May 15, 2011

Scenes From A Mexican Market

A lot can be learned about a culture when wandering a local market where few tourists tread. The food, dress and even how a culture celebrates can be revealed. Xochimilco, located in the far south of Mexico City and famous for its canals, has a sprawling market.


The Aztecs farmed here and it comes as no surprise that the produce is made even more exceptional in the way it is displayed.


An entire section of the market is dedicated to dining, with a variety of cuisine simmering.


In the butcher’s section a pig’s head looked as though it could have been equally at home in a biology class.


Large bags of many varieties of chilies were abundant.


There were plenty of stalls selling Chicharones, crispy fried pork skin and a popular snack in Mexico.


Stacks of handmade pottery for which Mexico is well known were available to set many a household’s table.


There always seems to be a section in every big market I’ve been to in Mexico selling an array of colorful piƱatas.

There are certain countries in which markets are particularly outstanding. Mexico is one of them. India and Morocco also come to mind.

What are your favorite “market” countries?

5 comments:

Andrew Graeme Gould said...

A great follow on from your last post, Wendy, with this interesting market series.

Anja Mutic said...

I love visiting markets wherever I go! It's the best way to get a glimpse of local life. The highlight was perhaps the market I visited in Angola last year, one of Africa's largest black markets, which has since shut down. So my visit was historical, literally.

Wendy said...

Andrew, Thank you!

Anja, The market in Angola sounds likes the kind of place where you literally could have bought anything.

R xx said...

For atmosphere, the English Market in Cork, Ireland is hands down the most amazing market I've ever been to. Local produce, colourful surroundings (and local characters!)... and it's cheap to! If it's good enough for the Queen of England to visit, it's good enough for me !

For looks and a beautiful experience, the open air markets in Aix-en-Provence in the South of France are very hard to beat.

They have a separate market each day ofr food, flowers and books... and the sun ALWAYS shine! Beautiful.

R xx said...

What a colourful, weird and wonderful country Mexico is!