Lofa Ceramics, Guadalajara

Condé Nast TravelerAug 31

In Guadalajara, Chasing Art, Design, and the Love of a Good Time

Mexico's second city is the birthplace of many of its cultural cornerstones, from mariachi to tequila. Longtime visitor Michael Snyder returns to dive deep into its world-class food and craft scenes.

Ceramist Andrea Mantecón's sculptural wall tiles.

25 things in this story

Colonia AmericanaNeighborhoodEpicenter of Guadalajara's buzzy restaurant and art scene.
TonaláNeighborhoodPlace where craft is actually made.
MezonteRestaurantPours exciting agave spirits from across Mexico.
Pare de SufrirBarWorld's most perfectly named bar.
Hospicio CabañasMuseumOrphanage turned museum with 57 frescoes by Orozco.
Mercado San Juan de DiosMarketBrutalist public market with food, clothes, and electronics.
La AmericanaNeighborhoodWhere Guadalajara's modern architecture was born.
Casa Bosque EduvigesHotel17-room hotel in a restored early 20th-century villa.
Barragán's Casa ClavijeroSightEpitomizes idiosyncratic regionalist style with spare ornament.
PlataformaSightContemporary art space in an abandoned funeral home.
Cerámica SuroPlaceCeramics factory producing work for artists globally.
Alejandro Julián NúñezPlaceWorkshop displaying hand-embroidered guayaberas.
Albergue TransitorioSightBrowse textiles and photographs.
OccidenteTrailShowroom offering a panorama of contemporary design.
Lofa CeramicsPlaceCeramist Andrea Mantecón's sculptural wall tiles.
MusgoSightPeruse ceramics by artists transforming traditions.
Chamula Hecho a ManoSightOverflowing shelves of crafts from central and western Mexico.
Comala CaféCaféServes chilaquiles for breakfast.
NejayoteRestaurantServes gordita de chicharrón.
Parque Agua AzulSightArea with modernist buildings.
Tortas Ahogadas Don José el de la BicicletaRestaurantStall dedicated to the famous torta ahogada.
Kobuta CoRestaurantServes superlative katsu sando with a side of curry.
Elsewhere
Valdivia familyPlaceTonalá, MexicoProduce utilitarian red-clay ceramics for generations.
BernabesPlaceTonalá, MexicoSpecialize in the exquisite cross-hatching technique petatillo.
Ángel OrtizPlaceTonalá, MexicoOne of the great masters in Tonalá.

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Lofa Ceramics

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In Guadalajara, Chasing Art, Design, and the Love of a Good Time