Jalisco (essay)

“Jalisco, as one of the most representative states of Mexico”
Fernanda Trujillo

for Lengua Inglesa,
professor Stephen K.

Jalisco is located in western Mexico, surrounded by the states of Nayarit, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Colima and Michoacán. It also has a coastal side, on the Pacific Ocean, to the west. It’s divided in 125 municipalities, and its capital city is Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico, after the country’s capital, D.F. Guadalajara’s also Jalisco’s cultural and economic center.
The state’s economy depends a lot on tourism. Its beaches, such as those in Puerto Vallarta, are some of the most visited by foreigners who come to Mexico.
Jalisco is the place where many characteristic traits of Mexican culture were originated, such as mariachi music, tequila, rodeos called charrería, and even salsa Valentina. Most of the things people in other countries think of when they hear ‘Mexico’, are from Jalisco:
Music
Mexico’s best known music, Mariachi, is a product of the mixture of culture, religion and races that took place in Cocula, Jalisco, in the 1500s, years in which spanish conquerors brought christianity along with its music. The mixture of this religious music and native music eventually became what we know today as mariachi.
Some successful modern bands also come from Guadalajara, such as Maná (who in my opinion just make bad music), and other much younger bands that have been emerging lately and have been becoming quite known in the whole country, such as Technicolor Fabrics (they sound okay) and Elis Paprika (not okay at all).

Tequila
Tequila is a type of hard liquor that comes from a region of Jalisco called Tequila. It’s made from the blue agave plant, which was used in pre Hispanic times to make a ceremonial drink. The first person to officially sell tequila with permission was José Antonio Cuervo in 1758. Tequila became popular with the introduction of the railroad, which made its shipping a lot easier. There’s white tequila (which is unaged), reposado (aged for two or three months) and añejo (aged for over a year).
Food
It is said that Tonalá, that’s very near Guadalajara, is the origin of pozole. That the local Tonaltecas originally prepared it with human flesh, as a religious rite.
Typical food in Jalisco also includes: birria (a meat stew made with roasted chili peppers, spices and goat, mutton or beef), tortas ahogadas (tortas with pork meat inside that are covered or submerged in a tomato and chili pepper sauce), carne en su jugo (very specific beef meat that releases a juice when cooked, with green tomato sauce, beans and bacon), and charales from the Chapala lake among others.
Along the coast, seafood is prominent, and really good. Things that must be tasted are ceviche, aguachile, pescado zarandeado, shrimp ‘al ajillo’ and shrimp quesadillas.
For dessert, the most regional you can get are jericallas or nieve de garrafa, which is more less like water flavored ice cream (without milk). Drinks include tequila, pulque, mezcal, tejuino, tuba, rompope and fruit drinks.
Religion
Jalisco is a very religious state: 92% of the population is catholic, and still quite conservative. Jalisco’s also home of San Juan de los Lagos, whose small town is now one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Mexico. It receives about seven million visitors each year.
Also, the Virgin of Zapopan has her own basilica in Guadalajara with her name, though her image travels all over the place half the year.
Football
For people in Jalisco, football is almost as important as religion. The local team is Chivas, and they have their own big, really modern stadium there (also known as Omnilife stadium). Also, the recently super famous and great soccer player Chicharito Hernández (who’s obviously from Guadalajara) began his career playing for Chivas but after 2010’s World Cup, he got a contract for the Manchester United.
Architecture
Guadalajara’s full of colonial architecture, but when it comes to modern architecture, Luis Barragán, the only mexican architect to ever win a Pritzker prize (the Academy Award for architects), and one of the most important architects of the XXth century, was born in Guadalajara.
Guadalajara’s expanding as we speak, so it’s gaining lots of modern edifications that really contrast with the colonial, very mexican style.

In conclusion, I think all of this makes Guadalajara a very interesting place to visit, or why not, to live in. It’s got all the advantages of a city like Mexico City, but without the overpopulation and terrible traffic problems. It really gives the chance to get to know Mexico’s emblematic characteristics more closely, and to experience them and make them your own.