Guadalajara, México | Antonio Ramblés travels

Category: Guadalajara, México

Guadalajara’s blue collar heart

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April 23, 2015

The area of Guadalajara runnings east from Chalpultepec to 8 De Julio, and south from Calle Independencia to Libertad (map last below) affords a great slice-of-life view of the city..

Older buildings like this still dot the neighborhood.

The Avenida Vallarta passes directly through its heart, but much of what’s worth seeing and doing in this eclectic neighborhood happens on its less-traveled streets.

2015-04-23 Guadalajara Midtown East 04 newsstand — Midtown newsstand

This is a walking experience, and ready accessibility via public transportation means ‘no car required’.

These neighborhoods are a great pastime during the day, but come alive in the evenings, so consider a Saturday night stayover.

Museo de la Ciudad (Independencia @ 8 De Julio).

Start with the Museo de la Ciudad (Calle Independencia 684, just east of 8 de Julio), which presents the history of Guadalajara from its founding in 1542.

This building housed a convent of Capuchin nuns beginning in 1761, and its courtyard is now a venue for installations, exhibitions, lectures, and tastings.

Six permanent exhibition rooms house artifacts of the historic, urban, ethnographic, artistic development of the city and its inhabitants.

Four other rooms house temporary exhibitions that invite repeated revisits.

From the Museo there it’s two blocks to the Andador Coronilla, a street-turned pedestrian thoroughfare line with restaurants, cafés, and studios that offer dancing, drawing, and painting lessons.

Laborers and shopkeepers occupy the neighborhoods east of Federalismo, and these streets afford a snapshot of everyday life for blue collar Mexicans. (See also my post South Centro.)

Mural art abounds on neighborhood walls.

From there it’s another two blocks to the Parque Revolución and the University of Guadalajara, which add its own flavor to the mix.

One of several bicycle rental racks is located in the Parque Revolucion.

I posted my take on the daytime Parque last week. In the evening other parts of this neighborhood come alive.

Habitat bar and pool, Parque Revolución.

2015-04-23 Guadalajara Midtown East 15 — Painting by Maclovio Perez Garcia at Habitat bar.

The Parque’s southwest side is home to several restaurants and bars.

Habitat features a good selection of craft beers, wifi, and pool tables. It’s also home to some eye-popping art.

1er Piso (Premer Piso) Jazz Club interior (Pedro Moreno @ Escorza).

West of the park on Pedro Moreno is the 1er Piso Jazz Club. The door to this walk-up location is both austere and obscure (just west of the intersection on the south side of the street), but the inside has comfortable feel of an intimate cabaret. 1er Piso had good food and a great bar. Saturday evening performances begin at 10:30PM (reservations recommended).

Café Gato Negro (Pedro Moreno @ Robles Gil).

Cafe Gato Negro has an inviting atmosphere and serves specialty coffee drinks and a modest menu from 2:30 PM.

Next up on the walking tour of Guadalajara’s engaging Midtown: The Templo Expiatorio and the University of Guadalajara’s Museo Bellas Artes.

To reach Midtown via public transportation: From Ajijic or Chapala, take the bus to Guadalajara’s Central Viejo bus terminal (around USD $3.50).

From there it’s a short taxi ride, or you can catch the macrobus a couple of blocks east on the Calzado Independencia. Take it for the short ride to the Tren Ligera station at San Juan de Dios and ride it two stops to the Juarez station (each about USD$.50).

There are a number of boutique hotels in this area, but I rate experience as good at the Hotel Portobelo, and the Casino Plaza, which offers free in-and-out parking. Find great weekend rates on Hoteles.com.

See also my related posts on Guadalajara Midtown’s Parque Revolución and Guadalajara’s South Centro neighborhood, or browse the complete portfolio of my Guadalajara posts.

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Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución

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April 19, 2015

Mural on a Pemex station wall, adjacent to Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución

For those who have sated themselves on Guadalajara’s high profile tourist attractions, the neighborhoods of the city’s midtown offer a change-of-pace urban experience that invite the visitor to return again and again.

The Tren Ligera’s Juarez Station, Parque Revolución, Guadalajara.

From working-class neighborhoods on its eastern edge that offer up colorful mom-and-pop shops, newsstands, and street food vendors to the stately boulevards and historic mansions on its west end, midtown is a great weekend experience.

Students on a break in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

A nighttime stay-over is a must, because while daytime browsing is great fun, it’s in the evening, that these neighborhoods really come alive.

Street merchants line the entrance to Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

A weekend stay-over is made even sweeter by bargain rates on hotels that cater to businessmen during the week.

Doing homework in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

Midtown is home to museums and monuments, sidewalk cafés, bookstores, bars and clubs with live music, and a checkerboard of eclectic and sometimes funky shops.

Flower merchant, Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

At its heart is the Parque Revolución, located where the Avenida Juarez becomes the Avenida Vallarta at the intersection of Calzado de Federalismo.

Student relaxing in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

It’s hard to miss. An ever-changing mural which covers the billboard-sized wall of a Pemex station is visible from blocks away.

Taco stands about in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

The Parque Revolución is only a 20 minute walk from the Centro Historico, or two subway stops from the San Juan de Dios Market station, which is located adjacent to the market on the side facing the Plaza de los Mariachis.

Hanging out in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

Here the lines of the Tren Ligera subway system converge just blocks from the University of Guadalajara. While there’s no question that the concentration of students fuels much of this neighborhood’s ambiance, it’s a also convenient place for workers from nearby shops and offices to grab lunch.

Students hanging out, Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

Here you can enjoy a street taco, buy indigenous art and crafts or a bouquet of flowers, and get a haircut or shoeshine.

Heading to class at Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

Or you can just order yourself a paleta, pick a shady bench, and soak up the atmosphere.

Barbacoa (barbecue) taco stand in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

On a weekday afternoon, students on their way to and from classes – or just in between classes, study and congregate on the Parque’s north side, where a collection of street vendors holds permanent court.

Hanging out in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

The mood here is nothing if not mellow, and has the familiar feel of parks near universities worldwide.

Getting a haircut in Guadalajara’s Parque Revolución.

There’s more to see here than can possibly be covered in a single post, so my next posts will take you on a walking tour of midtown, where you can enjoy the Guadalajara that tourists rarely experience.

Tags: Parque Revolución Guadalajara, Street food Guadalajara, Tren Ligera Guadalajara

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Making tequila

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October 26, 2014

7 Leguas tequila distillery, Atontonillco El Alto, Jalisco, Mexico

The Siete Leguas tequila distillery is located in Atotonilco El Alto, about two hours’ drive east of Guadalajara, and this family-owned distillery drips with tradition and pride.

Although most well-known tequila brands are now owned by multinational corporations, more than 100 distilleries still make nearly 1,000 brands of tequila, ranging from including boutique brands and others available only domestically.

Atontonilco El Alto, Jalisco

Tequila has a long history. The Aztecs fermented beverage called pulque from the agave plant long before the Spanish arrived, and when the conquistadors ran out of brandy they began to distill agave. Today’s tequilas are typically 75-80 proof.

Agave plant window detail, 7 Leguas distillery

By law, tequila can only be produced only in the state of Jalisco, where it’s so popular that it often accounts for half of liquor store shelf space.

Just as with wines, regulators police tequila’s Appellation of Origin label to assure the purity of the product.

Harvested agave piñas are oven-baked

More than 300 million plants are harvested in Jalisco each year, and also as with wine, terroir is critically important.

Baked agave ready for further processing

Agaves from the highlands are larger and have a sweeter aroma and taste than lowland agaves, which have a slightly herbal fragrance and flavor.

Plants grown in the highlands typically yield sweeter and fruitier-tasting tequila, while lowland agaves produce tequilas with an earthier flavor.

Baked piñas are milled the old-fashioned way

Antique engine on display

Planting, tending, and harvesting the agave plant remains a manual effort that relies upon know-how passed on through generations of the jimadores who harvest it.

Modern piña mill

Ripening of the plant is promoted by regular trimming of the stalk which grows from the center, which prevents it from flowering.

When plant is ready to harvest, jimadores trim away the leaves to reveal the pineapple-like core of the plant – the piña, which can weigh up to 250 pounds.

Shredded piñas are loaded into distillery vats

Once harvested, piñas are oven-baked to break complex starches down into simple sugars before shredding or mashing.

Distillation vats

Extracted agave juice ferments for several days in large vats to produce a low-alcohol wort, which when twice-distilled produces silver tequila.

Aged in oak barrels

Some tequilas are aged in wooden barrels to mellow the taste and lend color. In recent years, regulators allowed the creation of a new tequila category called “extra añejo,” which must be aged a minimum of three years.

Distillation vat

Many growers believe that increasingly hot and dry summers resulting from calentamiento – global warming – are causing agave to mature more quickly, at the expense of sugar content. It typically takes eight to twelve years before an agave plant is ready to harvest.

Now it’s on to the tasting!

Note: While 7 Leguas maintains an office within the city, the distillery is located on the outskirts of town nearer to the agave fields.

Visit the web site here.

Tags: Agave, Atotonilco El Alto, Siete Leguas distillery, Tequila

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Tantalizing Tlaquepaque

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August 10, 2014

There are countless galleries and artisans’ workshops here.

I’ve been traveling around Mexico since the mid-’70’s, when the local arts and crafts market was a lot like shopping in the former Soviet Union: All of stores carried much of the same, mundane merchandise, and selection was limited.

A bookworm metal sculpture awaits the rainy season.

In the years since, Mexican artisans have responded to cheaply-made foreign knock-offs of their work with new and original designs, materials, and fabrication techniques.

Their efforts have taken Mexican artisanship and artistry to a new level and made it highly sought after in the global market place.

El Jardin Hidalgo plaza, Tlaquepaque

San Pedro Tlaquepaque – known to most simply as Tlaquepaque – is one of five municipalities (think NYC boroughs) that make up Metropolitan Guadalajara.

A vendor sells sugar cane treats.

It’s long been the home of talented artists and craftsmen, and today their work is sold here in boutiques that would fit in nicely among the shops on Fifth Avenue, Rodeo Drive, or Magnificent Mile.

Find pottery in every imaginable size, shape, and color.

It’s not surprising that Tlaquepaque is best known for its fine pottery, since the town takes its name from indigenous Nahuatl words meaning “place above clay land”, but its artisans also produce elegant blown glass.

Shops here also sell work from all over Mexico including ceramics, wood and bronze sculpture, wood furniture, paper-mâché art, and embroidered cloth.

The variety of materials used to create these works is amazing

Tlaquepaque was a village in its own right long before the Spanish Conquest, but today retains its Spanish colonial character, and much of its architecture dates back to the 19th century.

It holds a special place in Mexican history, for it was here in a house on the corner of Independencia and Contreras Medellin Streets that the Plan de Iguala, which granted Mexico independence from Spain, was signed.

A mare awaits her next trip.

A statue of Miguel Hidalgo, father of Mexican independence, towers over the central El Jardín Hidalgo plaza.

During the San Pedro patron saint festivities in June, many street stalls and art sellers set up their wares in the plaza.

El Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, Tlaquepaque

Adjoining the Jardin are the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Solitude), and the Templo de San Pedro Tlaquepaque , which dates from the 1600’s.

A herd of while horses in metal explodes onto the street.

Several of the main streets are closed to all but pedestrian traffic, which makes for unhurried strolls through cobblestone streets and alleyways, and plazas and gardens.

Work of Guadalajara artist Sergio Bustamante

One of my favorite galleries is that of Sergio Bustamente, a Mexican artist and sculptor and a Guadalajara resident area since childhood.

First exhibited in Mexico City in 1966, his early work was done in paint and paper mache, but by the mid-1970s he was creating works – many reflecting animal themes – in wood and bronze.

He began designing furniture in 1979, and creating ceramic sculptures into the ’80’s. Latest among his creations is a line of limited edition jewelry in which each piece is hand crafted and bears a certificate of authenticity.

Photography is prohibited in the gallery, but you can browse the full catalogue of Bustamante’s work here.

Furniture and decorative items in wood are abundant in Tlaquepaque

Just down the block from the Bustament gallery you’ll find the Museo Regional de la Cerámica (Regional Ceramic Museum), which gives a great historical overview of this craft.

There are plenty of great dining choices here. Catty-cornered from the Jardin, the El Parián pavilion is home to a number of restaurants and bars.

You’ll also find a number of cafes and restaurants – many with patio seating – scattered throughout the district’s. Among these, I recommend Casa Fuerte.

El Abajeno, which has another location in Guadalajara on the Glorieta Minerva and had been serving locals for almost 50 years, is also popular.

Be advised, though, that breakfast offerings are limited, and restaurants here are most crowded on Sundays, when many of the shops are closed.

Sculpted metal mariachis silently serenade

Expect at any of these to be serenaded by one the mariachi bands for which Tlaquepaque is well known.

Since many cultural activities here are schedule in the evenings, it’s worth making your visit an overnight stay here.

The area’s hotels are a short drive from Guadalajara’s city center, and there are a number of delightful B&B’s (click each for TripAdvisor ratings and photos ) including:

The new Plaza Forum Rio Nilo mall is located about 3 kilometers from El Jardin Hidalgo at the intersection of Avenidas Rio Nilo and García Barragán.

Stores there include the Liverpool and Suburbia department stores, Best Buy, Office Max and a Cineplex. Nearby you’ll also find Home Depot, WalMart, Auto Zone, Radio Shack.

Tags: Casa Fuerte Tlaquepaque, El Abajeno Tlaqupaque, El Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Tlaquepaque, Mexican art and artisan markets, Parian Tlaquepaque, Plaza Forum Rio Nil Tlaquepaque, Sergio Bustamante, Templo San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Tlaquepaque Guadalajara Mexico, Tlaquepaque Mexico B&B's

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Chapalita’s glorious glorieta

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February 3, 2013

Some of Guadalajara’s most memorable public art, like its monumental Minerva Fountain and the Niños Héroes statuary, are centerpieces for its traffic circles (glorietas).

In the Colonia Chapalita, the glorieta appears as far more intimate public space at Chapalita Circle, a delightful pocket park that covers the space of a small city block.

Here seven streets intersect at the edge of a quiet and well-established residential neighborhood.

This glorieta is a verdant urban oasis of wrought iron benches painted immaculate white and nestled among fountains, beds of roses, and human scale statues.

At its center stands a classic gazebo.

Palm trees tower above, and rows of Italian cypress screen much of it from the sights and sounds of circling traffic.

In some spots only the top of the 42-story Hotel Riu, a kilometer distant, reminds that this place is not far from the heart of the city.

On a typical Saturday visitors here might include pets and their owners, couples, and parents with young children.

On Sundays, though, it’s transformed into an open-air art gallery where artists display their canvases on easels and park benches.

Theme, genre, and scale varies, although on the day of my visit there were lots of contemporary pieces.

It’s not uncommon to see some paint as they pass the time, and most are more than glad to chat with browsers about their work and their artistic journey.

This art show pairs very well with a brunch before strolling through the art, or lunch or dinner after.

The restaurants facing the glorieta are but a few of the dozens within blocks, so you can park once and take in the entire day’s experience on foot.

These eateries range from upscale to fast casual.

You can top off your meal with a cappuccino from a nearby café or pastry dessert from a neighborhood repostería.

Find out more on the Glorieta Chapalita’s web site.

For the more ambitious visitor, a Sunday at Chapalita Circle fits well into a day including a promenade on the Avenida Vallarta,or a visit to Guadalajara’s open-air antique market.

You may also want to check out also these posts for more things to see and do in Guadalajara:

Guadalajara’s Santa Teresita bazaar

Guadalajara’s Abastos

Guadalajara south centro

Fishy in Guadalajara

Guadalajara’s heartbeat

Guadalajara’s Mercado Libertad

Tags: Chapalita Circle Guadalajara, expat blog Mexico, Glorieta Chapalita Guadalajara, Guadalajara Mexico sightseeing, Lake Chapala, México, Retire in Mexico

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Los ancianos

Filed under: Guadalajara, México, Lake Chapala, México, Mexico — 12 Comments

January 6, 2013

Few contrasts between American and Mexican cultures are more striking than the way in which each views and treats its senior citizens.

Two old acquaintances share a bench on Ajijic's plaza.

Old friends share a bench on Ajijic’s plaza.

America’s seniors are often cloistered in assisted living facilities or nursing homes far from family and friends.

Mexico’s oldest – los ancianos – seem more often vibrant alive and interactive, and are notably present in its public life nowhere more than in its villages.

A ritual gathering of viejos on Chapala's plaza.

A ritual gathering of los viejos on Chapala’s plaza.

It’s hard not to see the paradox in these contrasts.

American has a far superior capacity to maintain its seniors’ quality of life, and has taken great pains to make transportation and public use facilities accessible to its disabled.

It has also segregated its seniors from the social mainstream on a wide scale.

Two old friends await the start of Good Friday’s Passion play in Ajijic

The paradox is a reflection of the two nations’ cultural perspectives.

In Mexico, ‘family’ trumps ‘generation gap’.

Mexicans are far more likely to respect and cherish their oldest generation and revere it for its wisdom and life experience.

Three generations walk arm in arm along Jocotopec’s malecon

Many among the current crop of los ancianos are the children of those who participated in the century-old Mexican Revolution.

They’ve witnessed and lived history as it’s unfolded through the greatest social transformation in the nation’s history.

Two generations sit in Chapala’s plaza

American media’s fixation on youth marginalizes its oldest save for the rich, powerful, or otherwise famous.

The result is that America’s aged seem more often perceived by their offspring as an unpleasant reminders that they, too, will in due time grow unfashionably old and less socially relevant.

A vieja labors over her craftwork in San Cristóbal Zapotitlán

An abuelita labors over her craftwork in San Cristóbal Zapotitlán

Particularly in Mexican village life, los ancianos remain connected to lifetime friends and many live within their extended families.

The artisan looks up from her work in satisfaction.

The artisan maestra looks up from her work in satisfaction.

There’s a lot to suggest that this lifelong connectedness affords them greater comfort in their advanced age.

Americans move further and more often from their place of birth than do those living in any other First World nation, with the result that they more often live far from the oldest among their living relatives.

A sister with walker on a sidewalk in San Juan Cosalá

Affordable senior care facilities make it far easier for American families to live separately from their aged relatives.

A vieja waits patiently for a ceremony to begin in Ajijic

Maybe there’s also something also to be said for lifestyle when it comes to keeping Mexico’s ancianos animated and mobile.

A viejo walks a cobblestone street in Chapala

A viejo walks his bicycle along the street in Chapala

Economic necessity and a thinly stretched social safety net keep many Mexicans working into advanced age, but the work seems to leave many no worse for wear and sometimes even to hold disability at bay.

A lifetime of meals simply and sparingly prepared has left many lean wiry.

A vieja shrouded in shawl crosses the plaza in San Cristóbal Zapotitlán

It’s not unusual to see these ancianos navigate dauntingly high curbs and cobblestone streets to remain a daily village presence on its sidewalks, in its public spaces, and at its public events.

An abuela eyes a pinata at her grandaughter’s quinceañera

In the end, though, nothing can better capture the special place that Mexico’s ancianos occupy in its social fabric than their images.

She lights up when her granddaughter enters the room

The abuela lights up when her granddaughter enters the room

Tags: Ajijic, expat blog Mexico, Lake Chapala, México, Mexico's elderly, Mexico's senior citizens, Retire in Mexico

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Guadalajara’s Santa Teresita bazaar

Filed under: Guadalajara, México, Mexico — 3 Comments

December 2, 2012

Santa Teresita parish church, Guadalajara

What happens when the village street bazaar goes urban? In Guadalajara the answer is ‘the Santa Teresita street market’… a tianguis.

There’s certainly no lack of ‘big box’ grocers in Guadalajara, and permanent market bazaars like the city’s Mercado Libertad serve up a homogenized version of weekly street markets throughout the week… but there’s nothing like the real deal!

Mother & child, Santa Teresita market, Guadalajara

Located on the city’s near north side at the intersection of Pedro Buzeta y Ramos Millán (about halfway between the Avenidas Del Federalismo and De Las Americas), the market takes its name from the parish church of the same name that sits at its center like a grand dame surrounded by her court.

The scope of this place is staggering. Streets are blocked off and merchants pitch tents, set up tables, or spread merchandise on blankets curbside for something like 20 square blocks. Market stalls crowd the church so closely that they seemed poised to climb its steps.

Young couple, Santa Teresita market, Guadalajara

As I stand here on a Sunday morning it almost defies belief to realize that cars plied these streets on Friday afternoon, and will again come Monday morning; this entire market is a moveable feast.

This is a working class neighborhood market, short on art and crafts and long on staples from fresh produce and kitchen utensils to baby diapers and DVD’s.

This market affords a great opportunity to see a cross-section of urban Mexico in its own element; tourists are rare within the throngs threading their way along the narrowed streets.

Bicycle bakery, Santa Teresita market, Guadalajara

There’s an energy level here that’s harder to find in the country markets. Porters carry merchandise on their shoulders through the crowds or wheel them about on hand trucks and other makeshift contraptions.

A giant tray of pastries edges past me waist-high, propelled by a man on a three-wheeled bicycle.

Clothes on wheels, Santa Teresita market, Guadalajara

A woman pushes a cart full of hangered clothing down the lane toward her stall, and for a moment the same image from long ago in Manhattan’s garment district comes to mind.

A vendor fishes a freshly fried churro from sizzling hot oil. When eaten fresh out of the fryer these are so good that you can skip the dusting of sugar or cinnamon!

Hot churros, Santa Teresita market, Guadalajara

A tejuino vendor of blends a thick mixture of boiled masa, water and piloncillo sugar with freshly squeezed jugo de limón, salt, water, ice, and adds a big scoop of lemon sherbet. The refreshing drink is as native to Jalisco as its famous birria goat stew.

Tejuino vendor, Santa Teresita market, Guadalajara

For me this market is far more about urban culture than shopping, so I extend the experience by arriving and leaving on foot, making my way through city neighborhoods on this mellow Sunday afternoon.

Santa Teresita may be a destination in its own right, but it fits well into a larger Guadalajara Sunday afternoon itinerary.

If you’re not shopped out by Santa Teresita, drop in on Guadalajara’s nearby Sunday antique street market for a totally different street shopping experience.

The Santa Teresita market is also healthy walk or short taxi ride from the Centro Historico, or to the Avenida Vallarta’s Sunday promenade, which is as worthwhile a sidewalk cafe sight as an urban walk.

Tags: expat blog Mexico, Guadalajara Mexico sightseeing, Retire in Mexico, Santa Teresita Market Guadalajara

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