Mercado Day

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Well folks, I'm back at Penn, but I had one last batch of pictures. We spent Friday in the city proper of Guadalajara, at a grand colonial building (the last building built by Spain in all of Mexico, or so Leno tells us) and at the mercado next door (largest indoor one in Latin America, again via Leno). The colonial building was originally intended to be an orphanage, but now the greatest attraction is a series of murals on the inside of the dome. They were really spectacular.

We then headed over to the mercado, which is quite an experience. Much of one side of it is dedicated to leather goods: manta ray, ostrich, and python cowboy boots; custom saddles; and, my personal favorite, knock-off purses. It seems my bargaining skills from India came in handy, as I managed to get a 30% discount on a new purse (I'm sure I was being overcharged anyway, but what can you do?). The mercado also sold watches, phones, tons of shoes, food, birds, and lots of kitsch.

Beyond that we spent a day and half just wandering around Tlaquepaque, the artisan/ex-pat enclave (a suburb of Guadalajara). I had lots of chips and salsa and guacamole, and made some wonderful purchases. One artist we often go to is Salvador Vasquez, who sells his work out of a little shop (also his home) in Tonola, another Guadalajara neighborhood. He's renouned as one of Mexico's greatest folk artists. I bought a small painted dog from him for 500 pesos (about US$45), which we then saw being sold in an upscale Tlaquepaque shop for more than US$300. It's nice when that kind of thing happens. I've included pictures of the perrito, which i call El Amiguito de Sphinx, since he's just about the right size for Brian's and my new kitten, Sphinx.

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Comments

[Mina]

El Perrito
MUY BIEN!!!