Guadalajara: a walkabout with Len

20 years ago—in 2004— my son was studying Spanish in Guadalajara, Mexico.  I was on my way to Tokyo via LAX, so I was able to add a quick round trip visit from Los Angeles.  

Guadalajara is a beautiful city—as cities go, with countless old picturesque buildings, churches and plazas  It’s a tourist city, to be sure, but more so for Mexicans than us gringos—which was quite nice!  The food was great, and the tequila better!  With the drinking age just 18, it turned out I had an experienced and knowledgeable personal tequila guide!  

We wandered around historic old town, and were completely mesmerized by the gigantic indoor Guadalajara Market—where you could buy just about anything on earth, as long as you could find it!  It was so large that twice we got turned around inside, exited out a different door than we had entered, and then had trouble finding our way back home.

Aside from getting to spend time with my son, one of the more memorable moments was seeing the Jose Clemente Orozco murals in the Hospicio Cabañas.  Apparently he painted 57 frescoes there, which many in the know consider his best.  Orozco was one of the ‘big three’ famous Mexican muralists of the 1920’s and 1930’s.  My photos don’t do his work justice, so here is a link that hopefully does: Dan Perez’s Orozco Murals.

My son took me to a local football (soccer) game while there.  I can’t remember who won, but I do remember that instead of having cheerleaders jumping around in skimpy outfits, they had a women’s 12-piece mariachi band on the sideline—in full traditional dress, which was FAR more entertaining, elegant and fun than cheerleaders.

Below are some photos from my visit.  You can Click on any photo to launch a slideshow starting at that point.  If you have any questions or problems, or if you just want to chat about Guadalajara, reach out and Contact Me.