July 2, 2025
Today we were embarking on an adventure. I had booked a guided food tour of the La Merced and Sonora markets through Get Your Guide. Just the day before we had been warned that this area was somewhat dicey. Via earlier texts, our guide for this tour, Gabriel, assured me of the safety of the area and of the food we were going to sample. So, at 10:00 AM we met him and the rest of our group at the Parque Francisco Primo de Verda’s y Ramos near the Zocalo.
La Merced is the largest traditional retail purveyor of foodstuffs, toys, clothes, flowers, candy and much more in Mexico City. Most of our time was spent in the largest building primarily dedicated to the sale of fruits, vegetables, meats and spices. Other stalls were miniature fast food restaurants offering an incredible variety of Mexican dishes, non-alcoholic drinks, and sweets. Some even had small eating areas. One’s senses were overwhelmed by the colors, sounds, and unfamiliar aromas of the place.
The market was humming with activity, and was so crowded our group often found it difficult keeping up with Gabriel. Getting lost amidst the countless rows of stalls would have been extremely easy. Fortunately Gabriel had two young people working with him. They were being trained to become guides and did a remarkable job of keeping our group of 10 together. All three guides were wonderful, informative, and fluent in English.
The Barrio La Merced neighborhood has been a center for commerce since the Spanish conquest. At the end of the 18th century it was already a huge marketplace. By the 1860’s permanent buildings were constructed to house the ever growing marketplace. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that a competitor came on the scene, the La Central de Abasto market. However, La Merced continues to be the city’s largest “traditional” marketplace. Gabriel told us that the city wanted to shut the place down. I read, however, that while some sections would be closed, it was for renovation purposes only, and there were no plans to shut it down completely. Vendors, however, were concerned that their livelihoods might be greatly impacted if either scenario proved to be accurate.
Our eating frenzy began with Red Pozole, a traditional Mexican soup/stew made from hominy (corn kernels), tender chicken or pork, in a rich red chile broth. Dan and I tried the pozole with chicken and found it to be tasty, and not overly spicy despite the dried chiles. The corn kernels were enormous and came from a variety called cacahuazintle. It reminded us of what we had eaten in Peru. A second soup called Pancita was also offered. It was made from tripe (cow’s stomach)in a red chili broth served with hominy, onion, oregano and lime. We passed on that one.
Aqua Fresca Horchata came next. It is a delicious creamy, sweet concoction made with cinnamon, milk, vanilla and rice. This was followed by a fruit vendor who gave us samples of a local fruit called Mamet. It comes from a native tree found in southern Mexico. Brown on the outside, the fruit looked like a papaya on the inside. Mamet has a rich, sweet flavor similar to something like pumpkin or sweet potato.
There are over 500 varieties of avocados in the world, with the Hass being the most popular. One of the vegetable vendors introduced us to the Aguacate Mantequilla, or butter avocado. What makes this avocado so unusual is that except for the pit you eat the entire fruit, skin and all. It was much more flavorful than the Hass, with an exceptionally creamy texture and rich buttery taste.
Mushrooms are a fungus that most of us eat, so eating quesadillas made from a fungus known as Huitlacoche that grows on corn should be ok to eat —right? This fungus also goes by the lovely name of “corn smut,” or the much more pleasant name of “truffle of corn”. Huitlacoche is actually a fungal disease forming tumor-like galls on the ears, stalks, leaves and tassels of corn. If collected before the galls dry out and rupture, they are considered a culinary delicacy. We watched as two women made us quesadillas from a pile of grey fungus. I had mine filled with chicken, cheese and grilled onions. Frankly, it didn’t taste much different than a quesadilla made from flour, but we felt rather courageous for trying it.
We weren’t finished yet. Now we were trying two types of deep fried tamales. The first one was made with tomatillo and green chile. The second one was a rajas tamale. This dish consisted of corn dough filled with slices of roasted poblano peppers and cheese wrapped in a corn husk and steamed. Along with the tamales, we were served Atole, a hot Masa-based beverage made with cinnamon, milk and vanilla. Masa is corn flour, and created a drink similar in consistency to a milk shake. Lastly, another vendor treated us to freshly squeezed pineapple juice—it was soooo good.
All of us were so full we were bursting at the seams. As for Dan and myself, there wasn’t anything we tried that we wouldn’t have eaten again. Before leaving La Merced we had the chance to purchase mole at a stall offering an amazing array of dry mole, each with its own combination of herbs, spices, chiles, etc. . Our choice was a mole that wasn’t too spicy, and had notes of chocolate. Now I’ll have to figure out what to do with it.
On our way to the Sonora Market which is essentially adjacent to La Merced, we took a potty break. I would like to point out that everywhere in Mexico, even in a somewhat grungy market place, the bathrooms were clean. Much better than many bathrooms I’ve visited in U.S. gas stations. The bathrooms might have been old and dingy, but it was worth paying an attendant a few pesos knowing the place would be clean. It was important to bring your own Kleenex, however, because you were handed a few thin sheets of toilet paper. I was very grateful for the cleanliness. Due to my stomach issues I visited many a bathroom.
While the La Merced Market focused on food, the Sonora Market focused on mundane goods such as shoes and party supplies. However, it is best known for its sale of unique items for religious or mystical practices and is referred to as the Witchcraft Market.
If you want to force someone to fall in love with you, or wished to curse someone, you could find the ingredients needed to make that happen at the Sonora market. Advisors can tell you exactly what you need to purchase. There were soaps that if used could make you rich or improve your sex life. Plenty of creepy statues lined the aisles that could grant you your wishes, including wishing someone dead. You could even buy the statues different outfits that would change their supposed purpose. There was also a live animal market that we chose not to visit. This area has the reputation of keeping caged poultry, rabbits, dogs and cats in terrible sanitary conditions. Supposedly the animals are meant for farm or home use.
The Aztecs, along with other pre-Colombian civilizations, consumed fried insects to provide them with a significant amount of protein. They are still considered a delicacy today and are incorporated into dishes made by street vendors and gourmet chefs. We had the chance to try fried grasshoppers, ants (chictana), crawfish, beetles, scorpions and maguey worms (edible insect larvae). I took a bite of a beetle. It had no taste and was crunchy—yuck. Dan ate a variety of insects and confirmed that they had little flavor outside of the oil they were fried in and that they were crunchy.
It was then back to the Zocalo for our last food tour stop, the incredible La Madrid bakery. We’ve never seen so many pastries in one place. Although we were too full to eat, Gabriel said we should pick out whatever we wanted and take it with us. We felt like kids in a candy shop. Between the four of us we had enough pastries for several breakfasts. After saying goodbye to Gabriel and his crew, we sat down in the bakery to enjoy drinks, relax and discuss where we would head to next.
There were several places in the Zocalo that we hadn’t visited, including the Metropolitan Cathedral. We took a quick look inside the church and saw its opulent altar covered in gold, most likely stolen from the Aztecs. Construction took place in stages beginning in 1573 shortly after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan. It was built on top of the Aztec temple. The church was completed in 1813. Because it took so long to build, it is comprised of many architectural styles, i.e. Gothic, Baroque, Churrigueresque (elaborate stucco decoration used until about 1750 in Spain) and Neoclassical.
We then attempted to see some Diego Rivera murals, but once again we were thwarted. Since it was getting late it was time to head back. Instead of taking a 60 minute Uber ride, however, we decided to give the subway a try. On our walk to the station we passed the Museo Soumaya, an architectural wonder. The art museum just happened to have a copy of Rodin’s The Thinker at its front entrance, just like the Cleveland Museum of Art back home. However, this statue hadn’t been blown up and its base and legs were intact. The Cleveland bombing back in 1970, was thought to be politically motivated and carried out by the Weather Underground, but it remains an unsolved crime.
Taking the subway was easy, but the train was packed with people heading home from work. The Mexicans we‘ve met have all been exceedingly friendly, thoughtful and helpful. For example, a woman must have seen how exhausted I was and offered me her seat on the subway. We never felt unsafe, even in the so called dangerous La Merced market, riding on the subway, or walking back to our hotel at night. When we returned to the hotel Amy and Steven went out to dinner, while Dan and I ate pastries, did a quick laundry and went to bed. At least tomorrow we can sleep in a little.
BY THE WAY WITH WENDY & DAN 