Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara is a large city in the Western-Pacific region of Mexico, located at 20.67° N 103.35° W. Guadalajara is the capital of the state of Jalisco. During the Colonial era, Guadalajara became the capital of Nueva Galicia and after the Mexican War of Independence it became the capital of the Intendencia of Guadalajara.

Guadalajara was settled in three different locations (Nochistlán, Tonalá and Tlacotlán) before the Atemajac Valley where it now rests. Beatriz Hernández was responsible for choosing the location saying "I bet for my King and it is my belief that we shall go to Atemajac Valley, and if it's done otherwise, it will be done in God's and the King's service, anything else would be showing cowardice". Guadalajara was then established in Atemajac Valley on February 14th 1542 under the Royal order of king Charles V.

According to the 2000 census, the Municipality of Guadalajara is the most populated in Mexico with 1,642,319 inhabitants. However, The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area also includes the municipalities of Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, Tlajomulco, Zapotlanejo and Ixtlahuacán del Río totaling 3,655,250 inhabitants in 2000. Guadalajara is the second most populous metro area after Mexico City.

Guadalajara is known as La Perla del Occidente ( Spanish for "Pearl of the West"), la Perla Tapatía ("tapatío" is an informal adjective of origin for people and things from Guadalajara) and, Ciudad de las Rosas. The city is also the birthplace of mariachi music and charreadas.

The city is named after Guadalajara, Spain whose name originates from the Arabic Wad-al-hidjara, meaning "River Running Between Rocks". The city refers to itself as the Silicon Valley of Mexico. Such high-technology companies as General Electric, IBM, Intel, Hitachi, Hewlett Packard, Siemens, Flextronics and Solectron have facilities in the city or its suburbs.

Famous people from Guadalajara include film star Gael Garcia Bernal and artist Xavier Martinez.

The Universidad de Guadalajara, the state's public university, has its main campuses and administrative offices here. Guadalajara is also home of private universities such as ITESO, ITESM, and UNIVA, as well as the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, the first and oldest private university in Mexico.

Guadalajara is home to three popular soccer teams: Chivas, Atlas and Tecos.

American Capital of Culture

On 28 October 2004 Guadalajara was declared the American Capital of Culture for 2005.

Disaster

Guadalajara is also known for the great disaster of April 22, 1992, which took place in the downtown district of Analco. Numerous explosions originated in the sewer system, which was inexplicably saturated with gasoline fumes and gasoline. During a period of four hours, several explosions destroyed kilometers of streets; in particular, Gante street was the most damaged. The force of the explosions was such, that some newspaper pictures show a bus atop a two-storied building's rooftop. Officially 206 people were killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 were left homeless. The affected area can be recognized by the more modern architecture, in sheer contrast with the surrounding area, with much older buildings. To date, Pemex, does not accept any responsibility for the enormous amounts of gasoline found in the sewage system, although it agreed to create a fund to compensate the families affected by this catastrophe. Pemex is a state agency solely responsible for drilling, refining, distributing and selling all oil products in Mexico.

Guadalajara is a site of major seismological activity with a high-scale earthquake occurring about every 80 years.

Cultural centers and Icons

Guadalajara is the second oldest "city" in México ( Charles V gave Guadalajara that title after being founded), and is consequently full of ancient buildings.

Catedral Metropolitana de Guadalajara, located on Avenida Alcalde (the main street), is the most important icon of the city, and seat of the Catholic Church in the State.

Plaza de Armas: (Arms Square) On the south side of the Cathedral, is the main square and has been the scene of many important moments in Mexican History. On the center is a beautiful Art Deco Kiosk bought in France for the centennial of the Mexican War of Independence, the pillars are semi-nude women carrying musical instruments, and on the base of each one is written the inscription: Voltaire St. 5-D Paris, France.

On each corner of the square there's a statue representing one of the four seasons.

The Square, as most of the city, went through a mayor overhaul when it hosted the "Summit of State Heads of Latin America and the Caribbean".

Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres: Located on the North side of the Cathedral, serves as a mausoleum for the most important politics, writers, artists and teachers born in the city.

Plaza de La Liberación: (Freedom Square) On the East side of the Cathedral, serves as a multi-purpose location for outdoor shows, political campaigns and all sorts of cultural events. It receives its name from the fact that Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla abolished slavery while he was on the Palacio de Gobierno on the south side of the square. It's surrounded by the Teatro Degollado, Palacio de Gobierno, Cathedral, the School of Music, the Church of Saint Agustin and the Supreme Court.

Teatro Degollado: (Degollado Theater) Named after the Governor who ordered its construction, it's the most important cultural reference on the city, built during the government of President Porfirio Díaz because of the lack of a proper city Theater. It hosted some of the most important events and parties of the pre-revolutionary Guadalajara, during the Mexican Belle-Epoque.

Plaza Fundadores: (Founder's Square) Behind the Teatro Degollado, it is the spot where the spanish gathered to found a new city they called "Guadalajara"; nowadays it serves as a reminder of the city's Spanish heritage.

Teatro Diana: (Diana's Theater) Formerly known as "Cine Diana" (Diana movie theater), it fell out of business in the 70's and was left abandoned until in 2000 the Universidad de Guadalajara bought it and rebuilt it to create the largest theater in the city.

Expo Guadalajara: Another building owned by the University, it is the largest and most modern multipurpose area. Every year in November it hosts the FIL (International Book Fair), and in April it hosts Papirolas (a children-oriented fair). It's located a few blocks from Plaza del Sol, Guadalajara's World Trade Center and across the street from the Guadalajara Expo Hilton.

Plaza del Sol: (Sun's Plaza) The largest outdoor mall in the city, it's located on one of the main economic centers of the city.

Torrena: Located next to Plaza del Sol, it will open in 2007 as the largest commercial and cultural center in the city.

The Minerva: A monument on the center of a fountain, with an oversized calendar made out of flowers, it welcomes tourists coming from Zapopan, and guards the Arcos de Guadalajara, one of the main entrances to the city, located on Avenida Vallarta. The main figure is a giant representation of Minerva with full armor on, holding a spear and a shield with Medusa's Head. It also becomes the "hotspot" where Football (Soccer) fans (both young and old) converge whenever the Mexican National Team or the local Chivas Rayadas del Guadalajara score a "key" victory.

Galerias Guadalajara: Finished in 2004, it's the largest, most modern shopping mall in the city. It's frequented by the young social elite (several high-class neighbourhoods are located in the area) and emulates American shopping malls and holds multiple brands of clothing, food and home accessories.

Tianguis Cultural: An outdoor market where "diversity" is the keyword. People form all different backgrounds (mostly teenagers) gather outside the Agua Azul (a local park) and sell their artifacts (mostly handmade) for all kinds of social groups. Dolls, posters, clothes, accesories, cd's, dvd's, body jewelry and even tattoos are easily bought and traded here. Frequented mostly by the middle-class, almost everybody can find something unique to buy and "scene" or "clique" differences are not an issue. Skater, punks, preppies, yuppies, goths, rockers, geeks, jocks, revolutionaries, druggies, and even scene kids can peacefully shop for the most diverse stuff ( voodoo dolls even became a local fashion and novelty item coveted by the locals).