Parque Alcalde

Parque Alcalde is on Calle Jesús García in the Alcalde Barranquitas district, a few blocks from the La Normal roundabout and the Mezquitán cemetery. It is named after Bishop Fray Antonio Alcalde y Barriga and opened on 30 December 1961, with Governor Juan Gil Preciado and Mayor Juan Ignacio Menchaca. It was designed by architect Alberto Arouesty Ibarrola. Expropriation of the land began under Governor Agustín Yáñez; the original plan was for 26 hectares, but after the final negotiations it was cut to almost 17.

The site had been the municipal rubbish dump, which is why it is described as the first ecological reclamation in the Atemajac valley. For the opening a US company donated around a million rose bushes, making the park the city's first rose nursery; this is believed to be where Guadalajara's nickname, the City of Roses, comes from. At its centre is an Italian-style artificial lake, about a metre and a half deep, with the Monumental fountain: five tiers and ten metres high, modelled on one at the Villa d'Este. For years the lake was the stage for Swan Lake during the October Festival; on 30 October 1964 Walt Disney attended a Mexican evening here, and in 1971 a scene of the film Un sueño de amor, starring José José and Verónica Castro, was shot in the park.

In 2017 a 54-million-peso renovation was completed and the Acuario Michin opened alongside, with around 150 species in 52 exhibits. Today the park has pedal boats on the lake, a little train, a zip line over the water, playgrounds, a skatepark and paths for walking or running. Entry is free and the rides are paid separately; in December 2025 it also hosted Navidalia, a ticketed evening Christmas festival.