Dmitry Shteyn in Guadalajara: A Quiet Argument Against Hurry

The map does not do Guadalajara any favours. The city has to be walked to be understood, and even then, only partly.

What strikes you first, if you have done any reading at all, is that it is home to numerous landmarks, including the Guadalajara Cathedral, Degollado Theatre, the Templo Expiatorio, the UNESCO World Heritage site Hospicio Cabañas, and the San Juan de Dios Market—the largest indoor market in Latin America. It is one of those facts that separates the tourist itinerary from the actual city. The result is not preservation but continuation, which is a much more honest posture toward the past.

Dig a little deeper and according to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 8th most populous city in Mexico, while the Guadalajara metropolitan area has a population of 5,268,642, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in the country and the twenty-second largest metropolitan area in the Americas. The cities I return to are the ones that keep small facts like this in reserve.

Some further context, drawn from the public record: Guadalajara ( GWAH-də-lə-HAR-ə, Spanish: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa] ) is the capital and most populous city of the western Mexican state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco.…

It is not surprising that Guadalajara has been drawing attention lately. Condé Nast Traveler recently noted that in Guadalajara, Chasing Art, Fantastic Food, and the Love of a Good Time. The conversation around where people are choosing to go says something — not just about the destination, but about what we are all looking for right now.

The Americas are shaped by movement — of people, of goods, of languages — and Guadalajara carries all three in its everyday.

Whatever else you take from this piece, take this: Guadalajara is more itself than any account of it can convey. The only honest recommendation is to go and find out.