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Guadalajara, Jalisco This article is about the Mexican city of Guadalajara. For other meanings, see Guadalajara (disambiguation) is a large city in the Western-Pacific region of Mexico, located at 20.67° N 103.35° W. Guadalajara is the capital of the state of Jalisco. During the Colonial era, Guadalajara became the capital of Nueva Galicia and after the Mexican War of Independence it became the capital of the Intendencia of Guadalajara.

It is the second most populous city in Mexico, with an estimated population of 4,640,000 people in 2004. The Guadalajara metropolitan area also includes the municipalities of Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, Tlajomulco, and Ixtlahuacán. The estimated population of the metropolitan area was 6.3 million in 2004.

Guadalajara is known as i. The city is also the birthplace of mariachi music and charreadas. The city is named after Guadalajara, Spain whose name originates from the Arabic i, meaning "River Running Between Rocks". The city refers to itself as the Silicon Valley of Mexico. Such high-technology companies as General Electric, IBM, Intel, Hitachi, and Hewlett Packard have facilities in the city or its suburbs.

The Universidad de Guadalajara, the state's public university, has its main campuses and administrative offices here. Guadalajara is also home of private universities such as ITESO, ITESM, and UNIVA.

Guadalajara is home to three popular soccer teams: Chivas, Atlas and Tecos.

Guadalajara has a bus system which covers all of Guadalajara proper, as well as the surrounding municipalities conforming the greater Guadalajara area, as well as an electric train system, and the Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport.

There are four so-called megaprojects currently under development in Guadalajara:

The Guggenheim Museum: Its location has been approved; budget and permissions were ok'd by the local government.

Torrena: The largest cultural and economical center in the city, currently under construction.

JVC Center: A huge complex of buildings and malls for cultural activities. On the drawing board.

Universidad de Guadalajara: The university consists in 6 specialized campuses spread all over the city:

CUCS (Health: Medicine, Psychology...)

CUCEI (Sciences: Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanics...)

CUCEA (Economics: Business, Economics, International Commerce...)

CUCSH (Social Studies: Law, Philosophy, Sociology...)

CUAAD (Arts: Music, Architecture, Interior Design, Graphic Design...)

CUCBA (Natural Sciences: Biology, Veterinary) and 5 other campuses located across the state.

The project is to gather the 6 CU's and locate them in only one mega-complex created from scratch. It will be a huge task to move all the buildings of 6 campus and to add new buildings like housing facilities (non-existent as of now).

Guadalajara is also known for the great disaster of April 22, 1992, which took place in the downtown district of Analco. Numerous explosions originated in the sewer system, which was inexplicabaly saturated with gasoline fumes and gasoline. During a period of four hours, several explosions destroyed kilometers of streets; in particular, Gante street was the most damaged. The force of the explosions was such, that some newspaper pictures show a bus atop a two-storied building's rooftop. Officially 206 people were killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 were left homeless. The affected area can be recognized by the more modern architecture, in sheer contrast with the surrounding area, with much older buildings. To date, Pemex, does not accept any responsibility for the enormous amounts of gasoline found in the sewage system, althoug it agreed to create a fund to compensate the families afected by this catstrophe. Pemex is a state agency solely responsible for drilling, refining, distributing and selling all oil products in Mexico.

Guadalajara is a site of major seismological activity with a high-scale earthquake occurring about every 80 years.

Guadalajara is the second oldest "city" in México (Charles V gave Guadalajara that title after being founded), and is consequently full of ancient buildings.

Catedral Metropolitana de Guadalajara, located on Avenida Alcalde (the main street), is the most important icon of the city, and seat of the Catholic Church in the State.

Plaza de Armas: (Arms Square) On the south side of the Cathedral, is the main square and has been the scene of many important moments in Mexican History. On the center is a beautiful Art Deco Kiosk bought in France for the centennial of the Mexican War of Independence, the pillars are semi-nude women carrying musical instruments, and on the base of each one is written the inion: Voltaire St. 5-D Paris, France.

On each corner of the square there's a statue representing one of the four seasons.

The Square, as most of the city, went through a mayor overhaul when it hosted the "Summit of State Heads of Latin America and the Caribbean".

Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres: Located on the North side of the Cathedral, serves as a mausoleum for the most important politics, writers, artists and teachers born in the city.

Plaza de La Liberación: (Freedom Square) On the East side of the Cathedral, serves as a multi-purpose location for outdoor shows, political campaigns and all sorts of cultural events. It receives its name from the fact that Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla abolished slavery while he was on the Palacio de Gobierno on the south side of the square. It's surrounded by the Teatro Degollado, Palacio de Gobierno, Cathedral, the School of Music, the Church of Saint Agustin and the Supreme Court.

Teatro Degollado: (Degollado Theater) Named after the Governor who ordered its construction, it's the most important cultural reference on the city, built during the government of President Porfirio Díaz because of the lack of a proper city Theater. It hosted some of the most important events and parties of the pre-revolutionary Guadalajara, during the Mexican Belle-Epoque.

Plaza Fundadores: (Founder's Square) Behind the Teatro Degollado, it is the spot where the spanish gathered to found a new city they called "Guadalajara"; nowadays it serves as a reminder of the city's Spanish heritage.

Teatro Diana: (Diana's Theater) Formerly known as "Cine Diana" (Diana movie theater), it fell out of business in the 70's and was left abandoned until in 2000 the Universidad de Guadalajara bought it and rebuilt it to create the largest theater in the city.

Expo Guadalajara: Another building owned by the University, it is the largest and most modern multipurpouse area. Every year in November it hosts the FIL (International Book Fair), and in April it hosts Papirolas (a children-oriented fair). It's located a few blocks from Plaza del Sol, Guadalajara's World Trade Center and across the street from the Guadalajara Expo Hilton.

Plaza del Sol: (Sun's Plaza) The largest outdoor mall in the city, it's located on one of the main economic centers of the city.

Torrena: Located next to Plaza del Sol, it will open in 2007 as the largest comercial and cultural center in the city.

The Minerva: A monument on the center of a fountain, with an oversized calendar made out of flowers, it welcomes tourists coming from Zapopan, and guards the Arcos de Guadalajara, one of the main entrances to the city, located on Avenida Vallarta. The main figure is a giant representation of Minerva with full armor on, holding a spear and a shield with Medusa's Head. It also becomes the "hotspot" where Football (Soccer) fans (both young and old) converge whenever the Mexican National Team or the local Chivas Rayadas del Guadalajara score a "key" victory.

Galerias Guadalajara: Finished in 2004, it's the largest, most modern shopping mall in the city. It emulates American shopping malls and holds multiple brands of clothing, food and home accesories.