Mercado de Sonora
Encyclopedia
Mercado de Sonora is a city-established traditional market
Traditional fixed markets in Mexico
Traditional fixed markets in Mexico go by a variety of names such as "mercados públicos" , "mercados municipales" or even more often simply "mercados"...

, located just southeast of the historic center of Mexico City
Historic center of Mexico City
The historic center of Mexico City is also known as the "Centro" or "Centro Histórico." This neighborhood is focused on the Zócalo or main plaza in Mexico City and extends in all directions for a number of blocks with its farthest extent being west to the Alameda Central The Zocalo is the largest...

 in the Colonia Merced Balbuena neighborhood. It was established in the 1950s with a number of other similar institutions in order to help regulate retail commerce in the city. This market has specialized in a variety of merchandise such as pottery, party items, and live animals — and the two which make it notable, herbal medicine
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...

 and items related to magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

 and the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

.

Establishment

Mercado de Sonora was one of a number of mercados públicos or public markets established by the city government in the 1950s, along with others such as Mercado Jamaica and the La Merced
La Merced Market, Mexico City
The La Merced Market is a traditional public market located in the eastern edge of the historic center of Mexico City and is the largest retail traditional food market in the entire city. The area, also called La Merced, has been synonymous with commercial activity since the early colonial period...

 market. It is part of a number of mercados públicos or public markets established by the government to better organize and regulate retail commerce. It is derived from the pre-Hispanic tianguis
Tianguis
A tianguis is an open air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases essentially unchanged into the present day....

or street market
Street market
A street market is an outdoor market such as traditionally held in a market square or in a market town, and often held only on particular days of the week...

 tradition, which still continues. It was originally set up with a large parking area for cars, but over time this space dwindled as the market grew. The official opening of the market was in 1957. For the market’s 50th anniversary in 2007, there was a large party with actress Edith González
Edith González
Edith González Fuentes is a Mexican actress and dancer.- Personal life :González has a daughter, Constanza , whose father is the Mexican politician Santiago Creel. Edith has worked for hispanic television networks, such as, Televisa, Telemundo, and TV Azteca...

 as special guest. The event also included mariachi
Mariachi
Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...

s and a limpia or cleansing to rid the establishment of any negative energy.

The facility

The market is located in the Colonia Merced Balbuena neighborhood of the Venustiano Carranza borough
Venustiano Carranza, D.F.
Venustiano Carranza is one of the 16 delegaciones of Mexico's Federal District. The borough was formed in 1970 when the center of Mexico City was subdivided into four boroughs...

. This site is traditionally commercial, located near an old fire station. The area used to contain exclusively narrow, haphazard streets, but around the same time as the market, a number of main thoroughfares (called ejes) were built and now surround most of the complex. However, the areas behind the market still contain the old, narrow streets.

The building consists of a single large nave mostly constructed of metal. Inside, there are a number of narrow aisles containing stalls owned or rented by individual merchants. Most merchants are grouped by the type of merchandise they sell, such as party supplies, dishes, and pets. What little parking lot is left is filled by street vendors
Hawker (trade)
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area...

. On Saturday, when the market is busiest, these vendors overflow from the parking lot onto the surrounding narrow streets. These and various trucks and other vehicles block traffic, effectively closing the streets. The scene is noisy, filled with shouts of vendors and music blaring from stands selling CDs. However, this is also the time to find the widest variety of merchandise, such as nopal cactus
Nopal
Nopales are a vegetable made from the young cladode segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines. These fleshy pads are flat and about hand-sized. They can be purple or green...

 and fresh corn from Milpa Alta
Milpa Alta
Milpa Alta is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It lies in the southeast corner of the Distrito Federal, bordering the States of México and Morelos. It is the second largest and most rural of all delegaciones. It is also the least populous and...

, flower pots and soil from Xochimilco
Xochimilco
Xochimilco is one of the sixteen delegaciones or boroughs within Mexican Federal District. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the pre-Hispanic period...

, and medicinal herbs from Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....

, Morelos and the State of Mexico.

However, the mass of street peddlers outside and the lack of maintenance of the building proper has deteriorated the condition of the market greatly. The peddlers nearly hide the market proper and promote a lack of security and cleanliness. The building also has not been well maintained since it was built. The lack of maintenance has led to leaky roofs, ramps and floors in very poor condition and problems with hygiene. Market representatives state that these problem are mostly due to corruption of borough authorities, who are also known to extort money from market merchants. There have been attempts to clear the street vendors from the parking areas of the market, with the last sweep occurring in 2002.

Medicinal herbs and magical items

What makes this market different and famous are the aisles dedicated to medicinal plants
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...

, magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

 and the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

, which are only two located in the back of the large nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

. This part of the market attracts customers from most socioeconomic levels, as well as tourists. as it is promoted in various guide books. The two types of products, herbal medicines and magical/occult items, are not completely separate, as for centuries traditional Mexican herbal medicine has been strongly linked with religious and magic practices. The variety of medicinal plants sold is vast and include avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...

 leaves for inflammations, chiranthodendron
Chiranthodendron
Chiranthodendron is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, comprising a single species of tree, Chiranthodendron pentadactylon, is called the Devil's hand tree, monkey's hand tree, or Mexican hand tree, or some variant thereof - for the distinct shape of its flowers, which resemble an...

  for the heart, jacaranda
Jacaranda
Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America , Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It is also found in Asia, especially in Nepal...

 flowers for the stomach and more. There is also dried rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

, which is considered a medicine against cancer, dried skunk
Skunk
Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...

 to “strengthen the blood,” and starfish. Plant items more strongly associated with magic and religion include crosses of ocote
Ocote
Ocote may refer to:*Pinus apulcensis*Pinus ayacahuite*Pinus cooperi*Pinus devoniana*Pinus durangensis*Pinus gordoniana*Pinus greggii*Pinus hartwegii*Pinus herrerae*Pinus jaliscana*Pinus leiophylla...

 wood for good luck, chains of garlic to ward off evil and deer eyes to protect against the “evil eye
Evil eye
The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...

.”

The market sells occult items related to magic (white and black), pre-Hispanic religious and magical traditions, Santería
Santería
Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....

, the cult of Santa Muerte
Santa Muerte
Santa Muerte is a sacred figure venerated in Mexico, probably a syncretism between Mesoamerican and Catholic beliefs. The name literally translates to "Holy Death" or "Saint Death." Mexican culture since the pre-Columbian era has maintained a certain reverence towards death, which can be seen in...

, shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...

, and various others which demonstrate the syncretism of beliefs and practices that exist in the city. The market is one of the city’s centers for practices related to Santería and the worship of Santa Muerte. It is estimated that 2,000 people each weekend come to the market specifically for this section of the market. Items for sale include amulet
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...

s, horseshoes, candles in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colors, with many of the colors have very specific functions, gold dust, black salt, powders of unknown ingredients, “water of Saint Ignatius” to ward off unwanted attention, aromatic lotions and soaps, many of which are related to love spells and more.

The most popular items are those related to love. There are candles, oils, amulets, soaps, needles, lotions, tobacco, herbs, and services such as spell casting and cleansings all geared to finding, keeping or recovering love. Products have names such as atrapahombres (trap men), ven a mi (come to me), miel de amor (honey of love) and Amansa guapos (tame handsome men). Most are related to ritual use of some kind, even as simple as burning a candle. Others are more complex with a mix of occult and standard religious practice. As late as the 1990s, before medical abortion was legalized in Mexico City
Abortion in Mexico
Abortion is a controversial issue in Mexico, where it is offered on request to any woman up to twelve weeks into a pregnancy in Mexico City, but forbidden in 18 out of 31 Mexican state constitutions...

, one herbal remedy sought in the market was one to promote the termination of a pregnancy. Those who sold it did not give the treatment, rather they instructed the client what to use and how. The client was responsible for preparing the mixtures and taking them in order to take on the medical and legal risks onto themselves. Medical risks were serious as the treatment always led to excessive hemorrhaging which would require medical attention. During the H1N1 flu scare in 2009
2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus , albeit in a new version...

, business fell at the market about 50%. However, for herbal medicine sellers, demand for a 10-herb blend designed to prevent and treat the flu kept a number of vendors solvent. The remedy includes eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

, bougainvillea
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina . Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus...

 and tejocote fruit, selling for 80 pesos per kilo. During the same time period, merchants selling Santa Muerte paraphernalia reported selling a significant number of white dresses for the images, as the color is associated with health and purity.

Cartonería, Day of the Dead, Judas and alebrijes

Mercado de Sonora is one of the traditional markets for purchasing items related to Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality...

 in Mexico City on 2 November. During this time, the aisles fill with items such as sugar skulls, papel picado (crepe paper cut into designs and hung like flags), representations of skeletons and more. There is Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

 influence as well, with items made to resemble witches, ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

s, Jack-o'-lantern
Jack-o'-lantern
A jack-o'-lantern is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o'-lantern...

s, etc.

The market and the area around it are also known for the making of large and small paper sculptures called cartonería. This is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, creating figures and other decoration for use in community festivals. The busiest times for cartonería artists is Day of the Dead, when the demand for decorations, especially skeletons is highest, and Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...

, when there is demand for the depiction of evil called “Judas” which is burned in effigy. The Judas figures are inspired by the disciple that betrayed Jesus
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...

, but traditionally is depicted as a devil. However, other unliked figures can also substituted. These include political figures, especially those who have been involved in a recent corruption scandal
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

.

The best-known of the cartonería artists is the Linares family, which has been creating figures for five generations. For this family, like most others, it began as a seasonal occupation, but in the first half of the 20th century, Pedro Linares
Pedro Linares
Pedro Linares Lopez was a Mexican artist born in Mexico City and was the creator of the paper maché figurines named alebrijes....

 conceived of making fantastic monsters of cartonería which he called alebrije
Alebrije
Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures. The first alebrijes, along with use of the term, originated with Pedro Linares. After dreaming the creatures while sick in the 1930s, he began to create what he saw in cardboard and papier mache...

s
. Over time, these creations became famous, culminating in international acclaim by the 1970s, and are in demand by collectors, galleries and museums. The craft inspired a similar one in Oaxaca, Linares’ home state, made with local wood and generally much smaller, but still fantastic creatures painted in bright patterns and bold designs. In 1990, Linares received the distinguished National Award for Science and Art from the Mexican government. The Linares family continues to make alebrijes and more traditional figures in their workshops located just behind the Mercado de Sonora.

Other merchandise

The other aisles of the market are also dedicated to a number of specialties. Some areas are dedicated to pottery and dishes for everyday use, much of which is from the state of Guanajuato. These include plates, bowls, jars for atole
Atole
Atole is a traditional masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drink. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole...

, coffee cups, large platters and more. While traditional pottery still dominates, it is also interspersed with cheaper glass items as well. Another traditional area sells toys and party favors. Traditional wooden, cloth and clay toys can still be found, although they are slowly being replaced with cheaper plastic ones. These include dolls, tops, yo yos, cup-and-ball and many more. This area also carries party supplies such as hats, decorations and piñata
Piñata
A piñata is a papier-mâché or other type of container that is decorated, filled with toys and or candy and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. Piñatas are most commonly associated with Mexico, but its origins are considered to be in China...

s, mostly for children’s events. The area also contains costumes for children, such as animals like rabbits and bears as well as princesses and ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...

s. There are also traditional “indito” (little Indian) outfits mostly used in schools on Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...

.

There is also a section that sells live animals, from baby chicks, puppies, kittens, toucan
Toucan
Toucans are members of the family Ramphastidae of near passerine birds from the Neotropics. The family is most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species...

s, parrots, hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....

s, full grown roosters and hens, ducks, rabbits and various species of snakes. Animals also include exotic species, including some in danger of extinction, which has cause the police to raid the market. Eggs which can be hatched are also for sale for a number of species, including peacock.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK