Guadalajara
Guadalajara is the second-biggest city of Mexico with 1.5 million people; 4 million when counting the greater metro area.
The city has a superb downtown with nice public squares, numerous churches, and a cultural institute that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Urban art
The churches
The gothic-style Temple of Atoning is from 1897.
Government Palace
La Fuente de los Niños Miones
The fountain, by artist Miguel Miramontes, is about the joy of life for children.
Cultural Institute of Cabañas
The Cultural Institute of Cabañas is an architectural icon of Guadalajara and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
These pictures don't do justice to the beauty of the building. The room is huge and the walls, the roof, and the dome are covered by murals painted by artist José Clemente Orozco.
The Day of the Dead
I was in the city the main days of the Day of the Dead, from October 31st to November 2nd. Unfortunately, there were no major events, but it was nonetheless interesting.
Sexual harassment, a worldwide problem
In Mexico, like in the rest of the world, women are victims of sexual harassment and are often ignored. These women have chosen to be heard by gathering together on the main square of Guadalajara. I don't know if the protest is related to the sexual harassment scandals that have started in the United States with the Weinstein allegations.
I tried to translate each signs as well as I could...
From left to right:
1st woman | A homage to ?Mara Lesvy Valencia? ??? and other women that were only numbers 1297 ... |
2nd woman | (t-shirt) You brought this on yourself, you taunted him. (sign) They are compliments, you should be flattered. You are beautiful. |
3rd woman | In the streets and avenues, the bones (I can't read the rest, except for the words in black) girls - abuse - insecurity - for me. |
4th woman | (above) We are only playful, don't say ?no? |
5th woman | (bottom) You brought this on yourself. What were you doing alone in the night dressed like that? #niunameno |
6th woman | Don't act so innocent, of course, you like me, you are a man. |
7th woman | It's my body, it's my rules. |
Graffiti
While the centre is nice, the rest of the city is rather dirty and not very inviting. There are a lot of graffiti that are best described as vandalism, but sometimes there are a few nice works of art. I leave it to you to judge.