After diligently planning lots of fun sprinkled into a chaotic work trip in Mexico City, I arrived in Guadalajara expecting to do more of the same. With five full days worth of marketing research to do, I thought that Mexico’s second largest city would be a great place to add morning activities, in and around days spent in focus group rooms with one-way mirrors.Guadalajara has a reputation online as being ‘wildly underrated’ compared to more popular tourist spots in Mexico. Versus Mexico City (my only point of comparison), I do agree with the sentiments of the city being much quieter and less chaotic, with most visit-worthy places within a small walk-able distance of the center. I also found the historic buildings much more prevalent in Guadalajara, maybe because the rest of the city seems to be situated around old colonial squares, or maybe because the city has just retained that old feel.

Let’s cut to the chase: on the tourist front, I failed spectacularly.

I went to one notable restaurant (La Chata) and one corner taco place that had a solid selection (Las Faroles). I also took my Chinese colleagues to an Argentinian steakhouse which wasn’t very good, but wherein I was able to explain the Western tradition of bread on the table and what exactly one is meant to do with it. We also went to an Italian restaurant one day because my colleagues have a thing for fettucine alfredo.

(And no, I didn’t bother making the correction that alfredo sauce has no place on an Italian menu and that we should probably skip this in favor of a hundred authentic Mexican restaurants. Our skills in each other’s languages don’t really transcend to the level of food origin nuances).

Even though I didn’t actually go in many tourist sites, I did walk by most of them.

From my base at Hotel Real Maestranza, smack dab in the center of the center, I took leisurely walks around churches and city buildings, and each evening when the heat finally retreated, I loved seeing the streets come alive with people out and about for meals and activities. I walked across town a few times for work, but the weather was punishingly hot. Without so much as setting foot in a museum, I soaked in the city and the city’s heat definitely soaked in me. (Is that clever? I doubt it very much…)

The absolute highlight of my time in Guadalajara is easy to pinpoint.

On Friday night, the night before I was to leave Mexico and our research finally wrapped up, I took a last walk  around the center. The sun was setting, there was a definite festive TGIF electricity in the air, and the golden light of late afternoon cast warm shadows on impressive facades. I walked in the direction of some music that I heard and stumbled upon a live concert, in a gazebo, in front of the cathedral. Never mind the quiet construction site taking up half of the plaza, at this time of evening, families sat on benches and on the grass, eating frozen treats and taking videos with their phone.

A single older woman in very traditional dress got up and started dancing in front of the gazebo, twirling and stomping and clapping. I couldn’t tell if she was officially part of the act or just an enthusiastic observer, but it didn’t really matter.

Her bold scarf and straw hat against the backdrop of the stone church ignited something in me. It was just so perfect.

As my ten days in Mexico literally drew to a close, I felt the exquisite beauty of a country steeped in tradition and family and music and history and all the things. I could literally smell the fried dough and garlic on the breeze and next to me, a kid drank horchata, one of my favorite milky treats. At that moment I regretted being alone, experiencing this magical moment by myself.

At the same time, that feeling I sometimes get of being part of the greater human family and we’re-all-the-same-no-matter-what, spread warmly over me. Or maybe that was just the sun. Or maybe, it was both.