RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦
Guadalajara is a large and beautiful city. It is the second largest city in Mexico, with a population of over five million, and is the capital of the state of Jalisco.
It is also the home of Mariachi, which has become the national music of Mexico. The connection between the city and mariachi began in 1907 when an eight-piece mariachi band and four dancers from the city performed on stage for both President Porfirio Díaz and the Secretary of State of the United States. This made the music a symbol of central Mexico, and after the migration of many people from the Guadalajara area to Mexico City, it then became a symbol of Mexican identity as well.
To celebrate their musical history, Guadalajara hosts the International Festival of Mariachi and Charreria, which began in 1994. It attracts people in the fields of art, culture and politics from Mexico and abroad. Regularly the best mariachis in Mexico participate, such as Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi de América and Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano.
It seemed like an event we wanted to see for ourselves. So we rented an Airbnb near the main plaza, and took a bus from Ajijic to Guadalajara. The three day event is held at locations around the city, but the main venue is Liberation Square between the magnificent Metropolitan Cathedral and the stately Teatro Degollado, and was only a block from our apartment.
Mariachi bands from all over the world participate, coming from countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Belgium, Chile, France, Australia, Slovak Republic, Canada and the United States. We especially enjoyed a band from Columbia.
On our final day, we took a tour of the city on a double decker bus. The city is vibrant and colorful, with a wonderful historical area full of colonial era structures. The style of architecture prevalent in Europe during the founding of Guadalajara is paralleled in the city’s colonial buildings. The Cathedral and Teatro are the purest examples of neoclassical architecture, and are at the heart of the city. Nearby is an excellent assortment of museums, theaters, galleries, libraries, auditoriums and concert halls.
On the weekends, the entire historical center is closed to vehicular travel, and turned into a huge pedestrian park, with restaurants, shopping, musicians, and people of every kind. It was wonderful.
