Sun-and-shade dappled Plaza San Jacinto, Colonia San Ángel, in the southern part of Mexico City, hosts Bazar Sábado. Open only on Saturdays, the hours are 10:00AM until 7:00PM.
So many people who tour with me want to shop for high-quality small items to take home as souvenirs or as gifts for relatives and friends. The only place to go? Bazar Sábado, the huge artisans' market held every week in gorgeous Colonia San Ángel in the southern sector of Mexico City. The market includes both indoor and outdoor shops and booths. What's to be had? Just about anything!
These tenangos (hand-embroidered textiles) are made in the state of Guerrero. We saw full-size table cloths, napkins, table runners, and place mats. We bought a dozen or two fabric coasters hand-embroidered with birds, fish, and flowers.
Napkin rings to match any decorator's color combination.
Crowds at Bazar Sábado tend to be large and shoppers are fairly aggressive. Lots of tourists go: you'll hear Japanese, French, English, German, and a slew of other languages on the pathways of Plaza San Jacinto. Be prepared to spend a little more money than you might in some other markets, but the atmosphere and the enormous selection of goods will give you great stories to tell back home. Bazar Sábado is so well worth attending!
Wooden boxes, the tops decorated with icons ranging from the sacred to the profane. Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara, and Mexico's lucha libre (wrestling) stars are among the most popular secular images.
Children's toys made of wood. A million years ago, Mexico Cooks! knew these toys as Jacob's ladders. Remember the sound they make? Click, clack, click, clack, click, clack–now turn it over and start again.
While you're at Bazar Sábado, do go into Museo Casa Risco–at Plaza Jacinto #5–to see this glorious fountain. It's entirely made of old dish ware and shells and fills one entire wall. The building is off the beaten tourist path and definitely worth a look. The museum also has both permanent and temporary exhibits that you'll enjoy.
Woven straw soft baskets to match your napkin rings. These are perfect for serving bread at your dinner table. We loved them.
Mexico Cooks!' antique painted box from Olinalá, Guerrero may well have been sold originally at Bazar Sábado. Booths there still sell similar examples–new, of course.
Both on Plaza Jacinto you'll find restaurants and snacks of almost any kind, from this sort of traditional Mexican breakfast to pizza to a burger or even Chinese food.
Mira, los títeres! He's still young enough for the excitement of these simple fantasy-animal marionettes.
Maestro Enrique Segarra López, one of Mexico's most famous mid-20th Century photographers, holds court on Saturdays at his booth. It was always a joy to spend some time with him. He passed away a few years ago.
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