Mercado Corona - Guadalajara

Mention that you’re going to Mercado Corona — that riot of honey, clothing, flowers, uncommon fruit such as black capulines and light green arrayanes, steaming food stands and what-not, all peeking out in glorious disarray from a concrete structure two blocks from Guadalajara’s cathedral — and your friends’ reactions may range from, “It’s a nice place to go ... once” to “Horrible!”

It is true that in this market you rub shoulders — literally — with ordinary folk and that here you are more likely to glimpse a sleeping borracho [drunk] than a well-dressed anorexic, as you might in a tonier mall.

But if it is medicinal herbs you are after, and knowledgeable merchants to instruct you in their use, Mercado Corona is your mecca.

Guadalajara Reporter Article

Ixtepete Pyramid - Guadalajara

The Ixtepete pyramid,  the only archaeological site within Guadalajara , remains unknown despite the amount of existing plans to excavate the ruins properly and build a museum on site before the Pan American Games.

The pre-Hispanic ruins dating from Epiclassic period, around the year 650, is located on Avenida Mariano Otero, on the ring road of the city, the site is open to the public free of charge, but only popular among visitors during the Spring Equinox.

In 2007, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced it would make available 52 million Mexican pesos to transform Ixtepete to be a major tourist attraction before the Pan American Games, but these plans never materialized.

A lone sign reveals the age of the ruins and provides basic information about how they were built, but the only sign of life in recent times is the visit of a group of local children who participate in a football team among the remains of the ancient pyramid.