La Merced Market

[1] The area, also called La Merced, has been synonymous with commercial activity since the early colonial period when traders arrived here from other parts of New Spain.

[2] This ended when the Central de Abasto was opened in the 1980s, but La Merced remains the largest traditional retail market.

[4] La Merced is located east of the main plaza or Zócalo in several very large buildings, and is the city's largest traditional retail market.

The neighborhood is an old one, and stories and legends, such as the whispers of Doña Esperanza Goyeneche de Ruiz Garcia who died here.

In the 19th century, the famous Circo Orrín with the first Mexican clown Ricardo Bell of Pachuca regularly stopped near this market.

[8] By the early 20th century La Merced was the major wholesale and retail market of Mexico City, especially for foodstuffs.

At that time, the Central de Abasto market was created in the south of the city to take over and modernize the wholesaling of foodstuffs, especially produce and meat.

[3] La Merced continues to be the largest retail traditional market of Mexico City for a wide variety of everyday products such as fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, toys, clothes; flowers, candy and more.

[10] In 1998, a major fire destroyed two-thirds of the main hall of the market, along with 572 stalls selling dried chili peppers, fruit, vegetables, shoes and piñatas in the early morning hours of 4 May.

[2] Basic Mexican foodstuffs is the backbone of this markets selling Mexican spices such as epazote,[1] chili peppers fresh and dried of just about every variety, nopals (cactus pads), chicharrones (fried pig skins), corn, and less commonly-encountered products like wild mushrooms.

Vendors can be seen tying stacks of banana leaves, cutting spines from nopals, and selling “secret” herbal remedies.

Like the quesadillas, tostadas have a wide variety of toppings and the crunchy tortilla sometimes has unusual flavorings such as sesame seeds and chipotle.