The Guadalajara Reporter

City Living - October 22, 2011

Catrinas

Day of the Dead is just around the corner and city hall has given its blessing to another public display of catrinas in the downtown area. These are skeleton figures, often dressed in uptown attire, which reflect Mexico’s tongue-in-cheek, undaunted close relationship with death.

Tequila Expo

Timed to coincide with the Pan American Games, the 2011 Tlaquepaque Tequila Expo is open until Sunday, October 23, with tasting sessions and the best tequilas on sale at factory prices.

And fortunately for teetotalers, there’s not just tequila on offer, but also traditional Mexican food, candy, wine and coffee, as well as local artisan produce. There are competitions planned, pitting local bartenders and chefs against one another to find, respectively, the best cocktails and dishes in Guadalajara.

As if all that wasn’t enough, there will also be a mariachi festival and an exhibition of film and photography from the Mexican Revolution, courtesy of the Regional Ceramics Museum.

Located in Tlaquepaque on Independencia and Plaza Springfield, the Tequila Expo is open from October 19-23, from midday to 8 p.m. Entry is free.

Tlaquepaque hosts free music and dance performances in the Jardin Hidalgo throughout the Pan American Games, from 6 p.m. daily.

Linea Turquesa

After eight months out of circulation, the luxury Linea Turquesa buses returned to Guadalajara’s streets last week

The 20 new buses, which cost 1.5 million pesos each, are equipped with 41 comfortable seats, security cameras, GPS, televisions and air conditioning. It will cost a further 80,000 pesos per bus for an electronic payment machine to be installed in each vehicle within the next month.

The buses pass every ten minutes on the Route 703-A and B circuits that begin in El Colli, Zapopan, encompassing Avenida Guadalupe, Tchaikovski, Tepeyac and San Rafael, before rejoining Guadalupe and then following Lopez Mateos, Circunvalacion Division del Norte and Alcalde.

Although officially permitted to charge up to 11.5 pesos, Linea Turqesa will keep ticket prices at just 10 pesos.

Huichol Beetle returns

A Volkswagen Bug elaborately covered in nearly three million colored beads has returned from Mexico City to Guadalajara, where it was first decorated last year. The car, nicknamed “El Vochol,” will be on display in the foyer of the Teatro Degollado until November 1. Created by two families, one from Jalisco and the other from Nayarit, the car is covered in the traditional patterns of the indigenous Huichol culture. It took nearly seven months of work, 12 hours a day, to complete. Culture Secretary Alejandro Cravioto said after the Pan American Games the plan is for the car to go to Europe, “and once this tour ends it will go before public auction.”

Halloween party

Saturday, October 29, Amsoc teams up with a local Toastmasters group for a costume-optional Halloween bash including music, dancing and games. A cash bar is available and a potluck supper will be served. a $25 peso fee is collected to sweeten the pot from those who wish to join in the costume contest. Doors open 7:30 p.m. Admission is 60 pesos. (See advertisement page 2.)

Urban knitting

Part of a global “harmless graffiti” movement, a team of local weavers will present their work in an urban gallery this Saturday. Those involved leave brightly colored fabrics adorning lampposts and parking meters, lending an air of freshness and color to the city without causing any permanent damage.

Besides beautifying urban furniture, the movement seeks to break stereotypes about the purpose of weaving, demonstrating that it is not an activity unique to old ladies making sweaters and scarves. Since June the weavers have decorated public spaces such as the Parque Revolution, the Parque Metropolitano, the tren Ligero and the Niños Heroes Glorieta.

The idea for the urban gallery arose from the group’s desire to display their artwork in a space where it can remain longer, as most previous works have disappeared quickly. The fifth urban knitting exhibition takes place on Avenida La Paz 1368, between Rayon and Camarena, on Saturday, October 22 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and October 23, 29 and 30 from midday to 8 p.m.

Breast cancer

To raise awareness for breast cancer and the importance of regular checkups, Voluntariado Vive and the Decidete a Reconstruirte foundation are planning to form the world’s biggest human chain in the shape of a loop.

The participating women, many of whom have suffered from breast cancer, will be dressed in pink as they try to break the Guinness world record for the most number of women joined together in this way.

The attempt will take place in the Plaza Tapatia on Sunday, November 6, at 9.30 a.m. Throughout the Pan American Games there will be a stand with more information in the Fan Fest on Avenida Chapultepec.