Easter is coming! And as is customary, Mexico has colored this tradition with its own colors, aromas and flavors. This is the case of Jalisco, where during this season you can find the delicious Easter empanadas, the same ones that are sold outside the temples, mainly in the capital, Guadalajara.
These are sucre dough empanadas based on flour, butter, water and sugar or salt. They can be filled with jam, sweet potato or pineapple, but there are also tuna-salted options. On the outside they are distinguished by a reddish color, which is reminiscent of the commemoration of holy days for Catholicism.
For many, the consumption of this bread is part of the tradition of visiting the seven temples. An optional devotion that consists of attending seven different parishes to remember the seven falls of Jesus during his martyrdom.
Among the reasons for consuming Holy Week empanadas, some suggest that it symbolizes the sweetness of life, others that it represents the tomb of Christ and his subsequent resurrection, and others simply believe that it is an ideal product for Lent, a time when that you don't eat meat.
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Are you visiting Guadalajara? We recommend these places so that you can visit them accompanied by an Easter empanada
Visit the Guadalajara Cathedral, it is one of the most emblematic buildings of the capital of Jalisco. Its construction began in 1561, but it was not until 1874, when its famous tile-covered towers were added (after a terrible earthquake tore down the originals in 1818). Be sure to admire its beautiful façade – Renaissance style – as well as the interesting pictorial works that it houses inside (we recommend looking for a canvas of the Purísima Concepción, the work of the Spanish artist Murillo).
Walking through nearby streets, you will find the government palacewhich houses a spectacular mural of Father Hidalgo and, further on, the Throat cut theatrewhere the “father of the country” declared the abolition of slavery in 1811. Finally, you cannot fail to know the Hospice Cabins, an imposing construction today converted into a wonderful cultural center, considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and which inside houses a series of murals painted by the artist José Clemente Orozco. Be sure to admire the mural “The Man on Fire”, which decorates one of the highest vaults of the Great Main Chapel, it will surprise you!
Finally, visit the Expiatory Temple of the Blessed Sacrament is a religious building in Guadalajara, Jalisco, dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. It is considered the greatest work of neo-gothic style in Mexico. Its construction began on August 15, 1897 and was completed 75 years later, in 1972.
Rodrigo Osegueda Philosopher by training. Contemplate the soul and imagination of Mexico.