Guadalajara's 3.5 million inhabitants make it Mexico's second-largest
city, far behind gargantuan Mexico City. The capital of the state of Jalisco,
Guadalajara also ranks as the country's second financial hub. Its economy
depends on the export of food, toys, textiles, tequila, iron and steel products and
more. Considered the most Mexican city of all, it is the birthplace of mariachi music
and the Jalisco charro (cowboy). Its carefully preserved 18th-century edifices,
Orozco's murals and the artisan epicenters of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá
give Guadalajara great cultural appeal.
