Underrated Mexico in Authentic Guadalajara
“…rather be underrated than overrated.” – Clint Dempsey
Guadalajara is home to aspects of Mexico’s cultural heritage that are seen as some of the most authentic: Mariachi music and Tequila. Yet, the country’s second-largest city is much underrated as a destination for foreign tourists despite being a city of history, culture, education, and innovation, all without the chaotic feel of the capital. The city’s colonial founding dates to 1542 after the original settlement was moved four times to improve its defenses. It quickly became the provincial capital with a thriving trade in textiles, shoes, and foodstuffs. Despite many setbacks through plagues and earthquakes, modern Guadalajara is the large commercial capital of Jalisco State complete with high rises and recognition as the Mexican Silicon Valley.
Guadalajara's bustling historic downtown is filled with public squares and parks including, of course, the Plaza de los Mariachis. In Zona Centro, a complex of four squares forms a Latin cross, in the middle of which stands the 400-year-old colonial Metropolitan Cathedral. Built in the Spanish Renaissance style with 7 altars, it survived no fewer than 7 earthquakes though the neo-gothic spires once had to be rebuilt. Each square has a distinct flavor and is frequented by locals who enjoy sitting on the benches, eating from food carts, watching children play, and listening to twittering birds or musicians. At Plaza de Armas, the elegant neo-colonial Government Palace overlooks a 19th-century French wrought-iron bandstand. The large, oblong Plaza de la Liberación hosts outdoor concerts and also Teatro Degollado, the architecturally stunning opera house which accommodates not only opera and ballet in its gilded interior but of course also Mariachi competitions. The Plaza Guadalajara features a shopping center under the fountains, and Rotonda de Los Hombres Illustres offers a tranquil spot in commemoration of Jalisco’s distinguished citizens
A 15-minute walk away on the Plaza Tapatía, the Cabañas Museum is at home in the World Heritage site Hospicio Cabañas which was established in the late 1700s as a hospital. This immense and architecturally beautiful complex became successively an almshouse, an orphanage, and finally a workhouse. Now a wonderful museum and cultural center, it was designed by Manuel Tolsá with 23 patios and shady courtyards, all connected by pink-tiled covered arcades. The main building is decorated with a series of 57 dramatic fresco masterpieces, painted in the 1930s by José Clemente Orozco that depict the darker side of Mexico’s historical struggles and culminate with his finest work, “Man of Fire”, high up in the rotunda’s dome.
The nearby Mercado San Juan de Dios is not to be missed. The largest traditional indoor market in the Americas, its 3000 stalls sell everything imaginable, from shoes and boots to birds, fruit and vegetables, textiles, and electronics. Located just 6 km from Centro, Tlaquepaque was once an independent city where natives produced everyday utensils and art objects before the Spaniards arrived. Today this suburb lives on as an artisan enclave, with old mansions in an intact historic center and anchored by a traditional arcaded plaza and a central bandstand where mariachi bands play.
Don’t miss:
Seeing the Orozco murals in the Cabañas Museum.
Lunch Tip:
Cafe Boutique Teatro Degallado for good cafe food in the shade of the theater portico overlooking the cathedral plaza.
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*All photographs are mine, taken with my Nikon D3100 or iPhone 8.*