Valle de Guadalupe

Valle de Guadalupe is the seat of the municipality of the same name, in the Altos Sur region of Jalisco, at about 1,800 metres above sea level. At the 2020 census the town had 4,628 residents out of 6,627 in the whole municipality, spread over 71 localities. It should not be confused with the wine valley of Baja California.

The area was first inhabited by Chichimeca groups, and after a conquest led by Pedro Almíndez Chirinos on behalf of Nuño de Guzmán it was settled as ranching country. The brothers Nicolás and José González founded the Venta de Pegueros hacienda, and their sons ran a stagecoach relay on the road between Guadalajara and Lagos, Zacatecas and Aguascalientes. In 1895 the settlement answered to Jalostotitlán; the parish priest Lino C. Martínez then directed its street plan and is regarded as its formal founder, with a bronze monument in the main plaza. Decree 2157 made it a municipality on 2 June 1922.

The town is explored on foot. Plaza Hidalgo has the green-fronted municipal palace; the main plaza holds the bandstand, the Portal de los Barba, the Casa de Diligencias (now a primary school) and, across from it, the parish church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. There is also a charro ring named for Cenobio Barba Rábago, the church of San Juan Bosco and the Dr. Barba y Piña Chan Archaeological Museum. Outside town are the Hacienda de la Llave with its chapel, the El Salto dam and eco-tourism park, the Chorro El Salto waterfall and an archaeological zone.

Local crafts include drawn-thread work, cross-stitch embroidery and stone carving. The municipal economy rests on cattle, corn, oats, peaches and beans, plus small dairy and beverage plants.