GUADALAJARA
GUADALAJARA
The word Guadalajara comes from the Arab word “Wad-al hidjara”, which means “River that runs between rocks”. The city is named after the native city of Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán who, looking for a bigger and more important kingdom then that of Hernán Cortés, was a conqueror of this land.
Guadalajara, México’s pearl of the west, is an incredibly diverse and stately city with amazing qualities, both modern and historic, that embrace all who visit. For a city that is not a resort, Guadalajara offers a very pleasant surprise to the unsuspecting world tourism. Guadalajara is an ideal vacation destination for the traveler who is seeking a change of pace from the, sometimes overwhelming, resort scene.
As the second largest city in México and boasting a population of over 4 million, you are constantly reminded that Guadalajara is a busy metropolis, and a major Mexican business center. Although this city beats to a busy pace, things here have a way of seeming to always remain serene. There are many places in Guadalajara where you will feel like you have stepped back in time to a different era.
Guadalajara, set in a fertile valley in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental enjoys an exceptional year-round climate together with the benefits of one of the country’s largest hydrological networks. The wealth of this city, which has always played a key role in Mexican history, is evident in the strength of its manufacturing industry, which mainly produces consumer goods, and its intense cultural life.
The War of Independence, the ups and downs of the Reform, the revolutionary outburst of 1910 and the Cristero rebellion were passionately experienced by this city.
The Guadalajara of today, together with three other municipalities that warrant special mention in themselves –Zapopan, Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, is a large city with enormous avenues, impressive monuments, dozens of squares overflowing with trees and plants, colorful markets, crowded malls and a continuous sense of activity reflected in the dozens of people strolling up and down the wide pavements and pedestrian precincts. At every step, there is a place to stop and enjoy this city which appears to have been drawn by hand.
Unlike other cities with more specific features and atractions, Guadalajara is an urban complex that offers tourists a variety of options for their enjoyment. It boasts everything from museums that reflect Mexico’s diversity; districts that have managed to preserve the flavor of tradition; monuments and buildings that lend each part of the city its distinctive atmosphere; districts that house several nationalities, linked by the growth of the city to parks that encourage contact with nature, in short, all the benefits and comforts of a modern, vacation, elegant, functional city.
ARCHITECTURE
Driving down any of Guadalajara’s long, broad avenues quickly becomes a crash course in art, architecture and town planning. Today’s metropolis, aristocratic and modern, contradictory and powerful, is expressed in the everyday relationship local residents maintain with their urban surroundings. Monuments, roundabouts, fountains, spacious malls and comfortable residential areas are the functional spaces of its inhabitants, which are readily offered to visitors.
Cathedral Guadalajara
Gothic, baroque, Moorish and neoclassic influences, the Churrigueresque altarpieces of Our Lady of Aranzazu.
Hospicio Cabañas
The Hospicio Cabañas, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, are a landmark in the history of Mexican architecture.
Sanctuaries
The sanctuaries to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Solitude, the Rosary and the Sacred Heart, the Church of the Capuchin Nuns, the Immaculate Conception and San Francisco together with several other expressions of religious fervor are a must for locals and visitors alike.
Teatro Degollado
This teather, with neo-classic style a was open in 1866. In this place, there are many art pieces, and pictures decorated by Jacobo Gálvez and Gerardo Suárez in 1861.
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