Two Visits to the Market

After my friend Heather departed Mexico City, another friend, Charles, arrived for a few days here before moving on to other parts of the country.  I took each of them to my favorite market, Jamaica Market.  Every time I have visitors come to Mexico City, I include the Jamaica Market as one of the places to see.  (If you have been following this blog for a few years, you have already undoubtedly read about it.)  It is a fascinating place any time of year, but during the Day of the Dead season, it is even better.  It is perhaps the best place in the city for buying Day of the Dead decorations and objects for your "ofrenda".  There are more than 1000 vendors selling flowers, making it one of the city's most colorful places, but this time of year there are also more marigolds than you have ever seen.

So, here a some photos and videos that I took on my two recent trips to my favorite market...

The Jamaica Market is housed in a large building.  As with other public markets in the city, there are stands selling fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, clothing, and household goods.

However, it is the market's gigantic flower section that makes it famous.

In the days leading up to Day of the Dead, there are enormous quantities of marigolds for sale... potted marigolds, cut marigolds, even bags of marigold petals to scatter as a path leading to the "ofrenda".

Marigolds are brought in by the truckload.

Another flower that is used during the Day of the Dead is a variety of celosia known in Spanish as "terciopelo" (velvet).  It's deep red color represents the blood of Christ.

Our friend Charles stands in front of a heap of marigolds.  Charles lives in Puerto Rico, so he is fluent in Spanish.  However he had difficulty remembering and pronouncing the word used in Mexico for marigold...  "cempasúchil", a word that comes from the Aztec language of Nahuatl.

The market was also full of handicrafts and decorations for the Day of the Dead (and for Halloween).  Here Heather stands in front of the large papier mache skeleton.

There are plenty of "catrina" figures (the elegantly dressed skeletons that are a symbol of Day of the Dead).

There are lots of restaurants within the market.  I frequently go to a stand called "Carnitas Paty" where they sell delicious pork tacos.  When Charles and I were there, we had just finished a big breakfast, so we didn't eat any tacos.  However, Charles did try "tepache", a refreshing beverage made from slightly fermented pineapple and brown sugar.  ("Tepache" is another word from the Aztec language that was new to Charles.)  He really liked it.

The Day of the Dead season would not be complete without a visit to the Jamaica Market, and this year I was there twice!