Guadalajara, Mexico, el siete de Enero, 2020

I had a great day  I’m feeling 100% so that helped and the sun was shining, it was calm and it was 25!  Awesome!

My first stop was at Templo Expiatorio Del Santisimo Sacramento which was built in new-Gothic style and is considered the greatest work of its kind in all of Mexico.  Construction began in 1897 and ended in 1972-

The doors are made of granadilla wood-

There are three Italian mosaics on the front made in the Vatican’s Mosaic Factory-

Inside, there’s beautiful stained glass-

Looking up in the dome-

Looking back to the entrance-

and the arcade-

Almost next door is the MUSA - Museum of the Arts of the University of Guadalajara.  I would have loved to have had lectures in this room-

In the front is a huge mural by José Clemente Orozco called The Creative Rebellious Man and The People and Their False Leaders.  I thought he was Mexican......

There’s an exposition on called Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros Pintura Mexicana which features works by these three great Mexican painters.  In September 1973, the same show was set to open in Santiago, Chile but two days before, Pinochet headed the coup d’état and so the show never opened.  The curator of the Chilean museum quietly packed up the 169 works and sent them back to Mexico with 350 exiled people - the wife and daughter of the murdered president Allende among them.  So after many years, the show has finally opened.

 Other work by Orozco include Ointment and Fragrance-

The Winter-

and Cabaret-

Paintings by Diego Rivera (1886-1957) include Green Woman-

and The Architect-

I didn’t like any of Siqueiero so no pictures.  In other rooms they have not so famous artists.  I thought At Sunset by Anupam Sud is hilarious and sadly too true-

Middle East L.A. is by José Ramirez and another large painting-

Drive In by John Valadez is huge and looks so real. The clouds are fierce and the car is flooded with water-

Cartonland by Ana Serrano is a mountain like city made of cardboard, paper, acrylic and glue-

Wow!  I really enjoyed that!  

I walked to the Centro via Templo de Nuestra Senora del Carmen.  What a gushing fountain-

and found Mercado Corona which was packed with people having lunch.  For $2, I had two crispy tacos with pork barbacoa and a Pepsi.  It’s weird how all of a sudden in Guadalajara, plastic pop bottles do not exist.  Everything is glass.  

I just love all of the condiments which aren’t processed like ours but fresh and homemade-

I carried on and came across the Rotunda in the sunlight-

And more great fountains-

More sculptures from La Noche de Los Magos-

Today The Cultural Institute Cabañas was open and free.  The building was founded in 179 as a shelter for orphans, the homeless and elderly by Bishop Juan Cruz Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo-

It’s a neo-classical building with 23 courtyards-

The highlights are the 57 frescoes by José Clemente Orozco, painted in 1937-

Including Hombre de Fuego (The Man of Fire)-

There was also a display about maize.  69 varieties are grown in Mexico and most are native species. Every part of the plant is used-

Corn cobs form a curtain-

There was more art falling into the category of Fantastic Realism, this time Apocalipsis by Samuel Melendrez Bayardo-

Agentes Sociales by David Birks.  This is so cool.  It’s 10 furniture carts with faces covered in-

ripped pieces of cardboard -

This one made me angry.  Why does he get to cover himself but the woman does not?  It’s called Daft Punk by Enrique Oroz-

This is a huge human sculpted out of one piece of wood-

And this is just a brick wall in the middle of the room.  So weird-

I thought I had seen all there was to see and would have been disappointed with paying 70 pesos - that’s the most expensive museum so far this trip, when I found the best exhibit of the show.  It’s Wixaritari yarn art, done by the Huichol Mexicans.  It is symbolic expression of cultural and religious significance of everyday life and absolutely beautiful-

Birth of the sun-

Birth of maize-

I was so glad I asked before I left if there was more.  

My last goal of the day was to find the Diblaga Textile Factory to buy a set of sheets.  Where I stayed in Bucerias, on the bed were the nicest sheets I have ever slept in.  I took a picture of the tag, googled it, sent an email and got their address.  Today I had a choice of white, soft yellow or beige.  I’ve had white sheets most of my life so stepped outside the box and bought yellow.  I think they’ll look nice with my comforter and in my green bedroom. The saleswomen were awesome.  I spoke all in Spanish and the younger woman had a hard time not laughing out loud. The older woman was as patient with me as humanly possible.  Just as I was about to make my purchase she asked if I needed a deeper sheet which I did so the young girl had to go into the warehouse to get a different set. Then, just as I was about to pay a second time she asked if I needed more pillowcases and yes of course, I have four pillows.  I would have been so disappointed to get home and find I’d bought the wrong size and needed more pillowcases.  As I walked away with my heavy package I thought oh, oh, Jane better have room in her suitcase!  I’ve still got two months to go!

I caught a bus home and had a great visit with Christian about his recent experience with ayahuasca which is a drink he took under the supervision of a shaman.  It allows a closer connection to consciousness.  There are three levels: the eagle, the jaguar and the snake.  The snake is hell and that’s where he spent most of his three hours.  He described his experience as a fight with evil voices that were really him.  He learned a lot about love and relationships and hasn’t had a cigarette since.  He said he wanted to die because of how awful emotionally he felt but said he learned so much and has become more patient and more in tune with now.  He was always thinking ahead and not living in the moment.  His hairdresser also went and no longer has lupus.  Pretty interesting. And, he didn’t have to go to Peru.  Once a month, a meditation centre in Tlaquepaque offers the experience.

I’m going to Tequila in the morning on an English speaking tour!  I’m looking forward to it even though I’ve been on a tequila tour before in Oaxaca but I don’t think a person can come to Mexico and be this close to the actual town called Tequila and not go for a shot or two!  Salud!