Guadalajara is a large city in the Central-Pacific region of Mexico, located at 20.67° N, 103.35° W. Guadalajara is the capital of the state of Jalisco.

It is the second most populous city in Mexico, with an estimated population of 1,665,800 people in 2003.

The Guadalajara metropolitan area also includes the municipalities of Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, Tlajomulco, and Ixtlahuacan. The population of the metropolitan area was 3.7 million (2000 figure).

Guadalajara is known as la Perla de Occidente (Spanish for "Pearl of the West") and la Perla Tapatía ("tapatío" is an informal adjective of origin for people and things from Guadalajara).

Guadalajara is also home to the most popular soccer team in the Mexican League: "Las Chivas," as they are known (literally: "the Goats"), wear red and white striped shirts, blue shorts, and red socks. They are popular because they do not use foreign players in their team. They have won 10 championships in their history.

The Universidad de Guadalajara, the state's public university, has its headquarters here.