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 Vallarta Living | January 2006 
Viviendo en México - Guad 2
 Korah Winn - PVNN
| | During the afternoon, we got to see an authentic Mariachi band play. |
Guadalajara - One thing that has been a huge necessity for me since moving to Mexico is having language partners. I had quite a few while I lived in Puerto Vallarta and it greatly enriched my experience. I wanted the same opportunity in Guadalajara so I signed up for a friendship program through my school.
I was introduced to Juan Pablo and he promptly invited me to come see different parts of Guadalajara with him while we practiced Spanish and English. I could not have been happier to have a new friend who also just happens to have a car.
One of the first things we had the opportunity to do is to go to the southern part of Guadalajara and visit Tlaquepaque (TLAW k paw k.) Tlaquepaque is a well-known area that a lot of people make time to visit because in it are many authentic elements of Jalisco (haw LEES ko), which is the state that Guadalajara is within.
Juan Pablo and I ate a restaurant in a building that had a huge courtyard with a gazebo in the center of it. We sat underneath tall trees with birds flying overhead and the open sky stretched out above us.
During the afternoon, free entertainment was provided. We got to see an authentic Mariachi band play. When they finished, traditional ballet folklorico dancers came up on stage to perform. When we finished eating, we stepped outside and viewed beautifully decorated Catholic churches with cupolas. They were the same ones that grace the fronts of postcard from here.
Tlaquepaque is known for being a tourist spot, so with tourism comes opportunity. Many entrepreneurs set up stands nearby the main plaza and sell all kinds of goods. You can find anything from a pair of tennis shoes to vanilla flavoring.
I am definitely not much of a shopper. I prefer not to buy things from places just to say I have been there, so the shopping did not entice me at all. Juan Pablo and I were walking past the stands and I would not been tempted in the least except that some masks happened to catch my eye.
These were not just any masks mind you; these were the masks of luchadors. Ok, so what in the world is a luchador? A luchador is a masked, Mexican wrestler. Mexican wrestling has all the shock value of American pro wrestling but throw in the added lack of reserve from the anonymity that masks provide.
The combination is an absolutely entertaining and over the top display of machismo. I have briefly seen some of it on television but it looks as though I am going to have the chance to see it first hand while living here in Guadalajara. I have a Mexican friend named Jorge who absolutely insists I need to come and see it with my own eyes so he invited me to go with him and his friends. It should be a blast.
Needless to say, after seeing those masks, I stopped to take a look around. I ended up finding a hilarious gift for my brother Jonas. I spent about forty pesos (four dollars) and went on my way very content.
All of this makes me very grateful to have language partners. Through their help, I am shown a side of Mexico that I would never see from the point of view of a single tourist. I have had opportunities with them in the past that let me understand their culture so much more because I am getting to experience it from the side of someone who lives it every day. |
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