National holiday
On Monday, March 16, Mexico marks the birth of Benito Juarez, one of the nation’s most respected presidents.
All schools will close, as will diplomatic missions and government agencies. Many stores will also have the day off.
Guadalajara’s Sunday Via RecreActiva (when many streets are closed to traffic for cycling, jogging and walking) will be extended through the holiday Monday, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
John the serial killer
John Malkovich is coming to the Pearl of the West to star in “The Infernal Comedy,” a play about Jack Unterweger. Unterweger was an Austrian a serial killer and writer released from prison in 1990 as a model of rehabilitation, only to kill again and eventually take his own life. Malkovich and playwright Michael Sturminger focus on the dichotomies in the charming writer and murderer of women. At Teatro Diana, Wednesday, April 18, 9 p.m. Tickets 550 pesos and up.
John the decoration
Mercado San Juan de Díos now has an artwork dedicated to its namesake. Placed in the main patio of the market by the Department of Culture Thursday, March 8, Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega was on hand to celebrate Mass at the inauguration. The Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra also played a rendition of their recent program. The bronze statue’s 280,000-peso cost was paid in half by the city government and half by the tenants of the market.
However, the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA) declared the market a National Artistic Patrimony in 2004. As such, city hall should have gone through the INBA to clear the statue. They did not. For now, the consequences of ignoring this step are unclear, but it is unlikely the statue will be removed.
San Juan de Díos was a 16th-century Portuguese-Spaniard who disseminated Bibles and started the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God to care for the poor.
Colorful skulls
Sunday, March 18, an exhibit of painted skulls will be on display under the Matute Remus Bridge at Lazaro Cardenas and Lopez Mateos. The unusual collection of 11 colorful skulls can be seen during the hours of the Via RecreActiva, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Andares hotel
Guadalajara’s luxury Andares mall will soon have its own hotel. Discussions are currently taking place with three hotel operators, said the mall’s manager, Alejandro de la Torre, confirming that one of these will be selected by May at the latest.
The 240-room hotel would add to the 21,500 hotel rooms already on offer in the metropolitan area. With such a saturated market, just 49 percent of rooms were occupied last year. Aside from the hotel, another apartment block and corporate offices are also planned beside the upmarket shopping center.
Upcoming soccer games
Leones Negros vs. Correcaminos U.A.T. (Estadio Jalisco) Friday, March 16, 8.45 p.m.
Atlas vs. Jaguares (Estadio Jalisco) Saturday, March 17, 8.45 p.m.
Guadalajara Chivas vs. Toluca (Estadio Omnilife) Saturday, March 24, 7 p.m.