The Guadalajara Reporter

City Living - November 2, 2013

TlaquepArte

Biannual arts and crafts festival TlaquepArte opened Thursday, October 31 and runs through Monday, November 4 at the Centro Cultural El Refugio in Tlaquepaque.

This giant bazaar provides a great opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping and choose from a wide range of candles, ceramics, wrought iron, pottery, blown glass, paintings, clothes, fabrics, jewelry and much more, available directly from the artisans. There will also be exhibits of altars honoring the dead (including a competition) as the event coincides with Dia de los Muertos.

The popular event has been running since 1997 and features over 200 exhibitors from all over Mexico and Latin America. There will even be some exotic products from India, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey.

TlaquepArte is open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily at the Centro Cultural El Refugio, Donato Guerra 160, Centro Tlaquepaque.

Day of the Dead

A number of Day of the Dead altars will be on display in the Guadalajara metropolitan area this weekend. Here’s a selection:

- The Instituto Cultural Cabañas will feature an altar created by Everado Hernandez (a noted altar builder) on November 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.

- The Centro Cultural El Refugio in Tlaquepaque (Donato Guerra 160) is sponsoring an altar competition from October 31 to November 4, at the same time as the TlaquepArte fair (see above).

- Visitors to Tonala can view the altar erected outside the municipal palace in the main plaza, as well as watch cultural performances in the early evening.

- The Museo de Arte Populares (San Felipe 211) will have an altar on view from November 1 though 3, with free nightly music recitals at 7 p.m. on each day.

- The Museo de la Ciudad (Independecia 684) is putting up altars dedicated to Jose Guadalupe Posada, Jorge Matute Remus and Matias Goeritz.

- Plaza Andares (Acueducto and Patria) will be allowing students to make “floral carpets” on Sunday, November 3, while a Day of the Dead “flash mob” is expected to descend on the mall at around 5 p.m.

- The Plaza de las Americas in Zapopan (facing the Basilica) will host dozens of Day of the Dead events on Sunday, November 3, from 4 p.m.  Loteria, choirs, free samples of bread and chocolate, a flash mob and an exhibit of catrinas are all on the schedule.

H&M in Plaza Galerias

The popular Swedish clothing retailer H&M opens its first branch in Guadalajara on Saturday, November 9.

Famed for its stylish but affordable clothing range, H&M produces apparel for men, women and children, including limited edition lines from famous guest designers such as Beyonce and Kate Moss.

H&M opened its first Mexican store in Mexico City last year. The Guadalajara branch is located in Plaza Galerias, one of the city’s biggest and most popular shopping malls, at the intersection of Avenida Vallarta and Rafel Sanzio.

View H&M’s Mexican catalogue at www.hm.com/mx.