The gentlemen or señor gave me his business card inviting me to his store or outlet. On the business card it said that Mercado de Artesanias was “The only flea market in Acapulco”, ya right, only in Mexico, eh! Now don't get me wrong Mercado de Artesanias is a great flea market, but it is more geared to the tourist. So they sell more of the traditional stuff like blankets, T-Shirts, and so on.

However if you want to experience real Mexico, then shop where the locals shop at the Mercado Municipal! Here restaurateurs load up on produce early in the morning and I mean early. I know that I have not been there that early, but I do believe that the place opens up at like 6 am. But you can see people shopping there all day long. However come early in the day as most start to close up shop in the afternoon and not many stay open after supper.

During the day you will see locals shop for piñatas, flowers, leather goods, fresh meats and fish, baskets, hammocks, amulets to attract lovers or ward off enemies, and velvet paintings of the Virgin of Guadalupe. You will also see them walk away with baskets and bags filled with fresh vegetables, meats and fish, fresh cut flowers. You name it and they have it at the Mercado Municipal.

This is the main market of the Acapulco port, the largest and the best stocked. Mercado Central has an area for meats, poultry, fish and seafood, and produce. Inside are some fruit and vegetable warehouses where the prices are very low if you know how to haggle or negotiate. Everything here is a bargain, and the only inconvenience is that the facilities are not the cleanest.

Now depending on how intense you want to get into shopping or experience the Mexican flavor will depend on you. You can spend a couple hours touring the Central Market or the better part of the day. Myself I can easily spend a whole day there as I love to meet people and take photographs of the different stalls, vendors and craft being made right there.

Unlike the tourist markets all around Acapulco, Mercado Municipal is the market the local people use to sell more to the Mexicans then to the tourist. Yes, Mercado Municipal is a treasure or cultural experience. And what a wonderful people the Mexican people are. They are smart, charming, happy, and above all industrious. You know the old expression, stop to smell the flowers! So, enjoy the flower market, enjoy the animals, the fish markets, and of course the many crafts made right before your eyes. Did you know that you can watch them as they make the Piñatas right there, so have fun?

Also you will find many different areas from fresh meats, chickens, cows and pork etc., and the catch of the day, fish of ever size from red snapper to sword/marlin fish. Be sure you have a good stomach before you go in that area because they are fresh cut!

Then you will find large areas that sell all kinds of herbs and spices imaginable with some vendors having many booths and others selling a single box of herbs. You will even find an older women with just a cardboard box on there laps selling anything from herbs to flowers, spices to live beetles and so on.

Next you can find an area of vendors selling tropical birds of every sort from budgies to parrots, canaries and finches. Are you looking for a Mexican blanket? I have been in stores were they show hundreds of blankets and upstairs showrooms that are filled with thousands of more blankets.

Do you like Mexican potteries, well then you are at the right place! Here again you will find anything from stalls with a few items to some vendors that carry hundreds of potteries of every size and colour, so go wild.

Now if you have not as yet guest it by now, this is the place that most of the locals come to get the things to sell you while you are on vacation. So if you want to save some money take Taxi and tell him to take you to the Central Mercado, Central Market or Mercado Municipal, not the tourist market. There have been times were I really had become insistent to the taxi driver that I want to go to the Mercado Municipal.

Some of them may look confused and ask “you mean the Flea Market, at the Zócalo or Down Town?” Either they want to take you downtown because they know someone there and may even get a commission and some may even offer to take you free of charge to a so called government market, but we all know that nothing is free. Or they may wonder how a tourist knows about the Mercado Municipal were the locals shop.

Myself I usually take the bus as it cost only about 50 cents to ride the bus and they stop at the Costera Miguel Aleman about three brocks from the Central Market or Mercado Municipal. And by the way the bus stop is right by another flea market by the name of Noe Noe. That is right on the corner of the Costera and Av. Constituyentes, right by the circle or round-about.

Well I could go on for what I have told you here is really only the frosting on the cake, there are so many more places to shop at the local Central Market or Mercado Municipal. But as soon find out that you can get some decent Mexican leather buys (shoes, purses) as well as local crafts in these markets. They are also good for purchasing bulk size candy. And if you are like me and not afraid to try something new, get something to eat at any of the small restaurants or cantinas in the flea market! I love Mexican food and so I will try many of the local dishes and drinks. You might even try a few food stands that offer snacks and typical foods of Guerrero.

But here is the most important thing to remember Haggle, haggle, haggle! You can cut the price by more than 50% by negotiating. Not only is it proper to haggle for the price but it is part of doing business at not only the market but anywhere you are getting anything from the vendors. Be firm and walk away if the price is too high. Just be sure to have the exchange rate straight in your mind BEFORE entering the market! Merchants will sense the confusion and capitalize on it if you're not careful! Also have some sort of idea what the price should be by checking out the local stores first and comparing prices. Of course it's a little easier these days to do this as now they also have a Wal-Mart and Costco store to compare prices. I know from experience that in the past I would go to the flea market and negotiate for a price thinking I did really good and the found it cheaper at a store.

Now as I said before there are many other flea markets in Acapulco and I do go there and enjoy them but for a real Mexican experience and fun day shopping for me it's Mercado Municipal.

I hope that this was both as informative as well as enjoyable as it was for me to recall my Mexican experience and day of shopping.

Written by Fred Meulemeester.

Mercado Central
The largest and most complete market
Shopping & Flea Markets
Avenida Constituyentes, s/n
Zona Tradicional
Acapulco, GUE 39350