Page 141 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL EATING IBERIA

reflects his bold modern style from the 1940s. Bar-
ragán was born in Jalisco in 1902 and educated in
Guadalajara, where a few of his early works are open
to the public. Architect Jorge Curiel Flores took me
around town to a few of the master's compounds.
We started with Casa Cristo, built in 1929 and
now operated by the Jalisco College of Architects.
Although trained as an engineer, Barragán called
himself a landscape architect and emphasized the
outdoors, creating tranquil open spaces echoing the
rural Mexico's ranches of his childhood. At Casa
Cristo, his parabolic arches framed multiple gardens
as well as indoor niches and rooms. His focus on an-
gles,planesandtheshiftinglightwasevident,though
on a smaller stage than his later sprawling estates in
Mexico City.
Lines and shadows held my attention at the
golden-hued Casa ITESO Clavigero, constructed in
1929 and now operated by the city's Jesuit univer-
sity. Forest-green glazed tiles edged roofs and the
simple,stillsquarefountainwithinthevilla'smultiple
gardens and terraces. The house is such a perfect ex-
ample of Guadalajara's Tapatia architecture it was
declared a National Monument in 2006. A private
homeowner was kind enough to let us see the first
floor of her Barragán house near the Parque Revolu-
ción, also designed by the architect, and I spotted a
few more of his houses while wandering about.

Art

A pilgrimage to the murals of José Clemente
Orozco was also imperative. A contemporary of
Diego Rivera and the other artists of the Mexican
mural movement, Orozcó had a more pessimistic
view of the revolution and subsequent government
than his peers. His palette was gray, offset by strong
bursts of orange and red. His impressive Guadalajara
murals are conveniently located in the historic dis-

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