Guadalajara, birth place of the mariachi, is located in the state of Jalisco in central Mexico. The capital city of Guadalajara is Guadalajara, and the city is ranked the most tourist-friendly in Mexico a result of its youthful population and low unemployment rate. Whenever someone visits any city in Guadalajara no matter how urban or rural, there is always music playing in the air. Literally. The home of the mariachi provides live musical entertainment in nearly every restaurant in Guadalajara, and whenever someone has eleven musical men playing folk music in the background there is sure to be a good time. This is the happiest, most accommodating city in Mexico, especially for young tourists and international exchange students.
A central traveling location for Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, lots of tourists can enjoy the conveniences of urban life and then spend an afternoon ride to one of these beach resorts to enjoy the Pacific beach life. For those who prefer a more laid back atmosphere, Lake Chapala is a mountain town well known for huaraches, or handmade leather sandals, and hand painted ceramics. The views are postcard perfect, and for the brave, small wooden boats offer a tour of the lake or tourists can go horseback around the lake.
The main industry is manufacturing providing lots of shopping for shoes and other leather products. Guadalajara has the world's only mall dedicated to only shoe stores, and it is massive in size. In the Centro, the city square, magnificant buildings stand guard around the open air courtyards filled with laughing children and kissing couples. The Circle of Illustrious Men is a gigantic stone ring with statues of famous and influential people from Guadalajara history. The teatro features performances from the Ballet Folklorico, a colorful dancing opera that is a tradition to Guadalajara. Any visit to Guadalajara is going to bring exciting memories for any person.
