Guadalajara, The Liveable City
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Carnival like nighttime activity on the plaza |
Guadalajara may be that Latin American city I've been looking for. It's a big city (4 million plus) but yet is not choked with traffic and noise like so many others. Instead there are miles of pedestrian-only streets linking giant plazas in the historic downtown core and every afternoon (but especially Sundays) these streets have the feel of a festival with street performers and vendors, public art and music and big crowds strolling, enjoying the year round pleasant weather. They still have noisy buses trundling down the streets but they also have a small metro system and some bus routes operating with quiet electric trolleys. On Sunday, when I arrived the streets thronged with families, with couples, with clowns (seems to be a particularly popular art form here), with street musicians, with vendors selling balloons, popcorn and ice cream.
