Guadalajara after the Conquest of the Aztecs

Guadalajara: Aztec symbols, the flame that doesn't consume and the Quetzalcoatl, the serpent bird.

Note: A correction to my last travelogue post where I said Guadalajara had 10 million residents. I’m now told it’s closer to 5 million. My apologies to the 5 million whom I led to believe were Guadalajarians and now discover they’re not . . . or worse yet, that they may not even exist.

“Guadalajara,” he said, “is a name imported from Spain and is Arabic, dating back to the Moorish rule of Spain. It means ‘stony river.’” We are six in the van plus our driver/interpreter: two male couples and Agnes and me, and we’re a jolly, curious bunch with non-stop banter from Ajijic to Guadalajara and back. “Airrrmahn” (Herman) is both a competent, careful driver and a consummate teacher; before the day is over we’ll have a much better grasp of the history of both Mexico and Jalisco province—at least if we remember to listen between bouts of picture-snapping.

Our first destination in this sprawling city in the highlands is downtown Guadalajara. In short, it’s magnificent in its ‘Catholic’ beauty. No fewer than 5 cathedrals attest to the Franciscan and Augustinian presence in the city at its establishment—he says—in 1542. Guadalajara was actually relocated at that time, the present site chosen because of the availability of fresh water and for strategic reasons; the wars of conquest, the subjugation of the indigenous population was still very much a consideration.

Central Guadalajara has been reworked considerably in the last half century. The result is a centre including no fewer than five large plazas of fountains, statuary and, of course, cathedrals. The plazas are arranged in the form of a cross, the largest, longest being the trunk of the cross and smaller ones being the arms and the top of the cross with the central, Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady at the juncture of the cross’s arms. The interior of this cathedral has to be seen to be appreciated; a second-rate depiction can be had here.

We visited the vaults beneath the cathedral where bishops and cardinals of Guadalajara rest. The most recent was buried here in the 1990s, possibly caught in the crossfire between drug cartels or else assassinated by them; autopsies showed that he died in his car from shots fired at close range. It reminded us of the violence that accompanies the drug trade around the world and definitely here in Mexico. The north shore communities of Lake Chapala are not exceptions in this case, the Guadalajara Reporter tells us; a shootout happened in Jocotepec just down the road a few days ago. One man was killed and a woman seriously injured.

And then there was the governor’s palace and the old congress hall and the murals depicting Mexico’s history and a wonderful pottery museum and finally, an all female Mariachi band performance and a bowl of Mexican soup that Herman assured me would be only poquito spicy, but which went down like varnish remover . . . with flavour!

We ended the day at Cosinart Restaurant in Ajijic, I had a very good Indian Chicken Curry and a glass of red wine.

Just checked my step counter . . . seeing Guadalajara took about 7 km of walking. Should have stopped at one of the leather shops (of which there are many; Guadalajara is known for its pottery and leather goods) and bought a pair of hand crafted shoes for Cdn $30 or so.

A side-note. Mexicans don’t generally wear shorts and sandals. So if you don’t want to stand out as a tourist, jeans and oxfords or sneakers are a better bet. Police and military wear black top to toe with heavy boots plus guns and radios strapped all over them; don’t know how they survive May, for instance when, I’m told, 40 C isn’t uncommon.