While the secret of gay Guadalajara has not yet made it out (it’s often called ‘the most Mexican of Mexican cities’), the local Tapatios/Jaliscienses have clearly embraced it with over 30 gay bars and clubs in Guadalajara’s historic center alone!Ĭleaner, friendlier, safer, and more beautiful than Mexico City, with a warm Los Angeles-esque climate and many famously great tourist attractions such as the nearby unmissable town of Tequila and the gay beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta. Gay Guadalajara is seen everywhere but is most vibrant in the slightly gritty but utterly beautiful historic center of Guadalajara to the up-scale and hipster gay area of Guadalajara, Zona Rosa. This is why the LGBT scene in Guadalajara caught me by surprise, and why I fell in love with Mexico’s second-biggest city almost instantly! Also known as the ‘San Francisco of Mexico’ queer life thrives here far more than anywhere else in Mexico – though you should also check out the gay scene of Puebla and Gay Monterrey! For anyone who has traveled within Latin America, you will know…well, while there is always a gay scene to be found, it is not frequently loud, proud, and with rainbow flags flying from the windows.