Guadalajara – Instituto de Cabañas

The centre of downtown Guadalajara is a very pleasant place to walk around. There is no traffic, the streets are nicely paved and there’s lots of pretty buildings to look at. The best awaits at the end in the Instituto de Cabañas, the finest of all the colonial buildings in Guadalajara.


The Cabañas has had a mixed past. It was originally built as an orphanage and welfare centre for the poor of Guadalajara. Before it could be finished, however, war broke out and the military took it over. Instead of housing destitute orphans, it became a barracks for soldiers. After the war was over, then a few more, the building was eventually returned to the orphans.

Today, the building serves as the main cultural centre of the city. The building is laid out with a huge number of really lovely courtyards. Each one with its collection of citrus trees and fountains. It’s easy to get lost of miss things as you wander around, but it makes for a pleasant experience.


At the entrance to the building, there’s a fairly lame art gallery. There’s nothing particularly amazing to see, but it is also used for visiting exhibits. When I visited, only the permanent collection was on display, along with a coin collection.

The real reason for visiting, however, is the chapel. This was decorated by renown artists Corozco. It’s simply stunning. What must have been a fairly plain chapel, is now a sumptuously decorated chapel, dedicated to the history of the city. It’s so magnificent, that the entire building has been awarded UNSECO World Heritage status.


The centre piece of the chapel is the dome. Inside is the burning man. IT’s literally a guy awash with flames ascending to the heavens. As it’s painted on a dome and does not look curvy in the slightest, it’s regarded as one of the masterpieces of perspective artwork. I think it looks cool.

Every surface of the chapel is covered in some painting or other. There’s Indians, priests, ships, cannons, guns. Everything you could think of. Best of all, the curators have installed benches under all the ceiling art, so you can lie back and enjoy the art without cricking your neck.

The Cabañas is a great place to visit. The building alone is worth a visit, but the addition of the murals makes it simply unmissable.