Parque González Gallo

Parque González Gallo covers about 17 hectares on Calzada Jesús González Gallo in eastern Guadalajara, surrounded by factories and industrial estates. It opened in 1973 and was designed and built by architect Fernando González Gortázar in honour of his father, former governor José de Jesús González Gallo. Unlike other parks of its time, it has kept its original size. It was meant for exercise from the start, and in its early years workers from the neighbouring factories held sports tournaments on its pitches.

What you see on entering is a tall, orderly wood of eucalyptus mixed with casuarinas, figs, ceibas and a few ash trees; in all there are more than 60 tree species. Only about 8% of the vegetation is native, and mistletoe is one of its pests: wasps have been released to fight it. Even so, the park is home to the lilac-crowned parrot (Amazona finschi), endemic to Mexico and endangered, as well as opossums, squirrels and bats. That is why on 4 November 2017 the state government declared it a protected natural area, as an urban ecological preservation zone of 17.29 hectares. The decree calls for a breeding programme for the parrot, protects the plants it feeds on, bans introducing unapproved species and forbids adding more paving. It is the same protection already given to Los Colomos and Parque Agua Azul.

In the middle of the park stand the six winning works from the first Juan Soriano Sculpture Prize, launched in 2012 by Guadalajara's culture department and unveiled on 14 December 2013. They include Ave by Alfredo López Casanova, in lost-wax bronze; Pérgola by Pablo Lecuanda, a steel plate designed as a seat; and La mansión del ave by Arturo Valencia, in wrought iron. Some of them can be sat or lain on.