Tlaquepaque — January 24

After our tour of the historic center of Guadalajara, we went to the artisan village of Tlaquepaque, a suburb of Guadalajara.  This community had three things that made it a delight:  wonderful restaurants, several with mariachi music; street musicians; and sidewalk shops and stores carrying the work of artisans from all over the country.  It is apparently the largest grouping of Mexican artisans in the country.

First things first — we headed to a restaurant.  The choice we made was Casa Luna.  It was a good food choice, but the atmosphere was as good as the food.  We were in an outdoor, open-ceilinged patio, and within the area, there were three huge “trees” made from pieces of wood.  Each tree was decorated differently, one with castanets, one with butterflies, and one with hearts (probably seasonal).

The food was good too.  We had a heart of romaine salad stuffed with avocado.  Delicious.  We both had the chicken poblano mole for our entree.  I’m not a big fan of mole in the US, and I guess I won’t order it again here, but it was tasty.

Yes, there’s a large chicken breast buried in that sauce.

The drinks were also special.  Someone at another table bought a drink that came in a glass bulb which was steaming like it was dry ice.  Then when the server took off the bulb, the steaming whatever it was was very fragrant and the smell wafted through the entire restaurant — smelled like marijuana.  There also was a group of volunteer workers at the next table, and the servers went from one person to the next with a long silver leaf which they pointed into the person’s mouth.  Then another server poured a bottled drink — probably tequila — into the leaf and it trickled into their mouths.  Great fun to watch them all.

After eating, we wandered and listened to some musicians.  The highlight was the famous Mariachi Women who became stars when they competed on the Mexican Has Talent show (like the ones we have in the US).  A female musician was upset because none of the mariachi bands, all male, would allow her in the band, so she started her own.  Now they are famous.  They played one song in the street before they headed into a restaurant where they are regulars.

Warming up

There were four dancers too

The entire area was filled with artisans and artisan shops and also lots of unique sculpture art along the way.  We saw the perfect mask that we should have bought but didn’t.  Now we may have to go back to buy it because according to Rosie, our guide, there isn’t another place like this in Jalisco.

All in all, it was a great day.