Tonalá

Tonalá sits on the eastern side of the Guadalajara metro area, about 8 kilometers from Tlaquepaque, and the two make a natural pair: Tlaquepaque has the galleries and polished shops, while Tonalá is where much of the region's pottery is actually made. It has grown into a large municipality, but its old center still revolves around workshops, family kilns and crafts stalls.

The big draw is the tianguis, the street market that takes over the center on Thursdays and Sundays, with stall after stall of ceramics, glass, papier-mâché, furniture and decorations at prices well below the shops. Tonalá is known for several distinct pottery styles, including burnished bruñido ware and the glazed petatillo and canelo pieces, and the Museo Nacional de la Cerámica, founded in 1986 in the former home of potter Jorge Wilmot, shows the best of them.

The town also keeps strong traditions of its own. The 16th-century parish of Santiago Apóstol is the setting for the masked dance of the Tastoanes on July 25, and the Cerro de la Reina, the hill above the center, honors Cihualpilli, the indigenous ruler of Tonalá when the Spanish arrived.