Tlaquepaque (Tell-akay-pakay) is a lively neighborhood in southwestern Guadalajara. Once an independent municipality, it was overtaken by the surging growth of Guadalajara in the 20th century.
Locals and tourist flock here to enjoy an afternoon or evening. It features a large plaza called El Parián that is flanked by columned arcades and surrounded by restaurants and bars.
High end shops, art galleries and craft shops abound in the surrounding pedestrian only streets and two beautiful churches bordering on a central park called Jardin Hidalgo reach for the sky.
We had traveled so much through third world Mexico it was nice to see a different face of the country and enjoy the high end art & food here.
Here's a video of our last day in Mexico - grabbing morning coffee in El Centro and spending the day in Tlaquepaque. We strolled, shopped, ate, drank free tequila samples and of course listened to Mariachi. Mariachi are permanent fixtures in Tlaquepaque. We were serenaded by an all female group at lunch and later Dylan, Drew & I watch another male group while the girls continued to shop.
A female Mariachi with her beautiful costume.
Colorful storefronts and facades.
We ended the day with an amazing meal at Hacienda Real San Pedro along Independencia, the main pedestrian street. Mexican cuisine is of one of the worlds most distinctive and refined and this meal epitomized that. Gourmet all the way. I had a chicken mole dish. The mole was a chocolate cranberry spicy concoction. I don't even know what to say about it. Every bite was a dizzying sensory overload that had me swooning like a school girl.
- And for one final surprise we were introduced to Mexican wine. Who knew Mexico had vineyards? I had a Barbera red wine from Sonora - and it was excellent.
Viva la Mexico. The landscape, the architecture, the people, the food, the culture and the never ending fiesta's are a feast for the senses. If you go to Mexico plan an excursion away from the beach resorts. You won't be disappointed.
Guadalajara! I sing the word every time I say it. I sing to the tune of the Mariachi song of the same name. And by now you all know I love the Mariachi music that originated here in the State of Jalisco.
We drove from Ajijic to Guadalajara "the back way", which means we didn't take the direct highway from Chapala to Guadalajara. We drove down along the north shore of Lago de Chapala through Jocotepec and came up into Guadalajara from the south. The countryside was, as usual, gorgeous. We drove through valley's filled with crops and cows, poor villages and the occasional agave field until gradually the city was upon us.
Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico with a metropolitan area of 4 million inhabitants. We stayed in the historic district downtown called El Centro where the city was founded in the 16th century. The architecture is monumental and Spanish colonial. I felt like I was in Spain.
The Cathedral is a highlight of El Centro and is abutted by one of many beautifully designed plazas that are positioned every couple of blocks.
We dropped our bags at the Hotel de Mendoza and promptly lit out looking for food. It was Ash Wednesday. Molly & I ducked into the ancient Santa Maria de Gracia church (1542) and after some amount of confused conversation we finally got the priest to understand we were Catholic and he smudged us. It was pretty cool.
It was cold and rainy but that didn't stop us from exploring. We walked down a pedestrian street called Paseo Morelos into the Plaza Tapatia which was lined with shops and restaurants and populated with wonderful sculpture and fountains.
The pedestrian friendly Paseo Moreloson a sunny day.
We bought Dylan's buddy a Bimbo sponsored soccer shirt. Bimbo in Mexico is a bread company but to us Norte Americanos it's hilarious. :)
At the end of Paseo Morelos we lingered at the bronze sculptures of Alejandro Colunga which are situated in front of the Instituto Cultural Cabanas. Each depicts a magician transforming himself into a sofa or chair. They are freaky and fascinating at the same time. He must be related to Tim Burton.
From here we ducked into the Mercado Libertad, better known as Mercado San Juan de Dios (San Juan de Dios Market). It's one of the largest indoor markets in the country with an area of 4000 square meters. It's impossible to describe how large this place is and how much merchandise is available. Each vendor has a small space and they are packed cheek to jowl in endless aisles of variety, color and activity. There are approximately two thousand nine hundred eighty vendor stands in the market, selling clothing, eyeglasses, shoes, movies, video games, CDs, electrical & computer goods, crafts, produce, live animals, produce and prepared foods.
We bought a handmade mandolin for Dylan from a vendor for the equivalent of $70.00US...including a carry case!
As night fell on El Centro the buildings were beautifully lit up making the majestic but austere Spanish architecture light up like a dream. Authority and dominance - and the fearful long arm of the Spanish Inquisition, who could disappear you forever behind these facades, became a distant memory. We were simply left to marvel at the intricate details of these amazing buildings.
I wanted to show everybody a mariachi band and I had my eye on the Plaza de los Mariachis but we were consistently told not to go. Apparently it's not a place to go at night as a family but we got another recommendation and hunted down Le Epoca De Oro Restaurant Bar Mariachi. I know Molly was suspect but she played along with me and we all had a lot of fun, the food was wonderful...and yes, we were serenaded by a Mariachi Band. Ultimately Molly was extremely taken by the guys with their striking costumes and operatic harmonies.
The streets were alive with pedestrians and music coming out of clubs as we walked back to the hotel. The rain had stopped. We'd had a great adventure on our grand tour of El Centro. We crashed hard when we got back to the hotel...so hard we didn't realize until morning that our mattresses were like slabs of concrete.
The next day we drove out to wonderful neighborhood in southeastern Guadalajara called Tlaquepaque. Read here.
To read about our whole trip from the beginning start here.
Sunrise. The Raquete Club in San Juan Cosala. The sounds of bird song, dogs barking and donkeys braying drift up the hill as the village below comes to life.
The morning light on a Raquete Club home.
Afternoon view from Monte Coxala Spa, Raquete Club, San Juan Cosala.
To cap the end of pre-Lent festivities Ajijic holds a rodeo at the Lienzo Charro ring. It's packed with people of all ages - all dressed in fine clothes; dresses, pressed shirts & jeans, cowboy boots & hats. Young boys are smartly dressed like miniature versions of their Charro fathers.
Us - in the stands
A 20 piece Banda band plays live on stage during the entire event with a bouncy singer proudly crooning over blasts of trumpets, trombones, clarinets, sousaphone, accordion and drums.
A 20 piece band! - at a rodeo! How awesome. (You'll see them in the video below)
There was plenty of Tacate cervesas (beer) to be had but the local preference was Squirt soda with tequila. Rodeo fans came to their seats carrying big cardboard trays (box bottoms for cases of beer or soda) filled with 6-8 Squirt cans, plastic cups, a bag of ice and a quart of tequila laid flat. After they were seated they filled all the cups with ice and soda and passed them around to their neighbors - then, with everybody holding out their cups the ritual pouring of the tequila took place, it's golden stream arcing into each cup.... nice.
The rodeo was a lively event and the bulls got progressively bigger. Watch the video to see locals jumping in the ring to taunt the bulls and prove their manhood.
The most exciting part of the rodeo starts at 1:29 on the video - and unfortunately I was so caught up in the moment I took my eyes off the video camera and just watched. Listen to the crowd scream at 1:33. The bull targets a horse and rider, gets up under them and launches them out of the bull ring into a crowded alleyway of people. Holy sh@t! You can see the back of the horse in the alley at 1:38 after I realize I'm missing the action and pan the camera over there!
Great experience. I love getting out into community events when I travel and I love seeing this multi-generational way of life in Mexico. It's sad we've lost that in modern America.
We had some tasty street food on the way home. Drew got diarrhea. Ooops. :)
Beautiful Ajijic. This is my second visit here. See my previous posts for more info.
What a great place to hang out.....
The village is alive with families and kids - and the clip clop of horse shoes on cobble.
I want to get into this Cathedral. It's always locked when I stop by. Maybe I better come by on a Sunday morning.
Across the street from the Cathedral is an amazing coffee shop, El Cafe Grande Cafe. It smells so good from the sidewalk you can't resist it. The aroma pulls you in by the nose. I didn't miss my Starbucks one bit.
I love the hand painted facades. They are beautiful. Son bastante.
Native weavers set-up down by the lake shore to work and sell their wares.
The most beautiful weaving's I saw were rugs from Oaxaca. I decided not to buy one here but to wait until I visit Oaxaca to buy one direct from a weaver.
Calle Colon, the main commercial street from the Carraterra to the waterfront.
Here we are touring Ajijic. In the town plaza is an event for the local horsemen and ranchers who provided the bulls for the upcoming rodeo - then we head to the waterfront. Molly and I end up at Las Caballerizas, high on the mountain in San Juan Cosala overlooking Lake Chapala with the sun setting and a couple strong margaritas. Nice. It's Valentine's day so I wish her Feliz dia de amor.
We missed the final Carnaval parade on Fat Tuesday in which Los Zayacos dance through the streets. The festivities are based on the tradition of Toro de Once when livestock raisers used to drive bulls into town on horseback early in the morning to show off the quality of rodeo stock. Now the townsfolk parade instead with colorful floats, bands and Los Zayacos, who are boys & men dressed up like busty broads or bearded men. Giggling children chase them through the streets and Los Zayacos throw confetti or baking flour back. Eric and Karen from Trans America's Journeys were there. Here's their video.
For more Ajijic Carnaval parade videos from Trans America's Journeys click here.
Bob is a travel writer and designer/ producer of interactive entertainment. He's traveled through Europe, North America and Australia. Bob loves immersing himself in local cultures and writes about the food, drinks, architecture, music, history, people and experiences along the way.
