers began charging people a few Pesos to enter the building where bones and mummies were stored. The law requiring the burial tax was abolished in 1958. It was subsequently turned into a museum called in 1969.
















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