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.
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.
