![Mty Tianguis 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Mty_Tianguis_01.jpg)
A is an open-air market or
bazaar
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases essentially unchanged into the present day.
The word comes from
in
Classical Nahuatl
Classical Nahuatl (also known simply as Aztec or Nahuatl) is any of the variants of Nahuatl spoken in the Valley of Mexico and central Mexico as a ''lingua franca'' at the time of the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. During the s ...
, the language of the
Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...
.
In rural areas, many traditional types of merchandise are still sold, such as agriculture supplies and products as well as modern, mass-produced goods. In the cities, mass-produced goods are mostly sold, but the organization of events is mostly the same.
There are also specialty events for holidays such as Christmas as well as for particular types of items such as cars or art.
History
![Hall2MercedDF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Hall2MercedDF.JPG)
The tradition of buying and selling in temporary markets set up either on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, etc.) is a strong feature in much of Mexican culture and has a history that extends far back into the pre-Hispanic period.
It was the most important form of commerce in the pre-Hispanic era, and after the
Spanish Conquest
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
, the Europeans mostly kept this tradition intact.
Market areas have been identified in ruins such as
El Tajín
El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site in southern Mexico and is one of the largest and most important cities of the Mesoamerican chronology, Classic era of Mesoamerica. A part of the Classic Veracruz culture, El Tajín flourished from ...
in
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, and a number of pre-Hispanic towns were initially founded as regional markets, such as
Santiago Tianguistenco
Santiago Tianguistenco (), often simply called Santiago by locals, is a city located in Mexico State about thirty km south of the state capital of Toluca. It is the municipal seat for the municipality of Tianguistenco. It is located in the southwe ...
and
Chichicastenango
Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a town, with a population of 71,394 (2018 census), and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name in the El Quiché department of Guatemala. It is locate ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
.
The word derives from the Nahuatl word 'open air-market', from 'to trade, sell'. The most important markets, such as the one in
Tlatelolco, were set up and taken down every day of the week. This market served about one fifth of the population of
Tenochtitlan
, ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
(Mexico City) before the Conquest and had its own governing system, which included a panel of twelve judges to resolve disputes.
Today, one of the most visited exhibits in the
National Museum of Anthropology
The National Museum of Anthropology ( es, Museo Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is a national museum of Mexico. It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street withi ...
is the model of the pre-Hispanic market such as the one in Tenochtitlan.
From the time of the Conquest to the present, many , especially in rural areas, have continued to operate much in the same way as before, with only changes in merchandise that reflect changing customer needs.
In the cities, especially Mexico City, the history of these markets is filled with examples of attempts to regulate them and push them away to other places, with mixed success. The
Zócalo
The Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used t ...
, or main plaza of Mexico City, was the scene of a number of efforts to clear the area of ,
street vendor
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationa ...
s, and establish permanent markets in or near the plaza such as the Parian. In all these cases, vendors eventually retook the plaza
This problem was again tackled in the 1990s as part of an effort to revitalize the historic center of Mexico City. Despite much initial resistance, the area has been free of street peddlers since that time.
Much of the ' business that used to be done in the Zocalo has now moved to other places such as the Tepito neighborhood.
In the 20th century, local governments in Mexico have promoted municipal or public markets or to better regulate the selling of goods traditionally available in . In Mexico City, some of the better known of these markets are
La Merced,
Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market and
Mercado Lagunilla
Mercado is the Portuguese and Spanish word for ''market''. It may refer to:
Public markets
* Mercado de las Carnes, a former meat market in Ponce, Puerto Rico
* Mercado Central, Valencia, a public market in Valencia, Spain
* Mercado Central de S ...
.
La Merced is located in an area that had been a huge for most of the colonial period as it was located at the edge of a lake (now drained).
The Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market was specifically built by the government in the 1930s to try to “modernize” the sale of produce and other staples. It went as far as having a daycare center and a theater and commissioning
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
to supervise the painting of murals inside. These murals can still be seen today.
However, these efforts have not eliminated the tradition; in fact, the number of such informal markets (5,836,000) far surpasses the number of (2,810,000). In Mexico City alone, there are 317 versus 1,357 . One reason is that many of these mercados are not well-maintained and few new ones have been built since the 1970s.
The is part of the so-called “
informal economy
An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.
Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countrie ...
”
even though many of the “informal” vendors are well enough known and established to offer services such as layaway.
While many established stores consider the to be damaging to their businesses,
many Mexican consumers see both sectors as complementary.
Surveys of consumers have shown that many Mexicans buy from because of the frequent lack of bargains, social interaction, and customer service in formal stores. According to one survey, over 90% stated that they have bought merchandise from a , with the average family spending about 300 pesos per visit. The most common items sold in include groceries, beauty supplies, clothing, appliances, electronics, prepared foods, tools and used goods.
About a third of Mexicans buy at least some of their clothing and shoes in .
Operation
![TianguisMetepec](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/TianguisMetepec.JPG)
In the most traditional of tianguis, public officials will close off a street to vehicle traffic on a specified day so that merchants (called “ambulantes”) can set up their spaces on the sidewalks and/or roadways. Most of the spaces are covered by plastic tarps to protect sellers and vendors from the sun and/or the rain. They often enclose the entire area, giving the market an enclosed feeling. In many rural and smaller towns, there is usually a preferred area, which is usually in the town center, near the church plaza and permanent market.
In larger cities, the market exists, often in places with no supermarkets or mercados nearby.
Neighbors and permanent merchants in the
Del Valle neighborhood of Mexico City see the weekly tianguis as a benefit. It brings basic staples such as vegetables, fruit, clothing as well as crafts and traditional sweets to a neighborhood that does not have a permanent market or supermarket. For permanent merchants, the tianguis brings increased foot traffic to the area.
Many crowd around established markets or “mercados” such as La Lagunilla in Mexico City. In cases such as these, vendors set up stalls everyday, but the area is most crowded on weekends. On Saturdays in La Lagunilla, stands selling leather, coats and jackets, vintage clothes and other items crowd the streets.
![CraftsSFtztztz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/CraftsSFtztztz.JPG)
Some tianguis are private spaces, which usually contain both permanent buildings and open areas for stalls. One example of this is El Sol in
Zapopan, Jalisco
Zapopan () is a city and municipality located in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, the population of Zapopan city proper makes it the second largest city in the state, very close behind the population of G ...
, where the vendors in the permanent area operate all week and the tianguis area is mostly occupied on weekends.
Most tianguis operate more according to tradition than by formal rules. All have some kind of administrator or administration committee. The job of administrators is to interact with local authorities on behalf of tianguis sellers and manage internal affairs, especially the assignment of spaces and the collection of rental fees.
The first rule is the process of negotiating for a space, but often this includes the denial of spaces for those who are unknown to the administration. Another is for vendors to watch out for authorities and warn others of authorities who may come to inspect sellers.
In some markets,
bartering
In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distingu ...
is making a comeback, especially in the rural areas, such as the northeast of
Morelos
Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...
state. In one market in
Zaculapan, 150 of 400 vendors state that they accept bartered goods, especially in produce and staple food products such as milk and bread. One reason for this is that many rural families lack cash, but raise produce for sale on their own farms and orchards. This tradition has existed for centuries, but increases in hard times.
Vendor spaces can be as simple as a cloth on the ground to a simple table or pile of boxes to tables with walls made up of interconnecting metal poles. Those who sell goods from the ground may have only a few things to sell or their cloth might be filled to the edge. Those with a table have the advantage of having their goods in easier reach of both buyer and seller. Merchandise from these spaces is usually produce, hats, jewelry, pottery and other small, unbreakable items. Stalls with walls allow for the hanging of merchandise such as clothing or the addition of shelves for more delicate wares. These type of stalls can display six times the merchandise than those who sell from the ground or table.
Most goods sold in tianguis are small items that customers can carry away. In many of these markets, vendors selling similar items group together. This has advantages for both buyer and seller, as it provides a wider variety of products than would a single merchant. It also lets shoppers know where to find a particular item. Certain goods are more prone to this such as produce, meat, and certain specialized or craft items. However, exceptions to this occur because a vendor cannot afford space in the area or because he or she is looking for convenience shoppers who are not looking to bargain. Most tianguis sellers, especially produce sellers, arrange their wares in certain arrangements, such as in baskets, or into neat piles to make their wares more attractive.
Rural tianguis
![FirewoodMarketZaachila1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/FirewoodMarketZaachila1.JPG)
The tianguis in rural areas most closely resemble those of centuries past.
Most still contain a large amount of agricultural supplies, produce and other food staples, livestock, handmade items and traditional clothing. In many, indigenous languages such as Nahuatl and
Zapotec can be heard. One example is the Sunday market of
Cuetzalan
Cuetzalan () is a small town set high in the hills in the north of the Mexican state of Puebla, from Puebla, the state capital.
Franciscan friars founded the town in 1547.
Overview
Cuetzalan is located in the Sierra Norte region. The climat ...
,
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
, where Nahuatl speaking people can be heard negotiating prices on items such as vanilla beans, handcrafted textiles,
huipil
''Huipil'' (Nahuatl: '' huīpīlli'' ; Ch'orti': ''b’ujk''; Chuj: ''nip'') is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America.
It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three re ...
s, coffee, flowers and baskets much as their ancestors did.
The
Tlacolula
Tlacolula de Matamoros is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, about 30 km from the center of the city of Oaxaca on Federal Highway 190, which leads east to Mitla and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
It is part of the Tlacolul ...
Sunday market in Oaxaca is the largest and busiest in the central valleys area of the state, and brings people from the very rural areas into town to both sell and buy. The market fills an important retail and social gap as most of the outlying villages are too small to support permanent stores and many use the opportunity to converse with distant neighbors. Even sellers will consider who they want to socialize with when choosing a selling space.
The tianguis of
Chilapa,
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
attracts thousands of
Nahua
The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...
and
Tlapaneco people, who come to buy and sell handcrafts, medicinal plants, local specialties such as
pozole
Pozole (; from nah, pozoll, meaning '' cacahuazintle'', a variety of corn or maize) is a traditional soup or stew from Mexican cuisine. It is made from hominy with meat (typically pork, but possibly chicken), and can be seasoned and garnished ...
and many other items. Many of the visitors are from neighboring regions. Prices are low. It is possible to buy a liter of
mezcal
Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. The word ''mezcal'' comes from Nahuatl , which means "oven-cooked agave", from and .What is MezcalElmezcal.org Traditionally the word "m ...
for only 25
pesos
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...
.
The weekly Thursday market in
Villa de Zaachila
Villa de Zaachila is a town and municipality in Oaxaca, Mexico, six km from Oaxaca City.
It is part of the Zaachila District in the west of the Valles Centrales Region. In the pre-Hispanic era, it was the main city-state for the Valley of Oa ...
is divided into three parts, one devoted to firewood, as many still cook with it, one to livestock and the rest to basic staples.
While many of the goods sold in rural markets are similar to those sold for centuries, modern items such as mass-produced tools, clothing such as jeans, CDs, DVDs and automobiles are also sold.
City tianguis
![ShoeTianguis4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/ShoeTianguis4.JPG)
The organization and function of most city tianguis are mostly the same as those in rural areas; however merchandise varies somewhat and there are problems associated with holding this type of event in the more crowded city. One of the oldest continually operating tianguis in Mexico is the one in
Cuautitlán
Cuautitlán (), is a municipality in the State of Mexico, just north of the northern tip of the Federal District (Distrito Federal) within the Greater Mexico City urban area. The city of Cuautitlán is the municipal seat and makes up most of the ...
, just outside Mexico City, which has been going on every Tuesday for over 500 years. The market was established in 1491 by the
Chichimeca
Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...
s when this area was rural and a way station between Mexico City and points north. Since then, Cuautitlan has become a crowded part of
Greater Mexico City
Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico ( es, Zona metropolitana del Valle de México). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of the S ...
, but the tianguis is still in the same place and operated more or less in the same manner. This market congregates 7,500 vendors from various municipalities and states such as
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
, Puebla,
Pachuca
Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...
and the municipalities of northern
Mexico State
The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from th ...
. It extends over 250,000 m2. There are efforts to move it away from the center and near the municipal border with
Tultitlán, but the merchants have refused to be moved.
Due to the change in tastes needs of customers, urban tianguis focus on different merchandise. Produce and other basic staples are still offered, but other items are far more likely to be manufactured items such as electronics, name brand clothing and other wares. Relatively few crafts or agricultural items are offered in most city tianguis.
Merchandise mostly concentrate on more modern and manufactured items, such as clothing, purses, beauty products, electronics and hand appliances. Those who sell audio and video CDs, a lucrative business, will often have large loudspeakers playing samples of their wares at very high volume.
![Tianguis en San Cristobal Ecatepec](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Tianguis_en_San_Cristobal_Ecatepec.JPG)
Mexico's two largest cities, Mexico City and
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, have large number of tianguis that employ many people. Officially, Guadalajara has 143 registered tianguis in the city, with no new ones approved since 1997. These tianguis have over 40,000 stalls combined. These stalls pay a nominal fee of between 2.5 and 3 pesos per square meter for the right to be there.
About half of the tianguis in Guadalajara operate once a week, about 15% every two weeks and the rest about once a month. In Guadalajara, it is estimated that approximately 95,000 people work in this sector.
In Mexico City, there are 1,066 officially recognized tianguis controlled by 600 tianguis associations, each of whom has between forty and six hundred members. Hundreds of these close entire streets at least one day a week. These tianguis employ about 130,000 people.
These markets are regulated by the Secretaria de Desarrollo Economico and by the Secretaria de Economia Federal. Most tianguis vendors are located in the borough of Iztapalapa, where they make up about one third of the total. This borough contains 304 tianguis markets convene during the week with Gustave A. Madero coming second with 160. Sunday is the busiest day for tianguis, and Tuesday is the slowest.
The largest tianguis in Mexico City is San Felipe de Jesus, which is located on the border of Gustavo A. Madero and Tlalnepantla. This market has been in operation for over forty years, covers 17 km and has 17,000 merchants, which offer their wares from Tuesday to Saturday. This is one of the least governmentally supervised markets due to the fact that it stretches over both the Federal District and the State of Mexico.
Local governments have the authority to inspect and regulate the businesses that operate in tianguis.
Regulations such as Article 52 of the Reglamento Interior de la Administration Publica of the Federal District, are supposed to regulate when and where these events take place as well as inspecting locales and products for sale.
Vendors can be removed if they exceed the limits set, but many cities have trouble enforcing this, leading to traffic jams.
Regulation, such as the checking of scales, and cooking equipment in food stalls, is scarce.
Vendors in tianguis are liable under all consumer protection laws as well.
However, many authorities readily admit that they do not have the manpower to enforce laws and regulations in large, crowded and numerous tianguis, although raids are performed sporadically, especially looking for stolen and counterfeit merchandise.
Stolen merchandise, especially electronics, and unauthorized CDs and DVDs is the largest criminal activity found in tianguis, with copying of CDs and DVDS one of the most lucrative businesses.
Tianguis sellers can be quite sophisticated. According to Iztalapalpa officials, vendors at the El Salado tianguis set up shop as early as 4 or 5 am in order to receive stolen and other merchandise from trucks behind the Unidad Habitacional Concordia Zaragaza housing complex, and use radios to communicate and watch out for authorities Officials claim there are at least ten places in the market that sell drugs and two that sell guns. Much of the allegedly stolen merchandise consists of computer equipment and handheld gadgets such as iPods. The sale of stolen merchandise such as this is popular because it can cost about half of what it does in legal channels.
Counterfeit perfumes are a specialty of the tianguis Del Rosal in
Colonia Los Angeles. Empty bottles of the real merchandise are bought by the vendors and then filled with the counterfeit perfume.
PROFECO
The Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor, or Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer (PROFECO, for short), is an organization of the Mexican government led by on the Attorney General. Mexico became the second Latin American nation to pas ...
, Mexico's consumer protection agency, advises strong caution when shopping in tianguis as it is extremely difficult to help those who have been a victim of fraud.
Another problem is the sale of vehicles that are stolen or illegally imported from the United States. This problem is serious enough to warrant the vigilance of the Procuraduria General de Justicia of Mexico City and special warnings by PROFECO.
Restricted items such as medicines, cigarettes and alcohol are also openly sold. Other available restricted merchandise includes fireworks, blades, knives, pornography, endangered species, and smuggled goods. Other articles include hoods, tear gas, fake guns, and sometimes even real guns. Medicines from the government health service can be found in El Salado, which is held on Wednesdays on Calzada Zaragosa. Patches and uniforms from services such as city police and firemen, as well as the electric company and Telmex can be found as well.
Lastly,
pickpocketing
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...
and assault on both merchants and customers is not unknown.
![Tianguis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Tianguis.jpg)
Many tianguis have problems in the neighborhoods they occupy. These events are accused of “devouring” streets as regulated and non/regulated ones grow and multiply.
The main problem with tianguis is that merchants spread out their wares over sidewalks and other public spaces beyond where they are authorized, blocking pedestrian and vehicular traffic. These places can measure four by four meters on city streets.
Monterrey Street in the Del Valle neighborhood of Mexico City is cut from six lanes to three lanes on tianguis days.
Another problem is that they block scarce parking space.
Residents complain about noise and odor. Lastly, at the end of the day after the stands are taken down and brought home, tons of garbage is left behind, and in areas where market activity is frequent, infrastructure such as light poles and sidewalks are damaged.
Despite the problems and despite the fact that tianguis merchants do not pay taxes, rent or services (however bribes are paid to many city officials
) like established businesses do, eliminating them or even moving them is very difficult due to the large number of people they employ and their firm place in the culture.
Attempts to remove illegally placed merchants or move tianguis entirely generally meet with protest.
For about 34 years, the area around the permanent Mercado Juarez had been the scene of one of the largest tianguis in the city of Toluca, operating more or less every day. On weekends, the number of vendors was as high as 2,800. More than 1,100 police were needed to forcibly remove 560 stands from the triangular plaza in front of Mercado Juarez and the four blocks surrounding it. To prevent the vendors from returning, the entire plaza was back hoed and a large fence installed around the plaza. Police patrolled it and the four-block area for weeks afterwards. While there was no violence, tensions were high and there were verbal protests. The clearing of this tianguis was done to alleviate traffic problems in this part of the city, with vendors offered new space at the site of the old airport.
In some areas, such as
Tepito
Tepito is a barrio located in Colonia Morelos in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City bordered by Avenida del Trabajo, Paseo de la Reforma, Eje 1 and Eje 2. Most of the neighborhood is taken up by the colorful tianguis, a traditional open-air ...
in Mexico City, almost the entire neighborhood is employed as informal merchants with even more that come in to sell.
This market has a long tradition here and is the largest and most vibrant in the city in the 21st century.
Specialty tianguis
![WomanAlebrijesTilcajete](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/WomanAlebrijesTilcajete.JPG)
Many occasional and some semi permanent tianguis are specialty markets, either specializing in one type of good or are set up for a specific season. One semi permanent market is the “Fashion Tianguis,” with about fifty vendors who sell clothing each weekend at
Parque México
The Parque México ( en, lit. "Mexico Park"), officially Parque San Martín, is a large urban park located in Colonia Hipódromo in the Condesa area of Mexico City. It is recognized by its Art Deco architecture and decor as well as being one of t ...
in Mexico City. Most are true designer labels from various countries, including Mexico. Merchandise includes many ítems that have not sold in upscale stores. Other tianguis that specialize in fashion include Plaza Cibeles on weekends, La Lagunilla on Sundays, and Del Chopo on Saturdays. The last specializes in “dark” and
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style marked by dark, mysterious, antiquated, homogenous, and often genderless features. It is worn by members of the Goth subculture. clothing, Dress, typical gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, exotic hairsty ...
.
The city of
Tonalá, Jalisco
Tonalá () is a city and municipality within the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area in the state of Jalisco in Mexico. With a population of 374,258, it is the fourth largest city in the state, the other three being the other major population centres in ...
, sponsors a tianguis adjacent to the permanent market, which is restricted mostly to vendors who sell locally made pottery and other craft items. It is called the Tianuges de Artesanos.
A number of cities such as
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
, and Guadalajara have tianguis that operate only to sell used cars.
The open air art market of
San Ángel
San Ángel is a Colonia (Mexico), colonia or neighborhood of Mexico City, located in the southwest in Álvaro Obregón, D.F., Álvaro Obregón borough. Historically, it was a rural community, called Tenanitla in the pre-Hispanic period. Its curren ...
has occurred every Saturday morning since 1964 and sells mostly traditional and indigenous fine arts, created in Mexico. It is located in a tiny park named Plaza Tenanitla and is the oldest art market in Mexico City.
Some of the artists and artisans are the children and grandchildren of the original founders of the market. While many of the artists live in Mexico City, a number travel from as far as the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Mexico State to sell. It is informally known as the Saturday Bazaar, but the association that runs it formally calls it the tianguis Artesanal Tenanitla. Most of the stalls still sell paintings and sculptures but other also sell crafts, snacks and antiques.
![View4DDSanTianMkt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/View4DDSanTianMkt.JPG)
Seasonal tianguis serve needs for holidays and other annual events. In
San Pablo Tultepec, there is a tianguis of fireworks in August and the first part of September before the
annual Independence Day celebrations in Mexico. It is located on the entrance to the town from the highway between
Toluca
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...
and Mexico City. Everything from sparklers to complicated sets with moving parts are sold. This market operates with licenses from the State of Mexico as well as from the
Secretariat of National Defense
The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA); es, Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equa ...
.
In Saltillo every Thursday during
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
, there is a tianguis devoted entirely to fish and seafood, partially sponsored by the federal
agency.
A number of municipalities, such as
Hermosillo
Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city located in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo Municipality, Her ...
,
Tepic
Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexican state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality.
Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above sea level, on the banks of the Río Mo ...
,
Xalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...
and
Celaya
Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding municipalities of Mexico, municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 3 ...
, sponsor tianguis for back-to-school, in order to allow parents to buy uniforms, school supplies and other needs at lower prices. Credit is also offered to customers at these events.
The most important seasonal tianguis are for the Christmas holiday season, which runs from late November to January 6. From near Christmas Eve up until
Epiphany
Epiphany may refer to:
* Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight
Religion
* Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ
** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...
, many of these stalls are open from early in the morning to very late at night. Most of the merchandise revolves around items for nativity scenes and Christmas trees. Trees are sold as well, with taxis and men with hand trucks nearby to hire.
Some tianguis can be a tourist attraction in themselves. Every year the indigenous and folk art tianguis is held in
Uruapan
Uruapan is the second largest city in the Mexico, Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located at the western edge of the Tarascan Plateau, Purépecha highlands, just to the east of the Tierra Caliente (Mexico), Tierra Caliente region. Since the colo ...
during
Holy Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
, which is a major vacation time in Mexico. Over twelve hundred artisans come to the city on the large main plaza to sell. The promotional literature states that it is the largest tianguis of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, and is accompanied by arts contests, parades and banquets. This event is one of the top five for the state of Michoacan and accounts for 15% to 20% of the income this small city makes each year.
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See also
*
Kirana store
Kirana may refer to:
* Kirana Hills, Pakistan
** Kirana-I, a series of 24 cold-tests conducted by Pakistan during 1983–1990 in the Kirana Hills
** Kirana Bar, a hilly area named after the Kirana Hills
* Kirana store, a small neighborhood ret ...
(India)
*
Farmers' markets
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
*
History of marketing
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
Market (place)
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
*
Merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
*
Pochteca
''Pochteca'' (singular ''pochtecatl'') were professional, long-distance traveling merchants in the Aztec Empire. The trade or commerce was referred to as ''pochtecayotl''. Within the empire, the ''pochteca'' performed three primary duties: market ...
*
Retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
*
Wet market#Mexico
References
{{Reflist
Mexican culture
Retail markets in Mexico