The Guadalajara Cultural Tianguis turns 30 despite official disdain

Guadalajara, Jal., The Tianguis Cultural de Guadalajara celebrated 30 years of being a reference space for urban identities and self-management in western Mexico, which is manifested every Saturday despite the disdain of the municipal authorities.

The project began activities on December 9, 1995 in Plaza José Rolón, in the center of the capital of Jalisco, at the initiative of independent promoters and students from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Guadalajara, among them Antonio Robles, Miguel Palacios and David de Anda.

The collective’s trajectory has recorded exponential growth since its founding, as the number of exhibitors went from 18 members on the first day to around 200 in its first two years of work, when the eviction and migration occurred, first, to Plaza El Refugio for a brief time and, for 27 years, to its current headquarters in Plaza Juárez, next to Agua Azul Park.

The heart of the flea market continues to be commerce, but manifested in the spirit of the sale of used books, vinyl, paintings, musical instruments and clothing, under constant siege <

In a conservative city, the Guadalajara Cultural Tianguis “opened space for freedom of expression and association; it supported the Zapatista movement, we gave way to criticism of the government, respect for human rights, diversity and the autonomy of indigenous communities,” remembers David de Anda.

“We held concerts with troubadours and rock groups, from the first day. We were pioneers because we anticipated what El Chopo would do later. We did book presentations, some theater and performance”, states.

As the epicenter of urban expressions, the flea market also assumed the character of a social valve, of feedback from groups or people who were then repressed because they were persecuted, “because Guadalajara was a very conservative city, and at that time young people were persecuted if there were more than three gathered on the street.”

In its 30 years, the market has also functioned as a dissemination center for environmental groups, victims of the explosions of April 22, 1992 and protests against the genocide in Palestine, all under a self-management scheme, since its members finance the sound systems, advertising and logistics with their own resources, without depending on the public budget.

The site has a main forum for music and a multidisciplinary one for workshops, comic exhibitions and talks, in addition to the extensive sales area.

Municipal obstacles

The history of this cultural space stands out for the constant tensions with the conservative municipal administrations of the National Action and Citizen Movement parties.

In its beginnings in Plaza José Rolón, along with the commercial success, the anger of the parish priest of the adjacent church of Carmen grew, where many of Guadalajara’s wealthy class usually get married on Saturdays, and who managed, with the support of the then PAN mayor Francisco Ramírez Acuña, to have them thrown out in 1998.

The group faced a media campaign of disqualification and public force operations to justify the eviction. During an incident in that period, the police arrested members of the organization on accusations of possession of illicit substances, which the group described as a setup.

The institutional interference in the cultural character of the space worsened in 2001 with the administration of Fernando Garza, also a PAN member.

The municipal government imposed a regulation that transferred control of the flea market from the Culture Directorate to the Tianguis Directorate, a measure that allowed the intervention of inspectors without training in the area – whose usual function was the regulation of markets for food products or viscera – to supervise an artistic promotion project.

Despite subsequent attempts to reintroduce regulations that recognize the social nature of the flea market, the current regulations are systematically breached by the authorities to this day, when they face challenges due to decisions of the governments emanating from MC.

During Enrique Alfaro’s administration as mayor (2015-2018), it was normalized that, contrary to the flea market regulations, the presence of sellers of food and products outside the cultural regulations was allowed, who today already have acquired rights and it will be almost impossible to kick them out.

Under the current orange administration of Mayor Verónica Delgadillo, the transfer of more than 500 vendors from Revolución Park (under renovation for the 2026 World Cup) to Plaza Juárez, headquarters of the Tianguis Cultural, was ordered, without consensus with the civil association, which for a year has asked, without success, to meet with the general secretary of the city council, the former PAN member José Manuel Romo.

The group points out a “contempt on the part of current officials and the absence of dialogue tables to organize the space,” after the fact that of the 500 positions that now exist, only 60 percent preserve their cultural essence.