Mexico City's Mercado La Ciudadela ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

Mexico City's Mercado La Ciudadela Threatened

Replies: 9 - Last Post: 20-May-2007 09:45 Last Post By: longford

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Posted
18-May-2007 07:05
by: longford

Posts: 4,117
Registered: 28/05/03

Mexico City's Mercado La Ciudadela Threatened

The existence of Mexico City's (and Mexico's) best known craft market - La Ciudadela - appears to be in jeopardy, according to a report appearing in today's Mexico City El Universal newspaper:

Quote
Mexico City's famed and funky Ciudadela artisans market may soon be shut down to make room for a modern shopping plaza.

The colorful maze of 355 stalls and workshops, with handcrafted artifacts ranging from silver trinkets and creative ceramics to regional clothing and Michoacán- style guitars, is the principal source of income for more than 20,000 artisans and their employees.

The sprawling market has drawn tourists from across the globe since its inauguration in 1966. Veteran shop owners estimate that between 60 percent and 70 percent of Ciudadela customers are foreigners.

But the beloved market may end up the victim of its own advantages.

To read the story in its entirety (in English), click here. And to view some photos of the market, click here, here and here.

If you'd like to add your voice to others wanting to see Ciudadela continue in its present location, send an email.

Posted
18-May-2007 08:33
by: northword

Posts: 560
Registered: 14/04/07

1

It seems to me that there was a similar hare-brained scheme to shut down the Parian crafts market in Puebla along with the Talavera workshops and retail outlets in the streets around for redevelopment. Activism worked there and I hope the same will work for La Ciudadela. By the same token whenever I've been there, I have always noted how few customers there are at La Ciudadela so it perhaps needs more publicity to attract visitors both Mexican and foreign.

Posted
18-May-2007 10:32
by: GoodtimeBob

Posts: 2,779
Registered: 12/04/00

2

I've shopped there many times over the years. It's a good spot to pick up that gift that you didn't want to carry around for weeks. Prices on Taxco silver are about as cheap as you will find out of Taxco. Talavera pottery is good... one of the best things to buy last because of the weight. On the other hand, there are too many vendors who still carry the same old tired mass produced handicrafts. Tradition aside..even the handicraft market changes... look at Oaxaca for examples. Some advertising on the part of the tourist department.. and maybe a couple of marketing folks who know handicrafts to come through and make suggestions... and maybe put them in contact with other producers. I doubt you can or should want to upscale the place to the level of San Angel but too much 70's TJ. They do have the world's greatest selection of swizzle sticks.

Posted
18-May-2007 11:09
by: longford

Posts: 4,117
Registered: 28/05/03

3

As the article mentions, the area where La Ciudadela is located has been "discovered" by developers - and, generally, there's a building boom on in parts of the center of the city (not particularly "Centro Historico," but the general center of the city). The market has never had many people shopping on my many visits over almost 15-years; at one point I lived in an apartment two-blocks away and become very familiar with the place. Not too far away is an almost totally ignored crafts market which is part of Mercado San Juan - and it has shop owners of the same category as La Cuidadela. I'd like to see the San Juan market upgraded and promoted; it's enclosed, though - and one of the charms of La Ciudadela was the mostly outdoor enviornment. Across from that market (San Juan) is an almost totally unknown Basilica of the Catholic Church, a nice park, one of Mexico City's best liquor stores - La Europea - and a great sandwich stand featuring cemitas; it's a great destination street/corner. I sense the market at La Ciudadela is doomed, because leftist-PRD legislators and the PRD local government seem to be favoring removing the shop owners so that the land can be developed. I've sent an email in support of the shop owners, though.

Posted
18-May-2007 14:29
by: sevres_babylone

Posts: 389
Registered: 13/04/00

4

Thank you for posting. I will send an email of support, because I like La Ciudadela very much. I have also used it as a place to buy quality crafts on the last day of trips, instead of lugging things around with me while traveling. It did seem there were fewer people around on my last vist in March of last year, but it could have been the particular day. There is plenty of room for redevelopment on the other side of the street. I prefer it to San Juan, where the merchants sometimes seem desparate, and it brings back bad memories of growing up with the family business on a dying downtown street in eastern Ontario. In La Ciudadela, I find it easier to browse in peace.

Finally, I recommend that anyone who loves photography to visit the nearby Centro de la Imagen, an often underlooked museum, when they go shopping at La Ciudadela.

My photos of Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Bolivia, and more

Posted
19-May-2007 19:18
by: hoosier

Posts: 121
Registered: 04/03/02

5

There are also free dance classes given right outside of the ciudadela on Saturdays. I never went, but the couple with whom I lived with last year used to go every week, and they always had a good time.

Posted
19-May-2007 21:07
by: longford

Posts: 4,117
Registered: 28/05/03

6

During a portion of the year, on Saturday nights - as mentioned by #5 - there's a specially-prepared park area . . . for afficianados of danzón, about a 1/2 block from La Ciudadela - or diagonally across the street at one far end of the property. When we hear people talk about danzón (in Mexico) it's almost always in reference to the port city of Veracruz - not Mexico City. It's one of the many things about the city visitors passing through never learn of.

Posted
19-May-2007 23:52
by: sevres_babylone

Posts: 389
Registered: 13/04/00

7

On my last trip there was an all-day dance festival in the park, with latin dancing in the part near the market, and the danzon in the area Longford mentioned. I learned about it in Tiempo Libre; it's worth picking up to find out what's going on, even if your Spanish is as pedestrian as mine is.

My photos of Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Bolivia, and more

Posted
19-May-2007 23:53
by: sevres_babylone

Posts: 389
Registered: 13/04/00

8

It's possible that what I described as latin dancing may be the lessons that hoosier referred to. I'm not always the most observant person in the world.

My photos of Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Bolivia, and more

Posted
20-May-2007 09:45
by: longford

Posts: 4,117
Registered: 28/05/03

9

I've little doubt that what you saw, and photographed, was one of the danzón events. The weather in Mexico City doesn't permit the dancing to take place with the same regularity you'll find it in public places in the port city of Veracruz, and I think people also confuse what they see with dance lessons (though there might sometimes be lessions).

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