Mention that you’re going to Mercado Corona — that riot of honey, clothing, flowers, uncommon fruit such as black capulines and light green arrayanes, steaming food stands and what-not, all peeking out in glorious disarray from a concrete structure two blocks from Guadalajara’s cathedral — and your friends’ reactions may range from, “It’s a nice place to go ... once” to “Horrible!”

Expect to see Guadalajara-born horror/fantasy genre movie director and producer Guillermo del Toro featured heavily in the entertainment sections of newspapers and websites during 2013.

John Riley, the 28 year-old Irishman who is credited with organizing the San Patricio Battalion during the Mexican War, has been the subject of much speculation in recent years. Much of it has come about because of renewed interest in Ireland as it approaches 2013, the “Year of the Gathering,” and new memorials and historic landmarks appear across the country. There have been two such memorials for Riley recently, one a bust in Mexico City, the other a small sculpture in Clifden, Co. Galway.

How closely were you following the pages of the Guadalajara Reporter – and Mexican news in general – this year? Take our New Year quiz and see what kind of news addict you really are.  The answers to the questions can be found on page 25.

From August 29 to September 2, a Multicultural Dialogue was held in Guadalajara and was reported in this newspaper on September 7 by John Pint. Many of the participants in this inter-faith gathering considered it a landmark moment because it managed to bring together widely differing religions, philosophies and beliefs which, in some cases, had previously dedicated much of their energy to slandering or even slaughtering one another.

As you drive (or walk) around Guadalajara you may be surprised to learn that some of its most iconic modern monuments have been created by a single man: Fernando Gonzalez Gortazar.