Guadalajara

Industrial city and capital of Jalisco state, western Mexico; population (2000 est) 1,646,200 (city), 3,677,500 (metropolitan area). The second-largest city in Mexico, 535 km/332 mi northwest of Mexico City, Guadalajara is a key communications centre. Industries (which benefit from hydroelectricity from the local Juanacatlán Falls) include textiles, glass, leatherware, soap, rope, and pottery.

There is a wealth of colonial buildings, including the cathedral which was begun in 1551, the Governor's Palace (1643), San Francisco church (1550), Santa Mónica church (1718), and the Hospicio Cabañas, a neoclassical structure that was originally a hospice and now holds art exhibitions including murals by the Mexican painter José Orozco.

There are two universities, dating from 1792 and 1935, and an airport.

Guadalajara

Province of central Spain in northern Castilla-La Mancha autonomous community; area 12,194 sq km/ 4,708 sq mi; population (2001) 68,200. It is situated largely on the plateau northeast of Madrid; the River Tagus and its tributaries (the Henares and the Tajuna) flow through it. The river valleys are fertile, but in general the province is unproductive; there are some silver deposits. There was severe fighting here during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). The capital is Guadalajara.