The Cathedral in old town Guadalajara
After nearly a month and a half of looking out onto the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Cortez everyday, I finally decided that it was time to head inland and explore some of Central Mexico! A few friends and fellow travelers told me that Guadalajara was worth visiting, so I decided to make it my first stop after leaving the coast. Additionally, one of the PA students from the Iowa group grew up in Guadalajara and her parents (Lynn and Barb) still live just outside of town in Zapopan. I met them during the first week of medical clinics when they drove west to visit their daughter and help interpret for patients. And Barb and Lynn turned out to be such incredibly welcoming hosts! They picked me up from the bus station, showed me how to get around the city and took me to their local fruit market in Zapopan. Guadalajara felt very overwhelming and crowded at times, as it is the second largest city in Mexico after the capitol. But with such a rich history and fantatic art to see, it was worth taking hot and crowded buses to get to downtown two days in a row, where there were plenty of pedestrian-only streets. The murals by Jose Clemente Orozco that decorate the inside of many government buildings were amazing, and no one minded if you walked inside to see them!
Murals inside of the University of Guadalajara library
Orozco mural inside a government building
My other favorite sight in the city was Instituto Cultural Las Cabanas, which was formerly an orphanage and then military barracks, and is now a culural center and museum. I spent a long time staring up at the historic murals on the ceiling of the main passageway, which you had to lie down on the benches or floor to see. There was also a documentary film festival going on while I was in Guadalajara, and I saw a movie called "El Alcalde (The Mayor)" with some local university students. It follows the interesting and very messed up story of a mayor from a town in Northeast Mexico where drug violence is very prevalent. Even though my travels do not take me to this area of the country, this is a common concern and subject of discussion all around the country.
Instituto Cabanas courtyard
Murals inside of Cabanas
Just around the corner from Cabanas was the Central Market of Guadalajara, with many levels of just about everything you could think of buying! I ate lunch at one of the counters there on my first day, and had possible the best corn tortillas of the trip so far. After the fact, I was of course told by multiple people that the market is for looking and not eating, but luckily it didn´t make me sick!
A whole stack of chile rellenos!
No comments:
Post a Comment