If you enjoy shopping and like a good deal like I do, then the Mercados de Artesanias (Handcraft Market) is a great place to shop. With all the mercados that we have visited throughout Mexico I have found that the best place to shop is in Oaxaca. One of the most popular items to purchase are the beautiful handmade clothes with their signature textile bordados (embroidery textile). The colorful floral designs are handmade and each have their own uniqueness. The clothes are made with cotton material so they are nice to wear on hot days. These beautiful textiles are made on just about anything, table runners, backpacks, handbags and pillow covers.
Other great deals that you can find are silver jewelry with different stones, the most popular stone in Mexico is the turquoise stone. Turquoise was called tuexivitl which translates as stone of the Gods – which was only used in ritual objects and dedicated to the Gods and no one was allowed to wear it. You can find some beautiful pieces of jewelry with turquoise stones but you must check their quality, as some may not be authentic stones but man made plastic. Also you should double check that the silver items you purchase look good and don’t have signs of tarnish. The vendors will tell you they are all .925 but you are basically buying at your own risk. I have been lucky so far that the silver jewelry I have purchased has been good and I just keep them clean.
Shopping at the Mercados can also be a little overwhelming as the vendors talk to you all at once trying to get you to come into their stores. They say they have the best prices and usually the prices are the same as the vendor next to them. You can bargain with them, make them an offer and see if they will bring the price down a couple pesos. I like to bargain shop the prices at the mercados because I know that these folks are selling items from third parties and usually their prices might start a little higher. If you are going to bargain be respectful with the seller as this is their only source of income and you do not want to come across as a rude extranjero (Foreigner). Happy shopping!
