Guadalajara- The Art and Architecture of Mexico

We visited Guadalajara Zona Centro after spending two days in Tequila and then another day exploring Tonala, known for its exquisite handicrafts.  The road trip up from La Cruz via the toll roads was easy and we left the car at the hotel in Tonala, taking a taxi into the Zona Central so we could walk around and check out the sites.   The art and architecture of Guadalajara is breathtaking and I think it has some of the best examples of Neo-classical building in the Americas, all within strolling distance of the Plaza de la Liberacion in the Zona Central.

Centro Historico/Plaza de la Liberación- Zona Central

We started our day by taking a cab ride through the city from our hotel in Tonala to the Zona Central, getting dropped off at the huge Plaza de la Liberacion.  We knew there was too much to see in one day, so we opted for a carriage ride past the major sites in the Zona Central to start, with the driver narrating in the best English possible with our worse Spanish thrown in.

After the carriage rides and a greater understanding of the layout of the area, we opted to see the sights within a two mile radius, with the Catedral Basílica de la Asunción de María Santísima on one end and Hospicio Cabañas  on the extreme other end of our walking.  In between, there was a slew of other historic places to see and all different dining and shopping options….including a Carls Junior (which we skipped).  

Hospicio Cabañas 

The Hospicio Cabañas is a massive neoclassical building/complex started in 1810 and completed in 1829.  The building was designed by famed Mexico architect Manuel Tolsa.  The building has 23 courtyards and was specifically designed to function as a multi-use humanities facility, being one of the largest and oldest orphanages and hospital complexes in North America.  While the Hospicio Cabañas was in operation from 1829 through 1980 the building served as an orphanage, hospital for the poor, almshouse, food distribution warehouse, skills training center and barracks for various groups during several different revolutions in Mexico.  Beyond all this, it’s the art and architecture that should draw one into the building, with time to spend just taking it all in.  Housed in the Hospicio Cabañas are several of the seminal and best known works of painter José Clemente Orozco, including the allegory of the “Man of Fire”.  We were blown away by these massive frescos and spent over an hour taking them all in, with another hour or so exploring the rest of the massive Cabanas complex.  Here’s my pics….they REALLY don’t do the building or murals justice.

Check out this article from Natesssweetblog about these same paintings- titled “Man of Fire“

Just as interesting and riveting as the massive frescos and paintings is the artist who created them.  José Clemente Orozco is a study in fascination, combined with the controlled insanity of most misunderstood artists.  With strong political leanings and bold styles, this was an artist who rubbed shoulders with Diego Rivera and  Frida Kahlo and was considered one of the finest Mexican muralists of his time.  

Intrigued?  I challenge you to click THIS LINK to read more about José Clemente Orozco.  

Advice If You Go:

–  I would take taxis to get around the city. 

–  I think taking a horse drawn carriage around the city center for a tour before we started walking was neat.  It gave us an orientation to the area and showed us places we would have missed on foot….like the outstanding and modern University not far from the city center.  

–  If we did it again, I would definitely spend more time with the murals in the Hospicio Cabañas, like several hours.  

–  Take the time to see the rest of the Hospicio Cabañas too.  Just the fact that the city and the church decided to build this massive building to serve the poor more than 200 years ago is amazing and the building has stories of its own to tell. 

–  In this large city, I would say to go where you know and where your own personal comfort level is.  We are usually aware of our surroundings but especially when we’re riding in taxis to and from our destinations, because there are some rough areas in this town.  There’s also very modern, sleek areas of town that we didn’t visit, cause we didn’t need to.  

I loved visiting Guadalajara for the second time in my life, making sure to soak in the essence of art and architecture that helps to define the Mexican Nation.  There are too many buildings just in the central historical area of town for me to cover in this one blog post so I focused on some of the main buildings that we went to for this story.  I also didn’t show you pictures from inside churches as I don’t take pictures inside churches.  Loved visiting this town again and I would visit for a third time if the opportunity arose.  Count me in- 

Here’s the other stories I’ve recently written with this Guadalajara trip in mind: 

Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos- More Than Meets The Eye

Tequila- More Than Just a Spirit

Tonalá – Hidden Jewel of Guadalajara

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