Markets of Mexico City Are a Browser’s Dream

Mexico City markets can be an adventure.

Nearly every neighborhood has either a mercado , with shops brimming with food, clothing, gadgets and art, or a weekly tianguis where vendors hawk fresh fruits, spices, sweets and a wide variety of handicrafts from stalls.

Large markets, which are accustomed to dealing with tourists, have good supplies of embroidered or hand-knit clothing, straw bags, colorful handicrafts and souvenirs in special stalls scattered between vendors selling foods and household goods.

Smaller markets may sell more unusual goods and have prices that are often cheaper. However, if you don’t restrict your browsing to the best (cleanest and most expensive) markets, be prepared for unfamiliar smells, sights and sounds.

Prices are rarely fixed and bargaining is expected. Most vendors accept pesos, dollars and traveler’s checks, but few take credit cards. When paying in dollars, round off the exchange rate in your favor to get the best price.

In the south of the city is Bazar Sabado, a browser’s dream come true. It is set in an old mansion at Plaza San Jacinto 11 in the heart of San Angel, an exclusive, wealthy, residential area.

This sprawling colonial structure was originally occupied by the Counts of Oploca, an influential aristocratic family that hired the best architects to create this showplace and family seat.

Today the landmark building has dozens of stalls and shops on the first floor and balcony. A restaurant in the umbrella-covered central patio serves Mexican dishes. Outside the walls surrounding the mansion, streets are filled with stands set up by vendors.

Artists turn the small park directly in front of the mansion into an outdoor gallery. Often a hurdy-gurdy man makes music on the corner.

Inside Bazar Sabado you’ll find high-quality handicrafts including embroidered clothing, boxes made of brass and glass, ceramics from Puebla and Jalisco, hand-blown glass goblets, papier-mache and ceramic figurines of devils and peasants, carved-wood masks, hand-woven blankets and rugs, hand-knit sweaters and lacquered Olinala chests and trays.

Some of Bazar Sabado’s artists sell their work only here. One stall displays large and intriguing futuristic automobiles, airplanes, submarines and bicycles made out of discarded bolts, spatulas, saw blades, screwdrivers, other construction equipment and scraps of metal, for $25 and up per sculpture.

Another booth offers crystals in delicate silver (from $30) or gold settings (from $50) to be worn as rings or pendants. Others are carefully mounted on wooden base blocks (from $45) to be displayed on mantles or night tables.

Girasol, the Mexican fashion label, has a boutique featuring long and short cotton dresses ($50 and up) with colorful embroidery and ribbon trim, multicolored pantsuits and hand-knit sweaters ($45 and up). Another boutique has handmade Christmas tree ornaments ($3 and up).

Prices at Bazar Sabado are higher than at other crafts markets, but merchandise is more unusual and of better quality, too. Some vendors have fixed prices; several take credit cards. Bazar Sabado is open on Saturdays only, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Centrally sited in the Zona Rosa, Insurgentes Market (Londres 154) is a mazelike alley with about 200 stalls filled to overflowing. Among the findings: embroidered clothing, hand-knit wool sweaters, baskets, blankets, glassware, ceramics, wood, leather, silver and gems (including pseudo-silver and gems, so buyer beware), copper and brass and papier-mache items that are functional or fanciful, plus blankets, rugs and rebozos (shawls).

Best-bet stalls include Bertha de Ponce’s silver shop at No. 145 (heavy silver and lapis necklaces, wide-band silver bracelets and eye-catching earrings of monumental proportion; about $8 and up); Juanita Garcia’s lacquerware shop at No. 154 (black lacquer boxes with gold-leaf decorations, brooches and pendants, all from the state of Michoacan; $10 and up) and Artesanias Patricia at No. 174 (specializing in all sorts of textiles and embroidered clothing from the states of Oaxaca, Jalisco and Chiapas; $40 and up).

Bargain With Cash

Insurgentes Market has reasonable prices for the skilled bargainer. Some stalls accept credit cards, but cash makes for a better bargain. Be on guard against onyx that is sold as jade and red and blue garments that may bleed during laundering. The market is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; some stalls close for lunch or on Sunday afternoons.

Nearby, Centro de Antiquedades (Londres 161 in the Plaza del Angel, a series of little alleys and a picturesque courtyard), is a Saturday-only (10 a.m to 6 p.m., more or less) antique fair.

Antique armoires, made of richly carved wood and too large or too grand to fit anywhere other than a hacienda like the one in which it undoubtedly originated, sell for $800.

Huge crystal chandeliers ($300 and up) deserve modern-day palaces. Smaller items include ancient tomes ($4 and up), vintage sheet music ($3 and up), coins, lamp fixtures ($6 and up), jewelry, china, photos and, best of all, retablos (religious paintings done with oil on tin; priced about $20 and up).

Lagunilla, downtown at Rayon, Allende and Comonfort (near Plaza Garibaldi), is a multi-building market with stalls selling unexceptional food, clothing, household items, handicrafts and leather goods.

However, every Sunday the area becomes a giant flea market, with hundreds of vendors selling antiques and second-hand paraphernalia.

The objects, most of which sell for $15 or less, include crystal and china, old photos and watches, jewelry, paintings, vintage clothes and antique electrical devices for every imaginable application.

The Sunday market is very popular with Mexicans and tourists, who come in search of the bustling ambiance or the rare masterpiece that’s been obscured by dust. Bargain hard, pay cash and watch out for hustlers . . . and for your wallet.

Variety of Products

La Ciudadela Arts and Crafts Market, downtown at the corner of Balderas and Ayuntamiento, is a shocking-pink building with 256 stalls selling wonderful folk art, run-of-the-mill handicrafts and a whole lot of junk.

Best bets include painted wooden masks (from $15) from the state of Guerrero, most typically of tigers, pirates and demons with horns, and Nativity scenes (from $20) made of wood, ceramic or papier-mache, plus colorful lacquerware (from $40) chests, tables and trays, and copper (from $15) or earthenware (from $5) pots.

Textiles include woolen rebozos and ponchos (from $20), and a selection of finely embroidered dresses with floral patterns (from $45).

La Ciudadela features artesanias (craftsmen) at work. As many as 70 artisans in the mercado produce everything from weavings to woodwork. Prices depend on persistent bargaining; haggle down to the last peso, and pay cash only. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

San Juan Market, at Ayuntamiento and Arranda several blocks from La Ciudadela, is quieter, less crowded and somewhat less exciting, but offers a similar array of goods.

Sullivan Park Art Market (Sundays only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at Sullivan Park in Colonia San Rafael, is an outdoor gallery of modern Mexican art. Artists exhibit canvases and sculptures on the lawns, then sketch, read or chat while browsers stroll past.

Quality, media and style vary but include: watercolors of typical Mexican towns or landscapes, oils or pastels of Indians or beautiful nudes, bold acrylic abstractions, sculptures of beggars in bronze and ceramic busts of Maya or Aztec chieftains.

The setting is pleasant and friendly, and you don’t have to buy anything unless it’s perfect for that blank space over the mantelpiece. And don’t forget to isit the nearby produce market for tasty nibbles of cheese from Chihuahua or Oaxaca, as well as exotic fruits.

For readers with questions about the Reject China Shop (134 Regent St., London; Times Shopper, March 5): This shop and its branches went into receivership in December, 1986. All assets, including the name, were sold to new owners who resumed trading under the same name. However, the new owners are in no way connected to the previous owners and are not responsible for orders placed and paid for before their ownership. Claims for undelivered merchandise bought before December, 1986, should be addressed to N. R. Lyle, Joint Receiver, Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants, Fairfax House, Fulwood Place, London WC1V 6DW.

Prices in this article reflect currency exchange rates at the time of writing .