| El Mercardo tips, reviews and photos posted by real travelers and San Antonio locals. • 13 Photos
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El Mercado offered TONS of souvenirs and items with a Southwest influence. There were flouncy skirts and ruffled tops, leather belts and purses, colorfully painted ceramics, silver and beaded jewelry, cloth dolls, toys, pinatas, indoor and outdoor metal sculptures, cowboy hats, plus many other items. Festive strings of multi-colored paper cut outs hung overhead.
One stall after another was filled with brightly-colored wares vying for the tourist's attention. Be sure to compare prices because they vary from one shop to another. Our grandson decided to purchase a cowboy hat with his money. I had my eye on a string of red ceramic chili peppers, but my husband nixed that idea.
El Mercado is part of Market Square which comprises a farmer's market, cafe, restaurant and bakery and art gallery. Special events are held here throughout the year. Hours are 10 am-8 pm June-Aug.; 10 am-6pm Sept. May. There is metered parking nearby and a parking garage at the Farmer's Market, maximum cost $5.00. Theme: OtherAddress: 514 W. Commerce, San Antonio, TXPhone: 210-207-8600Directions: In historic Market SquareWebsite: www.marketsquaresa.com
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 by nomorewars
Even more fascinating, this area was known as La Plaza de Zacate. It was an area where unemployed workers & families would meet, socialists would give speeches on the plight of the workers, & communists would hold discussions on how to organize the workers.
During the "Red Scare" of 1919-1921, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer used FBI agents to conduct raids across the United States to locate and arrest suspected Communists and their sympathizers. The largest raid occurred in January 1920, when 6,000 alleged Communists were arrested, many without warrants, in over thirty-three cities in the United States. San Antonio was one of these cities. The FBI & local law enforcement officials stormed onto the premises of La Plaza de Zacate, rounding up scores of suspected communists, socialists & anarchists. Many of the arrested were Mexican nationals &, due to their alleged adherence to Marxist principles, they were deported to Mexico without trial or due process of law.
Today, there is no tangible remnant of La Plaza de Zacate, as the infrastructure was raised & the grounds were "modernized". Even if you attempt to listen closely there are no whispers of what had once been, as the cries of the vendors have overwhelmed the echoes of the past.
Prices for merchandise will vary depending on what you want. Most things are reasonable but the products imported from Mexico are a little bit outrageous. You can actually save yourself some money by actually purchasing these products-rugs, furniture, etc.-from the local flea markets. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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Our initial plan was to go across the border to shop around for some Mexican souvenirs but with everything that was going on in Laredo at the time, we decided to opt for El Mercado instead and I'm glad we did! There are so many shops in there (about 100 merchants), all filled with traditional Mexican arts and crafts, jewelry, food, etc., and prices are very reasonable. A fun experience!
I bought a couple of hand-made, hand-painted picture frames.
Prices are more expensive than what you'd pay if you were to go across the border, but it's worth saving the hassle Leave a Comment
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I could be cynical about El Mercado - "the biggest Mexican market outside Mexico" but I won't. I have no doubt hordes of visitors to San Antonio think this place is great. It's certainly colourful and I'm sure on a busy day, with music playing and crowds of people having a good time, it's fun but, on a quiet weekday with few people around, it all seemed a bit tawdry and contrived. Shop after shop sold exactly the same stuff so once you'd looked at one place selling ceramics for example, there was very little that was different in the twenty shops that followed, and one string of painted papier-mache fruit looks much the same as another after you've seen the first couple of dozen. Knowing what fine craft there is to be had in Mexico didn't help, the stuff on sale at Market Square seemed very mass-produced and some was downright crude in its execution.
That's just my opinion - don't let me put you off, as I said, loads of people love this place - but if you're looking for the sort of atmosphere, variety and sheer exhuberance of a truly Mexican market, you'd better head south of the border, well south - Oaxaca would be my choice. Leave a Comment
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 by keeweechic
They also have many annual festivals and celebrations there. Leave a Comment Theme: Local CraftAddress: 514 W. Commerce St.,
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The advertisement tells it is the largest Mexican market outside of Mexico.
It proposes all the Mexican stuff : food, clothes, hats, religious things, etc... in 125 shops.
We were not very fond of all this stuff and we did not buy any thing there. Leave a Comment Theme: OtherAddress: 514 W Commerce
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A short walk from the Riverwalk is this small festive marketplace. Lots of people as you can see with a lot of bands, restaurants and stores.
A lot of Mexican art/crafts Theme: Local CraftDirections: 15 minute walk from Riverwalk.
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