Tonala, Mexico: A Shopper's Paradise

When our landlady came by to collect the rent at the beginning of the month, we mentioned we were leaving the next day for a trip to Guadalajara. Some friends had asked us the week before if we'd like to accompany them for a visit to the handicraft shops in Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, suburbs of Guadalajara. Since we had only ridden past the towns on the bus, we jumped at the opportunity to see if they were as charming as we'd heard.

At the mention of Guadalajara, our landlady began a diatribe in ninety-mile-an-hour staccato Spanish, hands gesturing wildly, and accompanied by the occasional screech. This, by the way, is her normal speed. The woman has more kinetic energy than anyone I've ever met. Anyway, she was full of suggestions about where to eat and what to see. She listed so many places; we'd have to stay for a month or more to visit them all.

We told her we were only going for two days and weren't even going into Guadalajara proper. We were planning to stay in Tonalá with a possible side trip to Tlaquepaque as that was what our friends wanted to do.

She screeched at the mention of the two towns and went into another diatribe about the best places to find handicrafts and where to eat. She loves to eat and loves to shop. Since she has family in Guadalajara, she has made frequent visits to the area and knows everything about it.

Suddenly, she became still and silent. I was alarmed. In the nearly two years she's been our landlady, we've never seen her any way other than loud, screeching, and full of energy. This was definitely a first. We wondered if she had fallen ill. I was on the verge of running to get her husband whose office is next door to our apartment. Maybe she needed a doctor.

She reverted back to normal as suddenly as she had stilled. She asked exactly what days we were planning on being in Tonalá. We said we were leaving the next day, Wednesday, and were planning to return on Friday.

A rapturous look came over her face. She clasped her hands and held them to her chest. Once again, she became motionless. She had the look of someone witnessing a miracle or at least a magnificent view.

"Ooooohhhhh!" She sighed. "You'll be there in time for the Thursday tianguis. You won't believe your eyes. The market is fabulous! Every type of handicraft you can imagine is for sale."

After a few seconds lost in reverie, she snapped back to life and took up the diatribe again.

"You must spend time on Wednesday looking around the town. There is a lot to see. However, Tonalá will be so crowded on Thursday you won't be able to move. You'll never be able to see the shops, the park or churches because of all the people and the tianguis."

She abruptly turned on her heel and took off like a rocket toward her car parked outside. Before we could shut the door, she sped by screeching instructions to be careful and to have a good time. In the blink of eye, she was a mere dot in the distance.

Anyway, she was absolutely right about Tonalá.

Wednesday afternoon, after checking into our hotel, we made our way to Tonalá's main plaza, Plaza de Cihualpilli. It is pleasant area with several shady benches, a gazebo, an indoor market, and a statue of Queen Cihualpilli, who led her people in a fierce, but ultimately lost, battle against the Spanish conquistador Nuño de Guzmán and his men. The Queen had encouraged her people to make various handicrafts including exquisite gold jewelry. The manufacture of wonderful arts and crafts continues to this day.

Every block in the center of town has numerous shops selling a mind-boggling array of products. Some are showrooms with workshops in the back where customers can watch the artisans at work. Some shops are no more than the front room of a family's home. It seems every family makes one type of handicraft or another. Some families have been making the same crafts for generations.

Just as our landlady had told us, there were few people out and about on Wednesday afternoon. Most appeared to be doing normal household shopping. Often, we were the only browsers in the shop, something we like very much. That way, we can see everything without feeling rushed.

We saw shops that sold just glass...drinking glasses, pitchers, decorative items...in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Another shop sold interesting paintings and artwork that looked Native American by several artists from Chihuahua. One sold papier-mâché animals...giraffes, lions, tigers, camels, birds, and more...that looked like pottery. Another sold pottery decorated in the intricate petalillo (little petal) style. There were shops that sold paintings, decorative tin items, clothing, embroidery, wax figures, wooden furniture, ceramics of all shapes and sizes, all manner of items made out of stone, chandeliers, sculptures made out of oxidized metals, and so much more I couldn't take it all in. My favorites items were the Huichol yarn paintings and beadwork items.

Thursday was a different story. After seeing what the Thursday market was all about, we were glad we took our landlady's advice and looked in the shops on Wednesday.

The Thursday (and Sunday) market is an unbelievable sight. It is over two miles of one booth after another snaking up and down many of the streets in the town's center. A number of streets are closed to vehicle traffic during the market.

It is part flea market and park artisan market. You can find just about every handicraft made in Mexico. We saw pottery and guitars from Michoacán, embroidered dresses and blouses as well as the famous black pottery from Oaxaca, quartz lamps from Puebla, papier-mâché clowns from Guanajuato, metal sculptures, and more. Of course, we saw the same array of items we've seen in every Mexican market we've visited...plastic toys, cheap CD's and DVD's, t-shirts, serapes, sombreros, and souvenirs. Interspersed among the handicraft booths were kiosks selling the most delicious-smelling foods...tacos, pozole, carnitas, tortas, and enchiladas. Shopping is hard work, after all and frequent refueling is necessary!

There is much to see and do in Tonalá, especially if you come to town in time for the Thursday or Sunday tianguis. In addition to shopping, there are several museums and churches that are worth the time to see.

We found the town to be quite quaint and charming. We look forward to visiting again soon to see all we missed the first time.