Guadalajara is a Mexican city, capital and most populated city of the state of Jalisco. It is located in western Mexico, in the center of Jalisco, in the geographical area known as Valle de Atemajac. It is part of the industrial macro-region of El Bajío, specifically in the Bajío Occidente or Centro Occidente. It is the second most populated metropolis in the country with 5,125,000 inhabitants at the last census of 2010, it is part of the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, along with eight other municipalities, considered the second most populated urban area in Mexico and the eighth in Latin America.
Its territory limits to the north with Ixtlahuacán del Río, to the east with Tonalá and Zapotlanejo, to the south with San Pedro Tlaquepaque and to the west with Zapopan. Guadalajara is considered one of the largest cities in the country in territorial extension, with 803 km², along with Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla and Tijuana. It is constituted as the third economic nucleus of the country after Mexico City, and the city of Monterrey with a gross domestic product of 80.656 million dollars in 2014 and the eleventh in Latin America, it is cataloged as gamma city in 2016 and one of the 90 most productive cities in the world, with a score of 56.3. The economy of the city is based on industry, especially information technology, thanks to a large number of international companies with manufacturing facilities located in that metropolitan area.
It also has local industries for the production of shoes, textiles and food processing. It is also an important cultural center in Mexico, considered by most as the cradle of mariachi and home to several cultural events of international renown, such as the International Film Festival of Guadalajara and the International Book Fair of Guadalajara, which attract national crowds and international. Guadalajara was named the American Capital of Culture in 2005 and the venue for the 2011 Pan American Games. The Villa de Guadalajara was originally founded on January 5,1532, by Cristóbal de Oñate near the site where Nochistlán de Mejía is currently located in Zacatecas. However, after three unsuccessful attempts, 63 survivors, including Cristóbal de Oñate, Antonio de Mendoza and Miguel de Ibarra, found a safe place against attacks by indigenous inhabitants in the Atemajac Valley.
Therefore, Guadalajara was founded on February 14,1542 for the fourth and final time, at the request of a woman: Mrs. Beatriz Hernández, who exhorted the community and not to move again and stay in this place. On this date, the agrarian importance of artichokes stands out. This city played a key role during the Independence of Mexico, since it was where the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla declared the abolition of slavery. At the end of the war of independence, and with the proclamation of the free and sovereign state of Jalisco, Guadalajara became the capital of the state. Guadalajara would grow rapidly in the industrial, tourism and services sectors. The first commercial center in Latin America flourished, the first urban electric train system in Latin America and the first Autonomous and Private University in Mexico Autonomous University of Guadalajara.