Mexico Guide
Northern Jalisco and Michoacán
Plaza Tapatía
Behind the theatre is the beginning of the Plaza Tapatía, with its view all the way down to the Hospicio Cabañas, home to another set of Orozco's murals. Although the plaza was only constructed in the late nineteenth century (by demolishing some of the city's oldest neighbourhoods), it manages to look as if it has always been there. It takes its name from tapatío – an adjective used to describe anything typical of Guadalajara, supposedly derived from the capes worn by Spanish grandees (Guadalajarans themselves are often referred to as Tapatíos). Almost entirely lined with swish department stores and glossy office buildings, it's also dotted with modern statuary and fountains – an undeniably attractive place to wander and window-shop.
At its eastern end, the plaza opens out to a broad paved area full of wacky anthropomorphic bronze sculptures, the work of Guadalajara native Alejandro Colunga. Stretched, squashed and generally distorted human figures form chairs, their patinas rubbed shiny by thousands of tired shoppers and tourists.