Hospicio Cabanas, Guadalajara Review

Overall 4.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

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mrkstvns
Austin, TX

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Fire, Art, and the Nature of the Human Soul

arts lover, exploring Mexican culture, seeker of fun and interesting places, interested in cultural experiences

Pros

spectacular architecture, fascinating history, stunning artworks by a modern master, convenient downtown location, brilliant local color

Cons

high admission price, could use some signs (even spanish only)

JUN

2008

If you consider yourself a "cultured" traveler, you just gotta visit the Hospicio Cabañas when you're in Guadalajara!

The building itself has immense historical significance, it's an unmissable local landmark, but its real drawing power is inside: it's a showcase gallery for an epic series of murals painted during the 1930s by internationally known muralist Jose Clemente Orozco. The Hospicio mural series is generally regarded as the gran opus of the artist's career, and it includes his most celebrated work, Hombre y Fuego.

Art historians can tell you a lot more about the significance of the Mexican muralists of the early 20th century, but their impact on the Mexican arts world can hardly be overstated. After Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco is probably the best known. As you walk through the hospicio, you'll find dozens of the artists murals, many positioned so that they capture the natural light at certain times of the day, enhancing the drama of the works themselves. Like some of Rivera's great murals, the Hospicio series is often grand in scope and theme, chronicling some of the great struggles throughout Mexican history, often tinted with the egalitarian ideals of the socialist wave that rippled through the first decades of the 20th century.

The architecture of the place is magnificent as well: it's a sprawling complex that looks and feels like an enormous palace, with huge salons, graceful arches, landscaped courtyards, and a fabulous rotunda as its centerpiece. The hospicio dates from 1791, and was originally built as a hospital complex --- one of the first such projects in the New World. It was patterned after similar complexes in Spain and France.

The Hospicio is one of the cultural gems of Mexico and an excellent place to experience some of the tantalizing flavor of Guadalajara's past. It's also been named as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

I recommend the Hospicio very highly, although there are a few cons to the place: it's one of the few museums in Mexico that charges almost as much to get in as museums in the U.S. do. That's probably why there's seldom any crowd there, which can be an added bonus if you want some private time to commune with some genuine masterpieces of the modern arts world. It also helps if you know something about the muralist movement in general and Jose Clemente Orozco in particular, because there's not much there in terms of signs, explanations, or interpretive services --- you're pretty much on your own.

Spectacular place though. Spectacular artworks too...

Last edited on Jun 13, 2008