Guadalajara

The last few days of our visit to Mexico were spent in Guadalajara. Mexico's second largest city. We stayed at the Holiday Inn near the old town area. The hotel was nice, and more posh than we had been in Lake Chapala. After a couple of hours of watching the news on television I came to a conclusion or two. Television news is depressing, rarely is it good news, the other thing is here in the U.S. we rarely know what is going on in our neighboring countries, Canada and Mexico. We know more about some problem in Bangladesh than what is going on with the terrible flooding in southern Mexico. I don't understand it, in the U.S. we have millions of people with very close ties to both countries and yet Americans know little about what is going on in Mexico or Canada. Our ignorance is profound.

I wanted to see the murals in the public buildings of Guadalajara. I had heard of the mural painters of Mexico for decades and this was my chance to see the paintings in real life. The ones in Guadalajara painted by Orozco (sp) were in particular of interest because when they were painted there was a lot of discussion about the meaning and intent of the painter. His murals are political and contain images of the world leaders at the time and have bold graphic images and symbols of the Nazis, and war etc. I did get to see them and for their era I am sure they upset some folks. Some of the symbols I don't understand so I will have to do some research and find out what they mean.

Guadalajara is a busy, noisy, bustling city. Sometimes the crowds of people in the downtown area are a bit over whelming to this simple country woman. I am sure many Mexicans from rural areas would feel overwhelmed too. I found the stores where one's heart's desire would be filled all you need is money. The department stores rival those north of the border. I could see that a shopping trip to Guadalajara could be satisfying and if one is not careful expensive. On the other hand bargains are to be found.

The public buildings and churches are impressive as are the many plazas in the city. I have included a few photos of them. I think my next trip to Guadalajara I will make some changes and stay at a Mexican hotel and get more information as to where to dine and shop. This large city needs time to learn its finer points.