Guadalajara es Mi Novia

The Tarascans live in idyllic surroundings. Their dress, their homes and the villages around Pátzcuaro have an appearance unique. Pátzcuaro was the center of the great empire of the Tarascans, which flourished before the days of the Spaniards. (Photograph by Dorothy Hamilton.) Few Indian tribes on the American continent are as colorful as the Tarascans. Love of their native land and their great courage are their outstanding characteristics. They, alone, defied the warring Aztecs and were never subdued by the most powerful Indian Empire in all of México.

There IS a saying in México that goes something like this: “México is mi madre; pero Guadalajara es mi novia.” You'll understand what the saying means when you go to Guadalajara. “México is my mother; but Guadalajara is my sweetheart.” Only Mexicans could so vividly describe such a beloved and lady-like a city.

Guadalajara (Gwad-dah-lah-hahrah) is the second largest city in the Republic of México, with a population of some 250,000. It is the capital of the great state of Jalisco (Ha-lees-co), the terminal of the Sud Pacifico de México's railroad between Nogales, Sonora, and the most important city in the western part of México.

Cristobal de Oñate, one of the captains of Cortés the Conqueror, founded Guadalajara in 1530, as a base for In Guadalajara, too, as in all México, monuments like the monument to The Independence remind the Mexican people of their liberty and freedom. Below, the great cathedral of Jalisco in the Plaza of Guadalajara, which dates from the period 1571-1618.

Guadalajara, the second largest city in México, is noted for its colonial architecture, its unhurried life and for the beauty of its women. Below, the Palacio de Gobierno, bordering the Plaza, where the affairs of the state are conducted.

Near Guadalajara is the Lake Chapala, the largest inland body of water in México. Surrounding the lake are countless farms and villages.

A farmer's home and his family on the shores of Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara. These farming folk are unusually industrious and self-reliant.