El Mercado: Quick Fix for Mexicophiles

El Mercado in East Los Angeles is big and loud and sloppy--and those are its good points. Mariachi bands--of the most sincere nature--blare away relentlessly. Amateurs sometimes take the microphone for a turn at a plaintive Norteno song. And a few itinerant musicians work the floor, antique squeeze-boxes and violins in hand, to add to the din.

For any Mexicophile, El Mercado is a quick fix, a close approximation of the markets and cantinas in Mexico. A mix of Tijuana and Mexico City’s Garibaldi Plaza with only a passing accommodation to its north-of-the-border location.

On weekends, it is crowded with homesick Latinos. Few non-Latinos venture here but those who do are welcomed. It is a far cry from La Fonda on Wilshire, where not only is the music slicker, but all the mariachi bands have matching ensembles that are tightly tucked and recently pressed. At La Fonda, the mariachis play for office workers and tourists--for crowds of Japanese. They even sing in Japanese. El Mercado’s considerable charm is in its authenticity.

El Mercado is a huge, three-story building with small shops on the first floor, markets and a tortilla factory on the second and the restaurants and bars on the third (more or less, since there are some restaurants on two and some shops on three). The walkways into the market are lined with open-air vendors selling frilly little dresses and toys. All around, conversations are in Spanish.

Men crowd the beer bars in the corners. Families cluster at long tables or squeeze six people into a booth meant for four. Young couples smooch in booths. A photographer roams about, his camera in one hand, a velvet-and-sequin sombrero in the other, ready to capture the moment on film but few people seem interested. Another meandering vendor sells roses that glow in the dark; she does a brisk business.

The right table is everything at El Mercado--but it’s not to see and be seen, but to hear and be heard. Pick the wrong spot and you’ll have one mariachi band in your right ear, another in your left. The trick is to align yourself with one mariachi band alone.

Inside the middle level, there are stalls selling medicinal herbs, renting videos in Spanish (by the hour, 25 cents, or day, $2) and people getting ready for hot tortillas fresh from the huge griddles. Children press their noses against the wire to see how they are made. Mexican-style delis sell chorizos and cheeses. Pinatas and clay cazuelas , or casseroles, are much cheaper than in Olvera Street. There are butchers, a liquor store and a large grocery in the center.

The third floor is a large balcony, open to the market below. The hottest spot upstairs is on the west side of the building, in the semi-nightclub area called La Perla. La Perla consistently draws the largest crowds and has the best mariachi bands. But the tables are close to the bandstand and some sacrifice is required to sit here. You can’t sit back--away from the bandstand--because then you’ll be in the next mariachi zone.

The food is cheap and uninspired here. All the seemingly different restaurants have the same menu: heavy on tacos and burritos. The salsa is canned, the guacamole is the homogenized variety that one would think only Midwesterners would serve. But there are dishes worth ordering. The birria is a rich, dark barbecued goat. Sopes, a variation on the taco theme, are thick masa cups topped with pork, sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes. The shrimp ceviche is excellent.

El Mercado is open daily but the time to visit is weekends for the mariachis and the crowds.

El Mercado, 3425 East 1st St., East Los Angeles, (213) 268-3451.