The Mexican city of Guadalajara has served, since colonial times, as one of the strongest cultural hubs in the country and, as the capital of the state of Jalisco, it has absorbed, and contributed to adapt, many traditions from neighbouring towns and places. Being the second largest city in Mexico and the tenth most important city in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, Guadalajara's cultural wealth has taken on an important role in the social, professional and economic sectors. Many well-known Mexican symbols have their origin in or around Guadalajara such as

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...

, mariachi music, and, more recently, contemporary music such as

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. Guadalajara is a city with a great number of contemporary artists in the country; in dance, theatre, music, photography, cinema, design, architecture, etc.; it also has pioneers in the

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...

al arts. The federal government represents and supports the cultural movement, but the young people are a very important point in the diffusion, creation, support and consumption of the culture in Guadalajara, becoming a whole lifestyle for Guadalajaran young people. During the last couple of years the city has evolved into a dynamic meeting place for artists, educators and intellectuals. Artists who were born here include Dr. Atl, Federico Fabregat,

Mauricio Toussaint Mauricio Toussaint is a contemporary artist of French and Mexican descent. Toussaint entered the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara to obtain a degree in architecture (he graduated in 1985 with a bachelor's degree). During this time, he was ...

, Scott Neri,

Luis Barragán Luis Ramiro Barragán Morfín (March 9, 1902 – November 22, 1988) was a Mexican architect and engineer. His work has influenced contemporary architects visually and conceptually. Barragán's buildings are frequently visited by international ...

, Paula Santiago, Jonathan Fraulin and Oscar Alvarado. Also ballet dancer Brenda Velez. Among others who took Guadalajara as their home are architects Alexander Zohn,

David Rockwell David Rockwell (born July 25, 1956) is an American architect and designer. He is the founder and president of Rockwell Group, a 250-person cross-disciplinary architecture and design practice based in New York City with satellite offices in Madrid ...

and

Mathias Goeritz Werner Mathias Goeritz Brunner (4 April 1915, Danzig, German Empire – 4 August 1990, Mexico City) was a Mexican painter and sculptor of German origin. After spending much of the 1940s in North Africa and Spain, he and his wife, photographer ...

and painters such as José Fors, Félix Bernardelli, Lucía Maya,

Lewis Kant Lewis Kant (born 1952 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-born Mexican artist and writer who has lived most of his life in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Lewis Kant-Roterman Kant from an early age devoted himself to modeling and painting, obtaining in 1967 ...

and José Clemente Orozco.

Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California ...

musician Xavier Quijas Yxayotl was also born here. The renowned Nopal Beat Records label is based in Guadalajara. Art movement NeoSon was started in Guadalajara by a group of young musicians, being Josué one of its main exponents. Here was also born actor

Enrique Álvarez Félix Enrique Álvarez Félix (5 April 1934 – 24 May 1996) was a Mexican actor, known for his roles in telenovelas and in films, such as '' The Monastery of the Vultures'' and '' The House of the Pelican''. Family and personal life Enrique Álvarez ...

, who starred in '' Marisol''. Guadalajara was the 2005

American Capital of Culture The non-governmental organization American Capital of Culture Organization selects one city in the Americas annually to serve as the American Capital of Culture for a period of one year. The organization claims the initiative is based closely on th ...

. Some of the events hosted in the city are: *

Guadalajara International Book Fair The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL (from its Spanish name: Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara) is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt's. It is als ...

the second largest Book Fair in the world and the most important event of its kind in the Spanish-speaking world. *

Guadalajara International Film Festival The Guadalajara International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara) is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara since 1986. The presence in Guadalajara of delegates from other impor ...

considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America. It was founded, among others, by Guillermo del Toro.Del Toro as a force behind the Guadalajara International Film Festival and the Sundance Festiva
Filmbug
/ref> *CHROMA Independent

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

festival. It is financed by ITESO and the

University of Guadalajara The University of Guadalajara ( es, Universidad de Guadalajara) is a public higher education institution in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. The university has several high schools as well as graduate and undergraduate campuses, which are distr ...

References

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External links

Guadalajara International Book FairGuadalajara International Film FestivalCHROMA
Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexican culture