Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico

Sunday, April 2, 2006

Just a quick 15-minute bus ride out of Guadalajara is Tlaquepaque. It's a smaller town adjacent to the big city, even though its population grew out of peoples' desire to escape the congestion and busy pace of Guadalajara. Most built their summer or weekend getaway homes in Tlaquepaque. Hmm... sounds a lot like home.

But over the years the town has naturally become an extension of Guadalajara. Its appeal for most today is the art. Avenida Independencia is the main drag, where many of the older homes are now the sites of shops with a variety of arts and crafts. Many shops sell arts and other items from other Mexican towns, like Taxco, Oaxaca, Nayarit and Guanajuato. I might add that a corner store had some of the best shit-kickers I have ever seen -- true "kill-ants-in-the-corner" style of cowboy boots.

While it's great to have a one-stop shopping place for exceptional and authentic wares, I'd rather go to the places themselves. And I'd rather be in a place with far fewer tourists and, well, Americans. (Requisite tongue-in-cheek disclaimer for the lone Republican visitor to the site: No offense inteded. I do not hate America... etc., etc.)