This Fun-Loving Mexican City Is Home to Numerous Quirky Guinness World Records

“Some people call us the cowboys of Mexico.”

Jesús Mora is a tour guide and proud charro (male herder) who has been part of Charros de Jalisco for decades. For the unacquainted, charrería is an equestrian tradition and sport that emerged from livestock herding communities. These caballeros (horsemen) don wide-brimmed sombreros (hats) and are highly skilled at bull reining and the artful lasso trick called floreando la soga. In 2010, 69 people set the record for the most simultaneous lasso twirls, a task that Mora outlines are no easy feat. “Lassoing is not very straightforward; it’s much harder than it looks.”

Originating in Jalisco, mariachi music is one of the most emblematic elements of Mexican culture. Its themes revolve around love, passion, bravery, duty, pride, and heartbreak, and the colorful, showstopping costumes actually stem from the artisan-made attire that charros wear. In 2011, mariachi was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, and two years later, during the 20^th annual International Mariachi and Charrería Festival in Guadalajara, 700 musicians gathered for a rousing, record-breaking serenade. Throughout the year, you can meet these singing Tapatíos (Guadalajara natives) in Plaza de Los Mariachis, where they often belt out soul-stirring folkloric songs.

Tequila is Jalisco’s gift to the world and the jimadores are the industry’s unsung heroes. These skilled craftsmen harvest the blue agave plant that tequila is made from with a “coa” (a razor-sharp tool), cutting off the bitter leaves until only the plant’s heart remains. In September 2015, during the sensational party that is the Mariachi and Charrería Festival, 251 jimadores (hee-ma-door-ez) gathered for an arresting sight: a sea of men clad in traditional white outfits tinged with red neckties and belts working in near unison.

The city’s annual Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charrería is a colorful showcase with fresh surprises each year. “The festival is really a spectacular show,” says Jesús Mora, who has been attending the event since its infancy in 1994. “We have music, dancers, actors, horses, charros, and mariachis,” he adds.

In 2017, a mariachi singer appeared in the shape of a 12-foot, 6.43-inch papier-mâché sculpture. The creation—one of nine exhibited—depicted a towering mariachi musician playing the harp. The statuesque, brown craft paper figurine was also 3-foot 9.59 inches wide, and it landed Guadalajara’s chamber of commerce the superlative award for the largest papier-mâché sculpture in the world.

Guadalajara beaded its way to another Guinness World Record in 2018 when 15 artists took about 780 hours to create the largest mosaic image ever made out of beads. Like all previous attempts organized during Guadalajara’s mariachi and charrería festival, this mosaic had connections to the region’s rich traditions. Wixáritari craftsmen from within the state used chaquiras—small plastic beads—to create the mosaic, which depicted a figure of a charro and a woman in traditional dress from Jalisco flanked by brightly-colored leaves and shapes. Incredibly, the 450 kilos (992.08 pounds) of beads were affixed to multiple wooden boards by hand using 30 kilos (66.13 pounds) of glue.

It took 1,486 thirsty merrymakers to break the record for the largest tequila tasting in the world. The alfresco affair took place in 2019 at Guadalajara’s Plaza de la Liberación with tequila lovers concurrently sampling three varieties of the distillate: blanco, reposado and añejo. Tequila is an intricate part of Tapatío culture, and you can enjoy the tipple in Guadalajara at a tequila restaurant, by touring a distillery, or by taking the Mundo Cuervo Express train to the town of Tequila, where the drink originated.

To qualify for a Guinness World Record and become “officially amazing,” entries must be measurable and breakable. In 2019 Guadalajara broke its own record for the largest Mexican folk dance. Back in 2011, the city had assembled 457 dancers for a folk ball during the annual mariachi and charrería festival. This time around, an impressive 882 men and women gathered in dazzling traditional costumes (which were also rated) during the chamber of commerce-organized event. The dancers were only required to complete a choreographed routine for five straight minutes, but they swayed, smiled, and stamped on for six minutes and 50 seconds in total.