The 25 photographs that make up the exhibit “Rostros de Zapopan” (Faces of Zapopan) show more than what meets the eye. The show was apparently intended to document a representative smattering of the city’s workers in their environments — bakers, store clerks, plumbers, even a photographer.
This the small show does well. But in addition, it suggests the surprisingly wide girth of Zapopan, which surrounds Guadalajara on its north, west and south sides and comprises an area at least double that of its better known, more urbanized and more sophisticated sister.
Even the show’s location, in the relatively new and sparkling Archivo Muncipal, which is situated between the Auditorio Telmex and the striking athletics arena built for the recent Pan American Games, suggests something of Zapopan’s new and growing character.
Of course, the center of the municipality, and the part that generally comes to mind when one hears the name Zapopan, is the Basilica de la Virgen de Zapopan, which isn’t even in the same neck of the woods as the Archivo.
And the 22 photographers who shot the photos in the show could have taken them almost anywhere in the municipality that was, about 20 years ago, the number one corn-producing region in all Mexico. But now Zapopan is an affiliated and somewhat suburbanized group of towns that seems to crop up everywhere you turn in the metropolitan area. It stretches roughly out to Tequila at one extreme, takes in a wild barranca gorge in the north and includes some notably cushy suburbs. With Tlaquepaque, Tlajomulco, Tonala and of course Guadalajara, Zapopan makes five municipalities in one urban area — and it is probably the easiest to pronounce.
Some of the defining characteristics of Zapopan at its present stage of growth are, yes, the Basilica and its Franciscan guardians, and, yes, corn — one sees representations of it in Zapopan’s public art in various locations.
In addition, there are spots steeped in history going back to the earliest days after the Conquest of Mexico (the Basilica and Atemajac) plus a vibrant cultural cadre that includes the city’s culture department and the Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), which is the metropolitan museum that most resembles the type of museum that many foreigners are accustomed to.
The photo exhibit makes a pleasant stop any weekday (Monday to Friday) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Monday, February 27. Dr. Luis Farah 1080, Zapopan. (33) 3818-2200, Ext. 1640, 1641 and 1629. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Admission is free.