An outstanding collection of photographs commemorating 200 years since the founding of Jalisco as a free, sovereign state is on display until March 17 at Guadalajara’s Instituto Cultural Cabañas.
The show, entitled “Jalisco en 200 Imagenes,” is an opportunity to savor the visual riches of the area (apart from those in the Cabañas itself, designated by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity site).
The impetus for the exhibit came from Guadalajara’s Chamber of Commerce, which organized a competition among both professionals and amateurs. It attracted broad interest: 1,593 submissions, from which 200 were selected.
Due to contest rules against studied poses or gazes toward the camera—not a selfie in sight—the collection of subjects (landscape, nature, history, public space, art and architecture, gastronomy, culture, sports and daily life) conveys, as a curator wryly put it, “the illusion of naturalness.” I was particularly attracted to images depicting art and architecture in Guadalajara’s centro historico.
And even though some of the photographers are presumably by amateurs, the exhibit showcases impressive technical mastery, including perhaps my favorite, an apparent drone shot of a morning shadow cast by the cathedral across an adjacent plaza, as well as a close-up of a baseball batter.
To fit all 200 images into one salon, the prints had to be relatively small and uniformly sized, but many of them merit greater enlargement—and bear close inspection.
“Jalisco en 200 Imagenes,” until March 17 at Instituto Cultural Cabañas, Guadalajara centro in Plaza Tapatía, next to the Mercado San Juan de Dios. Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays. General admission 80 pesos; seniors, teachers and students 30 pesos; free admission on Tuesdays. Admission includes English tours of the Orozco chapel daily 12:30 and 3:30 p.m.