The alley where one kiss brings 15 years of luck

The enchanting Mexican city of Guanajuato feels lost in
time. Narrow cobblestone streets and staircases wind
around Colonial era buildings, while estudiantinas –
roaming bands of musicians dressed in 17th-century
Spanish attire – sing traditional love ballads in the small
plazas of the historic centre. However, nothing is more
romantic than the Callejon del Beso, or the Alley of the
Kiss, in Plaza de Los Ángeles.
It was here – where two, nearly touching balconies hang
over a thin stone staircase – that I encountered Alejandro
Martínez and Paulina Acevedo waiting patiently for their
turn to kiss on the stairwell’s third step, which is painted
red, to ensure good luck in love.
“It’s her 20th birthday,” Martínez explained, smiling with
his arm around his girlfriend of seven months.
As a birthday present, Martínez had brought Acevedo to
Guanajuato from their home city of San Luis Potasi,
Mexico. “We heard about [the alley] through word of mouth.
A lot of other people had told us we had to come,” Martínez
said.
When I asked if they would follow the alley’s special
kissing tradition, they blushed and giggled, and then
jokingly said “no”. Minutes later, they got on the red step
and embraced tenderly.
Like Martínez and Acevedo, my girlfriend Paulyna and I
travelled to Guanajuato for a quiet weekend alone, and had
come to the famous alley to kiss, as had so many others.
Couples of all ages – some holding hands and others with
children in tow – stood in a long line along the wall, as
pair after pair before them connected lips.
For a small tip, local guides waiting at the entrance to the
alley would tell the tragic tale of Ana and Carlos, the
lovers who made the alley famous.
“Ana was a rich Spaniard who lived on the balcony on the
left. Carlos was a poor miner who worked in the nearby
mine of Valenciana,” a guide explained. “One night, Ana’s
father caught them kissing in the narrow space between
the two balconies. The father angrily said that if the same
thing happened again the following night, he would kill her.”
The next night, the couple kissed again, and the father went
up to the balcony and buried a dagger into his own
daughter. Some stories say that as Carlos jumped to
protect Ana, he fell to the ground and broke his neck,
landing on the third step.
Now, the droves of couples passing through the alley must
kiss on that step – where Carlos’ spirit is thought to be
watching over lovers – if they want their romance to
endure. “If they don’t kiss, then they’ll be cursed with
seven years of bad luck. If they do kiss, they’ll receive 15
years of good luck,” the guide said.
After getting onto the step and laying a long kiss on my
girlfriend, the two of us entered the building where Ana and
her father had lived. Upstairs was a small gift shop in what
would have been Ana’s bedroom and a doorway that led
out to the fateful balcony. Here, visitors had written their
names, messages and meaningful dates on small locks,
which they attached to the balcony’s metal bars. In honour
of love, we did the same.
As we left, we met Rosario and Maria Sauceda, who had
travelled to Guanajuato from Guamúchil, Mexico, with their
two adult children. Married for 43 years, they apparently
didn’t need any luck – but wanted to add a little more
anyway. When it was their turn to kiss, the entire alley
cheered.
Finding luck in love around the world
These five legends – from New York to Taipei – will boost
your chances for everlasting romance.