Guadalajara, Mexico Summary

Capital of Jalisco and second city of the Mexican Republic, GUADALAJARA has a reputation as a slower, more conservative and traditional place than Mexico City, somewhere you can stop and catch your breath. Many claim that this is the most Mexican of Mexican cities, having evolved as a regional centre of trade and commerce, without the imbalances of Monterrey’s industrial giants or Mexico City’s chaotic scale. Being less frenetic than the capital, however, doesn’t make it peaceful, and by any standards this is a huge, sprawling, noisy and energetic city. Growth has, if anything, been accelerating in recent years, boosted by the campaign to reduce Mexico City’s pollution by encouraging people and industry to move to the provinces, and its partial conversion to a sleek metropolis has resulted in a hike in prices and some sacrifice of Mexican mellowness in favour of a US-style business ethic. However, enthusiasm for the new has not replaced affection for the old and it’s still an enjoyable place to visit, with the edge on all other big cities of Mexico for trees and flowers, cleanliness and friendliness. It also remains a great place to see something of traditional and modern Mexico, offering everything from museums, galleries and colonial architecture, to magnificent revolutionary murals by José Clemente Orozco, to a nightlife enlivened by a large student population.