Los Lobos
Guanajuato, GTO, Mexico
We saw Los Lobos listed in our guidebook, but thought we'd never find it using our crappy guidebook map. We were right. So during our pub walk we just used our ears and ducked into any alley where we heard music. (Guanajuato is a UNESCO world heritage site, so you can't count on good signage -- thankfully! There' s nothing wrong with preserving a town's old charm.) The guide book described this bar as having a classic rock theme, so when we rounded a turn and heard classic American rock music echoing down the 400 year old cobblestone streets, we knew we might be close.
I suspect that most of us who know what "los lobos" means have either heard the band by that name, or know that it means "the wolves". It is a cliché name, but the bar was satisfying despite its heavy-handed theme painted and hung on the walls. Thankfully there's no dance floor, and it was cramped but, thanks to its high ceilings, not claustrophobic. As with some other small bars we saw in this town the cramped interior passes as coziness at earlier, quieter hours. So there might be some quasi-pub charm to be found, but it obviously lacked the kind of character you'll find in an old, genuine, European, English or Irish pub.
Like most bars we saw in Guanajuato, there was a billiard table in the back, and the usual scant assortment of Mexican beers. We each had a Negra Modelo, and passed time at sitting at prime real estate at the small bar. By the time we sipped half our beers away, they had played a lesser heard sound-check recording of the Doors covering "Gloria" live, and a few other American and British classic rock songs. The remainder of our beers drained to the tune of Spanish rock. It was a nice balance, and the staff and patrons were all very friendly.
The larger discos and bars tend to have couches, but here there were not many places to sit, and nothing particularly comfortable. Our guidebook map made it seem far away from the main town plaza de la paz, but this proved utterly untrue. It is a short walk, and worthwhile. Follow your ears!
