Tequila bound
The Tequila Express tourist train will add extra days to its regular schedule during the Pan American Games to cater to the large number of visitors expected for the event. The all-day train ride to Amatitan and Casa Herradura’s Hacienda San Jose del Refugio tequila distillery will run five days a week (Wednesday through Sunday) from October 14 through the end of the month.
The train leaves the Guadalajara railroad station at 9 a.m. and returns at 6:30 p.m. Passengers are served tequila and are serenaded by mariachis as the train passes through miles of agave fields before arriving in just under two hours at Amititan, located a few miles before the town of Tequila.
Guests are shown around the modern factory and its museum, and see how the agave plants are harvested. They are then wined and dined and treated to displays of folk dance and music, before making the train trip back to Guadalajara – with more tequila served, of course.
The cost of the day trip is 1,200 pesos for adults and 800 for children aged from 6 to 11. Seniors with INSEN discount cards pay 1,080 pesos.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.tequilaexpress.com.mx, toll-free at 01-800-5039720 or in person at CANACO-SERVYTUR, Av. Vallarta 4095, corner of Niño Obrero in Guadalajara, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Guadalajara railroad station is located on Av. Washington, corner of Calzada Indepencia Sur.
October dates for the Tequila Express are: October 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
There is also a shorter Friday nocturnal trip aimed at a younger crowd, which leaves at 6:30 p.m. and returns to Guadalajara after midnight. The cost is 960 pesos.
British meet
The next gathering of British residents and their friends takes place on Saturday, October 22, 8.30 p.m. at Le Brasserie Restuarant, Prisciliano Sanchez 1171 (round the corner from Lopez Cotilla). These are informal get-togethers when everyone brings a bottle and a food dish. There will be no restaurant service on this day. Call (33) 3825-2182 for more information.
Metropolitano Park
As part of a cultural week in Guadalajara’s Parque Metropolitano (Beethoven 5800, Colonia La Estancia) running from October 22-30, a team of 500 Mexican graffiti artists will unite in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.
Timed to coincide with the Pan American Games, the artists aim to paint the world’s largest mural in the park on Saturday, October 22. Each artist will have an area of four square meters to spray paint images with the themes of peace and sport.
The mural is planned to be two kilometers long and 1.5 meters high, making it larger than the current record holder in Malaysia, which measures 1,678 square meters.
“We want it to have a meaning, a message. We join the call for peace around the world and we believe the framework we have today with the Pan American Games is ideally suited to this,” says Antonio Sandoval, from Fusion Colectivo Jalisco, who will participate in painting the mural.
The Parque Metropolitano has invested 500,000 pesos in organizing the cultural week, which will also include dance performances, art, film, crafts, puppets, rock and other events.
Many of the activities will be related to Veracruz, the guest of honor, with a rare opportunity to watch the traditional Papantla Flyers in Guadalajara on the opening day. This pre-Hispanic ritual which originated in Papantla, Veracruz, involves dancers attached to ropes launching themselves from a 30-meter pole and descending gracefully to the ground.
To keep the kids entertained there will be drama, puppetry, storytelling and clay workshops.
Meanwhile, 80 artisans from Jalisco, Puebla, Michoacan and Veracruz will be selling their products to visitors throughout the week.
Reminder: the Beer Festival takes place this weekend in the Metropolitano park (Oct.14-16).