Capilla de Guadalupe

Capilla de Guadalupe is a small city in the Altos Sur region of Jalisco, about 2,020 metres up in a valley ringed by hills northeast of Tepatitlán de Morelos. It is not a municipal seat but a delegación of Tepatitlán, the largest and busiest one, and together with San José de Gracia it has long campaigned to break away and become Jalisco's 126th municipality. The 2020 census counted 15,640 people, and the town now runs into the neighbouring communities of Los Sauces, El Cinco, El Espino and San Antonio, as well as Cerro Gordo and Los Dolores across the line in San Ignacio Cerro Gordo.

The town was founded in 1820, almost at the moment Mexico won independence, by Antonio de Aceves y Casillas, a criollo from the Mirandillas hacienda in San Miguel el Alto who served as police commissioner for the outposts of La Tinaja, Las Encinillas, El Cacalote, El Aguacate and La Presa de Gómez. Local tradition says he built the first chapel to keep a vow: thrown from his horse with one foot caught in the stirrup, he called on the Virgin of Guadalupe before he could be dragged. That gave the town its name and its church, which became a parish in 1910. The area was deeply involved in the Cristero War and lies on the Ruta Cristera.

Agave and farming keep the town going. Capilla sits inside the tequila denomination-of-origin zone and has tequila distilleries and plants making inulin and agave syrup, alongside cattle ranching, poultry farms, flower growing and textile factories. Local dairies supply the fresh cheese, requesón, butter, cajeta and milk sweets sold around town; everyday food runs to mole de olla, pozole and tacos de carnaza or al pastor, and the chocomilk ice pops from "El Feo" are a local favourite.

The climate is mild most of the year, with summer rains and dry heat in April and May; winters are cold and it has occasionally snowed. Cerro Gordo, Cerro Carnicero, Cerro Güilote, Cerro del Maguey and Cerro del Pandillo surround the valley, and the little hill of El Cacalote gives a view over the whole town. The big event is the Guadalupe fair from 3 to 12 December, with daily processions through the streets and parades of decorated floats.