Introduction

Welcome!
My name is Ivette Gonzalez. I am a second year at San Diego State University currently double majoring in Psychology and Spanish with a minor in Biology. I really love traveling and I will be writing about some hidden gems in Mexico. My blog will focus on talking about towns in Jalisco that are not as well known as the big cities. I'll add some history about the town and the traditions that happen there. I really like small towns because it has a more inviting environment. I find that going to lesser known places is more relaxing because you do not have to deal with huge crowded areas caused by tourism. You also get to learn more about the culture within the town. In this blog I will talk about how I experienced this in all of the small towns I visited.

Tapalpa: What to do

Taplpa, Mexico, Jalisco

First look is our biggest city on the list.
      Tapalpa is known for its cabins, the ATV routes and the big stones. Many tourists go to this place to ride their ATVs around the city as it is a bigger town but less populated than a city. Also, because the town in located around a forest, there are many popular ATV routes where you can find caves and a beautiful scenery as well as an exciting ride.

The Cabins

      One of the main attractions of this place is the stones named "Las Piedrotas" located just 10 minutes from the actual city. It is a very known landmark and has a nice scenery as well as a few activities such as rock climbing. Before you enter the path to the stones there are two good restaurants you could visit before or after your trip.
      As mentioned earlier, Tapalpa is also known for its cabins. Because it is in a forest area many people go to rent cabins or even buy cabins as a vacation spot. If you were to visit Tapalpa I would recommend you rent a cabin and make the most out of your trip! Renting a cabin there is relatively inexpensive and it would be about the same if you get a hotel but would get a better experience out of it!

More information on Las Piedrotas:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g670009-d7689152-Reviews-Las_Piedrotas-Tapalpa.html

Tapalpa: Where to eat and shop!

Historical Church of Tapalpa

   In Mexico, religion is a big part of the culture. Tapalpa is known for its huge church because of the architecture. Around this huge church lots of flea markets and smaller stores to buy souvenirs. Within the town square many vendors get together and sell different kinds of snack type foods. For example, they sell corn on the cob, corn tamales, ice cream, fruit and all other kinds of delicious foods. I highly recommend trying the ice cream, it is a creamy ice cream but it is unique in its flavor. 

Town Square

Shopping Center

Lamb cooked in charcoal 

Around Tapalpa there are many different types of great restaurants to try out but Tapalpa is known for their lamb. It is unique in how they make it because they make it on a charcoal grill which is what helps to keep the flavor when it is cooking. I would definitely recommend trying the lamb at any restaurant in Tapalpa as it is their specialty and for a good reason.

Vergal Restaurant

La Huerta

Our next hidden gem is La Huetra, Jaliso Mexico.

La Huerta, Jalisco, Mexico

Some delicious seafood!

La Huerta is unique in the fact that it is the closest town to the beach that we will talk about in this blog. Something fun people do in this town is ride their ATVs to the beach and enjoy the sunny day while also riding their ATVs on the sand. Since this town is located near the beach you can expect to find some good seafood for a decent price! The plaza shown in the first picture above is a place for town gatherings. Every Sunday a band comes to play in the center of the plaza and the people of the town get together for a dance.

The beach by La Huerta

La Huerta: Traditions

The traditions in La Huerta is what brings the people together to celebrate and also the time when people living in the United States come back to celebrate with the people of their town. There are two important traditions we will talk about today.

August 15: People of all ages, sizes and gender ride their horses from town to town with a traditional Mexican band behind them. Once they get to their destination the whole crowd gathers together in teams to create t-shirts and floats. After the floats are made each team shows off their float in a parade and also the "queen of the day" is announced and walks around at this parade. The night ends with a dance at the town square.
You can watch the full event below!

Another important tradition is a dance for the whole town where they raise funds to later be used for the town with any expenses they need to cover. After the dance the whole town is invited to each a variety of traditional Mexican foods as a way to give back to the people.

Talpa

Talpa is another one of the bigger towns but it is a great place to go shopping for all those souvenirs. One of the main attractions is the flea market in this town.

This town is known for many religious reasons. The first being that an important saint is kept in the church of this town. This place would be great to visit if you would like to learn more about Catholicism. During the months of March and April, there are many different festivals. In these festivals they sell a variety of foods, do performances of traditional dances and there is also many different types of bands that perform.








Lastly, if you are not into learning about religion, this town has great hiking trails. There are tours offered year round!

Ayotitlan

Today we look at another hidden gem, this town is found within the mountains, literally. I would recommend to visit this town in December because that is when all the fun stuff happens. In December, each town hosts a series of rodeos for two weeks. And although every town hosts them, Ayotitlan is known for hosting the best rodeos. Every weekend, Ayotitilan brings in big named bands to these rodeos and people from different towns gather at the stadium. It's relatively cheap because when you buy your entrance ticket, you are getting a rodeo and a dance afterwards inside the ring.


This town is pretty quite for most of the year, but I would highly recommend coming in December and attending these rodeos. The people that come to these shows are friendly and social. I would suggest to bring a couple of friends enjoy a couple of drinks, try the different snacks they sell and enjoy a good show.

A couple of friends having a good time and enjoying the show!

Tecolotlan: February Time Fun!

Tecolotlan is a bigger town than some of the towns we have talked about, but it is still definitely a hidden gem. This town is known for two things, it's stores and the parties. When you get to the center of Tecolotlan, you will find yourself surrounded by a variety of types of stores, vendors, and even musicians playing every now and then. It's interesting because it's a mix of an outside mall and a farmer's market.

From 12-1pm the store owners take their lunch.

In February, this town has a tradition of having a two week long celebration. Every day is something different, but they all bring the people together for some food and drinking. There are parades, where they have floats and compete for which organization has the best one. They also have parades where they showcase the indigenous dances. Every year, a new queen is crowned and there are also a variety of people honored from the town. Some other celebrations include rodeos, dances and food festivals.

Indigenous Dances

I would recommend to come in February for these celebrations, you will definitely meet some locals along the way and just have a good time celebrating this town.

Where new friends are made.

Best Float?

Chiquilistlan

Breakfast!

The last hidden gem we will be looking at today is Chiquilistlan, Jalisco. This town is actually my inspiration for this blog. Both of my parents were born and grew up here. Chiquilistlan is the place that started my love for hidden gems. I enjoyed coming every year to celebrate the different traditions as well as getting to know more people along the way. Because towns are generally small, like this one, we have sustainable practices that may seem a bit old school. For example, one of my favoraite things to do when I come here is drinking fresh milk, and what I mean by fresh is drinking it straight from the cow! As weird as that may sound it is quite good and so refreshing for breakfast in the morning. Out of all of the towns I've shown, this is the only one that does this. Milking cows every day and delivering to each house is just one of the many ways that the town feeds it people while helping the environment.

      

Enjoying the waterfall on a hot day!

ATV riding
 

Chiquilistlan, Time to Celebrate

Chiquilistlan has a variety of celebrations and traditions throughout the year.
The first is the big soccer tournament in the months of March and April. Each town has their team of young boys who represent them within this soccer tournament. Even if you are not into sports, going to these tournaments is a great experience as you will find yourself cheering for a team you don't even know, the atmosphere and the people put you in a cheering mood. The tournament is a week long and after each round of games, the town gathers around to eat and when it gets to its final two days, there are parties. People gather around the plaza to eat, drink and dance.

Where the band performs.

The second set of celebrations is in December. As I have mentioned before Mexico's culture is hugely embedded with religion. Two weeks before Christmas we have a set of parades. There is one in the morning that consists of indigenous dances and a variety of other segments. Then there is one at night where the town walks from church to the designated person's house and they chant and sing on the way there. When they get there a dinner is provided, full of delicious traditional Mexican food!