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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Tepatitlan de Morelos

(Pronounced: teh-puh-teet-LAAN)

Mexican Highlands, Jalisco, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

It's called "Tepa" for short.

This clean, friendly city in the northern highlands of Mexico's state of Jalisco had a beautiful Baroque-style Cathedral, a gazebo of wrought iron made in France then transported to Mexico, and some fun rooftop restaurants and bars.

Take a look!

Walking around town

Marinated and baked chamorro, Tepatitlan, Mexico

Marinated and baked chamorro

 

 

 

 

Tepatitlan is known for its food.

When walking around town after we arrived, we saw "chamorro" listed on the menu of a Plaza-front restaurant and went right in! While chamorros can be beef or pork, this one is a pork shank.

Imagine fall-off-the-bone tender pork with a delicious, satisfying red-sauce flavor.

One portion ran about $6USD per plate, and could easily have fed two people. It is a Mexican specialty.

Beautiful iron street signs, Tepatitlan, Mexico

Beautiful iron street signs

The names Esparza and Morelos have a long history in the country of Mexico.

Don Lope Ruiz de Esparza was born in Spain to a family of Basque nobility. He is considered to be the patriarch of the the Ruiz de Esparza family who intermarried extensively with other prominent Spanish families in the early settlements of this highland area of Mexico. 

José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement. He was also a distant relative to conquistador Hernán Cortés.

You will also see on this street sign that the Santo Toribio eye clinic is advertised along with the phone number. 

Large mural in the City Hall building, Tepatitlan, Mexico

Large mural in the City Hall building

Often times, in the interior of Mexico's City Hall buildings, are great murals painted of the founders, the wars and the leadership of the country. In the City Hall of Tepa, this large mural encircles the staircase representing its particular history.

You cannot see the full top of the mural, only part of the large foot of Anacleto Gonzales Flores coming into the pictorial. Flores was executed in 1927 under the rule of the fiercely anti-clerical and anti-Catholic Mexican President Calles.

This is the time period where Cathedrals, monasteries and convents were all vulnerable. The government kicked out the priests, friars, and nuns from these beautifully made buildings with their manicured gardens, and allowed the locals to move in. The buildings soon went into disrepair and of course, the gardens went barren.

The left of the mural shows the Cristero War fighters and you are looking directly at the painted rendition of the nationally acclaimed beautiful women of the city. This area is known as having one of the largest concentration of Mexicans of European decent in the country. The mixed heritage accounts for this obvious beauty of their women.

Traditional Mexican attire to celebrate Independence Day, Tepatitlan, Mexico

Traditional Mexican attire to celebrate Independence Day

We visited Tepa right before Mexico's Independence Day. Native costumes were for sale for those who wanted to dress the part for the celebrations.

The dresses on the rack at the lower right are running about $10USD each on a liquidation sale. 

Just love the tropical shift dress, first on the rack! Ten bucks!

Mexico's flag, hats, tassels and more on sale Tepatitlan, Mexico

Mexico's flag, hats, tassels and more

Here you find a display of woven sombreros, the Mexican flag, tassels, charms, pins, ribbons and more for sale. Vendors are gearing up for the holiday.

The Mexicans are very patriotic.

Rooftop and street level restaurants in Tepatitlan, Mexico

Rooftop and street level restaurants

All around the Plaza are restaurants with a view. Whether it's a rooftop upper level view, or one on the street level, it's very entertaining to dine in this area of town.

You can people-watch, or enjoy the clouds coming and going over the mountains in the distance.

Domino's Pizza and a delicious pastry shop, Tepatitlan, Mexico

Domino's Pizza and a delicious pastry shop

Just a couple of streets off the main square you can find Domino's Pizza, and in this case, a cafe that serves a delicious pastry selection.

We saw an amazing amount of dress stores, beauty salons, shoe stores and bridal stores in Tepa. The women were always dressed remarkably well.

Cheese shop in Tepatitlan, Mexico

Cheese shop in Tepa

Tepatitlan is the largest producer of eggs in Mexico and of pork in the state. It's also the primary milk basin in the country. Therefore, it is also famous for its cheese manufacturing.

We stopped by a cheese shop and bought this small package of adobera cheese, known for its delicious flavor and melting properties.

You can see various other cheeses - rounds, tubes and triangles - in the refrigerated case in the background. 

Fruit vendor set up in the street, Tepatitlan, Mexico

Fruit vendor set up in the street

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All over the world we have seen fruit vendors set up shop right in the street. The fruit is so fresh, sweet and delicious! Sometimes they will offer fruit smoothies, quart containers filled with cut fruit or even "agua fresca," a sweetened drink made with water and fruit.

Specials of the day in a store, Tepatitlan, Mexico

Specials of the day

Here are some promotions listed on a chalk board. One kilo of beef mixed with sausage runs about $7USD. One-half kilo of oven roasted pork shank (chamorro), a Mexican specialty, is just over $7USD.

Yum!

Well-dressed Tepa woman walking the street

Well-dressed Tepa woman walking the street

This woman in her high heeled ankle boots walks in front of a store that is offering shoes beginning at $5USD.

Notice the off-the-sidewalk trash bins, and the upscale vehicles parked in front of the store.

Jalisco is a wealthy Mexican state.

The main Tepatitlan Plaza from LOLAs Restaurant

The main Plaza from 4 floors up

We had rain off and on during our visit to Tepatitlan. Here you see the wet Plaza from 4 stories up at LOLA Rooftop Tapas and Bar. The wrought-iron gazebo is in the center of the Plaza, and the cement rendition of a guitar is on the left side, almost to the street.

There are plenty of benches on which to sit, and the bushes, trees and gardens are well manicured. Beautiful street lights are every few feet.

LOLA's Rooftop Bar and Restaurant, Tepatitlan, Mexico

The Gang at LOLA's

 

 

 

 

Unbeknownst to us, LOLA's had just opened a couple of months previously. We visited this Tapas Bar several times during our stay in Tepa. Reasonably priced with a terrific view of the Cathedral, the Plaza below and the mountains surrounding the city, LOLA did not disappoint.

Service was friendly and quick and the food was really tasty. In fact, our waiter recommended the baby squid in Italian sauce and told us that if we didn't like it, he'd buy it for us!

Wine, beer, sodas and mixed drinks were all available. 

St. Francis Cathedral, Tepatitlan, Mexico

St. Francis Cathedral

This was our view from the rooftop of LOLA. One of the evenings when we were there, a parade for Santuario del Señor de la Misericordia was happening below. Young men were in the bell towers ringing the Cathedral bells by hand for at least 5 full minutes straight. The bells were larger than the young men themselves, so you can imagine how heavy they were!

They leaned their whole bodies into the rope and swayed back and forth to ring the bell.

The faithful were below, carrying a replica of the Lord of Mercy as they walked three sides of the Plaza. This celebration has been going on each year for almost 200 years.

If you would like to visit Tepatitlan, information is below:

Our Hotel:

Hotel Real Alteño

Calle Hidalgo 80

Centro, 47600 Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco

Phone: 378 781 3908

LOLA Rooftop

Calle Samartin #15

Centro, 47600 Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco 

Opens 6PM

Phone: 378 688 0180

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VIDEOS, VIDEOS, VIDEOS! See Mexico for yourself! Beaches, Bars, Babes, Great Food, Live Music.

For more stories and photos about Mexico, click here

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About the Authors

 
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

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