Mexico’s Mining Industry

52 Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle Negocios ProMéxico | The Lifestyle 53
48 hourS In
Guadalajara
guadalajara is to be found in its markets, its mariachis and its fountains.
the city wakes each morning, content to see the sun reflected off
its colonial buildings and countless squares. It doesn’t take much to
captivate the unsuspecting visitor, be it the magnificent orozco mural
Man in flames at the cabañas cultural Institute, the region’s colorful arts
and crafts or its spicy cuisine.
9:00 a.m.
Guadalajara certainly isn’t short on hotels but it’s always best to
choose a centrally located one so you can explore all the sights
by foot. Hotel Del Carmen, right in front of the former Del Carmen
convent, will enhance your vacation experience. This 19th
century mansion has been transformed into a concept hotel
with nine guestrooms named after famous Mexican artists like
Rufino Tamayo, Günther Gerzo and Remedios Varo. Get off to a
great start with breakfast in De los Refranes, a tranquil patio in
the hotel grounds named after the fascinating world of Mexican
proverbs.
Hotel Del Carmen
Jacobo Galvez 45
Historic Center
T. +52 (33) 3614 2640
www.delcarmen.mx
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by jimena sánchez-gámez
photos archive
Saturday
10:00 a.m.
The first point of call is the Metropolitan Cathedral and the four
squares that surround it, which together form a Latin cross. East of
the cathedral is Plaza Guadalajara, a square with a refreshing fountain.
This is where the tourist trams depart from. Southward is Plaza
de Armas, identifiable by its wrought iron bandstand and sculptures
of four Greco-Latin women. Northbound is the Rotonda de los Jaliscienses
Ilustres, dedicated to the heroes of Jalisco, and to the west is
Plaza de la Liberación.
2:00 P.m.
Nearby, on the
corner of Javier
Mina and Calzada
Independencia, is the
Mercado San Juan
de Dios, a gigantic,
three-story market
that immediately
assaults the nose. you
can find just about
anything here, from
sombreros, bags,
ponchos and huaraches to ceramics and
food, concentrated mainly on the second
level. Birriera Palenque specializes in two
dishes that are long-standing favorites
among the locals: birria, a broth of seared
chili peppers and tender meat –usually
beef, lamb or goat– and tortas ahogadas, a
sandwich made with a kind of tart, savory
bread roll known as a birote, filled with
barbequed pork and doused in a hot árbol
chili sauce. It takes a mighty stomach to
tackle both but whichever you choose will
make you feel like your mouth is literally
on fire.
4:00 P.m.
Since you’re already in the downtown
area, it’s worth taking a couple of hours
to explore Guadalajara’s museums. The
Museum of Journalism and the Graphic
Arts (Av. Alcalde 225) is housed in an old
building known as Casa de los Perros.
This is where the first rebel newspaper,
El Despertador Americano, was printed at
the initiative of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
Fossil lovers won’t want to miss the
Paleontology Museum (Dr. R. Michel 250)
and a visit to Casa Taller José Clemente
Orozco (Aurelio Aceves 27) is mandatory.
Here you can see lithographs, photos and
sketches exhibited in what was once the
artist’s atelier.
photo paulo jiménez
11:00 a.m.
The walk from Plaza de la Liberación to
the Cabañas Cultural Institute is a must.
Here, during October, you can witness the
art of sculpting quarry stone at first hand.
On your way, you’ll also see the famous
Degollado theater, whose Neo-Classical
facade boasts a sculpture of Apollo and the
nine muses. The theater coffee shop is the
perfect place to take a break before continuing
on to Plaza Tapatía, where you’re
bound to see some child or other playing
in the dancing fountains. The walk ends at
the Cabañas Cultural Institute. Built in the
19th century by Manuel Tolsá as a shelter
for orphans and the destitute, today it is
a museum that houses 53 murals by the
great José Clemente Orozco, an artist who
portrayed life in Pre-Columbian Mexico
and the cultural shock that the arrival of
the Spaniards caused. No one leaves the old
chapel without gasping in awe at its dome
decorated with the mural Man in Flames,
indubitably one of the masterpieces of the
Mexican muralist movement.
6:30 P.m.
Two blocks south of the cathedral is Avenida Juárez, a picturesque avenue that begs to
be explored on foot. On the corner of Donato Guerra is a bronze sculpture of the engineer
Jorge Matute Remus pushing a wall. In 1950, Matute managed to move the 1700-ton
building of Teléfonos de México 12 meters without damaging it, allowing the telecommunications
company to continue operating without interruption. A stone’s throw away
is the Templo Expiatorio del Santísimo Sacramento, a church that appropriates European
gothic-style architecture of the Middle Ages. Designed by Adamo Boari –the same architect
who designed the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City– the church was completed by the
Jalisco-born Ignacio Díaz Morales and is well worth a visit. If you walk back along Avenida
Juárez, you’ll eventually come to Avenida Chapultepec, an avenue buzzing with cafés and
restaurants where you can watch the sun set on Guadalajara.