RECTORÍA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA

Let the brilliant white marble Rectory of the University of Guadalajara on Avenida Vallarta, south side, a few blocks west of Federalismo, be your starting point. The grand neoclassic edifice was designed in large part by noted architect Rafael Urzúa and erected in 1918. Originally intended as the Jalisco state legislature, it became part of the university during the mid-1930s.

In the paraninfo (lecture hall; open Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–9 p.m., tel. 33/3134-1678), celebrated muralist José Clemente Orozco crafted a pair of monumental works between 1936 and 1939. Spreading across the cupola overhead, Man—as creator, thinker, questioner, investigator, and celebrator—displays the master’s contemplative side. In contrast, above the stage spreads The People and Their Leaders, in which a fire-ringed crowd confronts the evils of militarism, brutality, and false science.