| The original town of Guadalajara was founded on January 5, 1532 by Crístobal de Oñate, who had been commissioned by Nuño de Guzmán. It consisted of 42 inhabitants, on the Mesa del Cerro, near the border of Nochistlán in the province of the Teúl, today known as San Juan. The name Guadalajara was chosen after the birthplace of Nuño de Guzmán in Spain. The town lasted for only a short time at this site. Guzmán, Crístobal de Oñate, Miguel de Ibarra and Sancho Ortiz decided to relocate to a place where there would be more water, fewer dust storms and better transportation. They began the project on May 19, 1533 and by August 8, 1533 they had moved the town to it's second location, near Tonalá. Two years later, in March 1535, they again moved the town to a new location. On November 8, 1539 the emperor Charles V granted to Guadalajara a coat of arms and the new title of City. After an large attack by natives on September 28, 1541, during the War of the Mixtón, they decided once more to relocate the city to a more defensible location. They chose Guadalajara's present location, in the valley of Atemajac, along the San Juan de Dios river. The current city of Guadalajara was founded at this site by Crístobal de Oñate on February 14, 1542, by Royal decree of King Charles V. During the Colonial era, Guadalajara became the capital of Nueva Galicia and after the War of Independence it became the capital of the Intendencia of Guadalajara.
The Porfiriato was finished and Mexican revolution exploded. Guadalajara was calm at least (because the conflict was runing more towards the capital). After the cristero conflict peace returned to Guadalajara. For a long period the city bloomed and it was developed in diverse points, the medium and big companies emerged and the areas around the residential nucleus that began to grow from the colony were born and therefore the new architectonic concepts which would decorate the city with styles from years 1920 to the '80. The city passed through several structural plans during every government period, where new zones and commercial areas were born, and the creation of transnational companies as well as the arrival of international industries came to the city. The first commercial centers appeared, which also were among the first being constructed in the country and Latin America. The city began to expand quickly until finding the territorial union with the municipality of Zapopan. The most important developments were created during this period: Expo Guadalajara, Light Train, commercial centers, hotels, the expansion of streets and avenues, and the birth and development of the road infrastructure, services, tourist and industrial infrastructure. Guadalajara was growing quickly until it became the industrial, tourist and commerce headquarter of the country, and the second economy in Mexico after the national capital (Mexico City). This development so accelerated was stopped by events like the explosions of April 22 of 1992, where hundreds of houses, avenues, streets, companies and infrastructure were damaged seriously, leaving losses calculated in a billion dollars, in one of the most tragic events in the history of Guadalajara. This event, combined to the economic crisis of 1994, gave like result the loss of the industrial power of Guadalajara; the investigation of the facts lasted more than 11 years without finding sufficient proves to name a guilty, the investigations now are closed attributing the events to an accident. These events lead Guadalajara to explore new visions in the development, being the sector of services the key of the economic reactivation. With the arrival of a new party to the power, new companies were born and the development of the existing ones was increased, the industry began to bloom again and Guadalajara was being developed on the eve of the new century that would bring important and ambitious development plans for the city and the country.
The geographical location of the city and its communications infrastructure make it very favorable for commerce with the rest of the country, which attracts investors and commerce worldwide. In 1987, Expo Guadalajara was opened. Guadalajara has more than 25,000 total lodging rooms. In the education department, Guadalajara is a very important center of universities and educational centers with national and world-wide prestige, such as the Tec de Monterrey, Universidad Panamericana, ITESO, Universidad de Guadalajara and the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara(U.A.G.), among others. The Metropolitan Zone of Guadalajara has several commercial centers; the city is the national leader in development and investment in commercial centers. The city is home to one of greatest malls in Latin America (Galerias Guadalajara 360). The current boom of construction and fast development is one of the most important periods in the history of the city. Its cultural wealth has taken an important front sight in the tourist sector; the city generates many of the main cultural events of the country and is a main destination for people who visit Mexico. Guadalajara is the shelter of a great circle of artists and people interested in art and culture. Having the culture as key for the development of Guadalajara, the Guggenheim foundation has approved the construction of what will be the sixth Guggenheim museum in the world, which when finished in the early 2010s, will be the tallest structure in Latin America. The city will also host the 2011 Pan-American Games. Guadalajara had lately released info of the Guggenheim Museum which is currently under construction, this and the majority of the projects that are currently under construction in Guadalajara, are meant to give priority to the cultural wave that is sweeping the city and will transform Guadalajara into the new cultural icon of Latin America for years to come. Also Guadalajara has many mega structures in the process of building like Torrena, that will be one of the biggest skyscrapers in Latin America.
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