Marketplaces of Patzcuaro

In Patzcuaro you will find an ample sampling of traditional Mexican markets – places where you can literally taste the community and interact with the locals and those from the outlying areas who come to this Magical Village to sell their wares.


Market Places of Patzcuaro

The Market in Patzcuaro

Buying directly from locals means supporting the local economy in a big way; but you also discover authentic products and experience an explosion of aromas and colors.


Buying  directly from locals in Pátzcuaro helps the local economy

People from all around Patzcuaro converge on these markets with their diverse products – a custom that goes back to pre-Hispanic times.  In some places, there are even places where people still barter their goods.

 

People from Lake Pátzcuaro come to the market with their products



The entrance to the principal market in Patzcuaro is at the southwest corner of the Plaza Gertrudis Bocanegra, just three blocks from Hotel Mansion Iturbe.

You will find all sorts of locally-grown seasonal fruits and vegetables to take home and enjoy – capulines (like cherries), blackberries, changungas (small, yellow, pungent fruit), exotic mushrooms, avocados, chirimoyas (custard apples), quilites, chayote root, squash blossom, star fruit, and much more.



Changungas small yellow pungent fruit that you can buy at Patzcuaro Market

Like traditional Michoacan cuisine? In the same market, you will also find uchepos, corundas, open-air-baked pies, hand-made tortillas, cheeses, spices, dried chiles, sweet potatoes.



Dried Chiles at Pátzcuaro Market

Traditional Mexican Cheese at the Market in Patzcuaro

The achoque is an amphibian that you can find at Lake Patzcuaro, but is critically endangered.  In Patzcuaro, it is still raised, mostly by Dominican nuns, and is used to make jarabe de achoque, or achoque syrup. [No data on exactly how it is prepared.]  It is known for its rich vitamin content, and is also used in the prevention and cure of respiratory ailments.  It can sometimes be found in the mercado, and the nuns sell it in the front of their convent on Serrato, next to the Basilica.



Tiny dried fish called Charales at Pátzcuaro marketplace

Traditional cooking implements abound in the mercado. mortars, metates, hand-made colanders, bellows (for fanning cooking fires), clay bowls and clay heating elements, and much more.


Traditional cooking implements at the Maketplaces of Patzcuaro

Inside the market, you also find artisanware, such as wooden spoons, woven baskets, pottery, and embroidered clothing.



Artisanware at the Marketplaces of Patzcuaro

 

In stalls just off Lloreda Street and just north of the Templo de Santuario de Guadalupe, you will find various dried fish and other hard-to-find traditional foods.  On Fridays, behind these stalls – that is, to the west of them – on the basketball court, they have a regular trueque, or bartering event with all sorts of things, from shoes to tools.  You will hear a lot of Purépecha being spoken there.


The Marketplaces of Pátzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico

Also on Fridays, two blocks west in the Plaza de San Francisco on Federico Tena Street (Lloreda changes its name to Federico Tena as you go west), they hold a pottery faire, which is a favorite shopping event for our visitors.



The Pottery Fair in Patzcuaro

Many of the indigenous (Purépecha) from nearby communities travel long distances – sometimes on foot – to get their products to market, come rain or shine.  Support the economic, social, and cultural development of our people of Lake Patzcuaro, and enjoy an outing at the same time!


Enjoy the colors and flavours of the Mexican Markets in Patzcuaro

*Text and pictures property of Hotel Mansión Iturbe.

We invite you to check more articles in our blog that can be useful for your next visit to Patzcuaro, here are some articles that we suggest you:


The Incredible Avocado

Michoacan Carnitas – a Mexican Delicacy

Mexican Traditions: The Moors of Tejaro in Pátzcuaro


Hotel Mansion Iturbe
Portal Morelos 59
Plaza Vasco de Quiroga
61600 Patzcuaro, Michoacan
México

For more information about our Hotel in Patzcuaro

Reservations online at Hotel Mansion Iturbe

Tels: +52 (434) 342 0368 / 342 3628

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