Avenida Chapultepec, the 14-block-long stretch of walkway bordered on two sides by lush shrubs, trees and traffic, may have been eclipsed by the newer Plaza Andares as the spot for the upper classes to see and be seen, but the newly beautified boulevard nevertheless seems to have reached its zenith, offering chic and fun for Guadalajara’s middle class of all ages.
Whether you want to see cute toddlers, kissing novios, teenage boys learning the latest break dance or “jumping,” artisans selling wares a cut above the usual street fare, tall flowering trees, artistic exhibitions, dramatic fountains, bookstores or restaurants, Chapultepec has it all — and in a pleasant, outdoor setting that is much less contrived than a mall. It is situated in a moderately upscale and quiet area near the U.S. Consulate, with wider streets than are found downtown.
We begin a stroll, appropriately enough, at the southern extreme of the boulevard nearest Avenida Niños Heroes, where a towering obelisk commemorates the events from which the street takes its name — the resistance against the United States invasion by boys of a Mexico City military school based in a castle named Chapultepec in the mid-1800s. (Incidentally, before Guadalajara’s Avenida Chapultepec was so named, it was called Lafayette, after the well known French aristocrat and supporter of revolutions. A colonia and other buildings near Chapultepec, notably the high-rise Hotel Lafayette, still bear Lafayette’s name. But perhaps a better known name is Zona Rosa, a moniker given the whole area, designating it as similar to the Zona Rosa/Polanco area of Mexico City, where intellectuals, artists and high class people hobnob.)
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