Last night I went cantina hopping with Jose, his sister and a couple of other peeps, it was grand to be out of the house again after what seems like an age. La Fuente first, which was packed. It’s going through a fair few changes. It’s one of Guadalajara’s oldest cantinas but recently it’s been refurbished, expanded and now features art exhibitions and several plasma flatscreen TVs which really don’t help the ambience. There’s a bike above the bar that someone left in 1947 or thereabouts saying they could keep it until he came back to pay his tab. Needless to say he never returned. Anyroad, it was missing last night with a plaque saying it’s been leant to an exhibition on collectibles in the Casa de Cultura. Once they replace the live musicians with a video jukebox we’ll know it’s all over… Anyroad, after there on to El Rincón de la Doa in Calle Heroes, not far from the Coliseo (The lucha libre arena). Much more sedate… We were there till around 1:30 then headed to Los Famosos Equipales where I got involved in a very strange argument about bullfighting.

Strange because I completely agreed with the bloke arguing with me. My every other word was, “exactly”, or “I completely agree”, or “you’re totally right” but it seemed like after years of arguing bullfighting ethics with foreigners he didn’t believe anyone who wasn’t Spanish or Mexican could possibly be in favour of it. I’ve never been to a corrido de toros which is pretty odd considering my lifelong obsession with all things hispano. When I was vegetarian for 3 years I was passionately against it but once you’re an omnivorous, leather-wearing, animal-tested-medicine-taking co-conspirator you’ve not got a leg to stand on. It’s all about using animals for non-essential human ends, and in for a penny, in for a pound reckons I. Bullfight bulls certainly have a better quality of life than your average dairy cow or battery hen. And on their last day alive at least they have a chance to get even in front of a paying audience rather than being transported across the county in a small box, shot up with antibiotics, shuffling into an abbatoir and having a bolt put through their brain…

Today if all goes according to plan, off to the Tianguis Cultural downtown, then watching native Guadalajaran, Guillermo del Toro (coincidentally enough)’s new film El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth) which has been getting impressive reviews.