Markets are the reflection of a culture or something like that.

Which is why they are the best and the worst thing to visit when visiting a new place - they are the best place to learn about it, but also the easiest way to get scammed. Mercado 23 and 28 in Cancun are the polar opposites of each other - Mercado 23 is the market for the locals and Mercado 28 is for sort-of tourists. Let me explain:

Mercado 23 is the local market where groceries are bought - I haven’t seen another foreigner there and I would have felt uncomfortable walking there alone with my camera. In fact, I never really tried it, as we got weird looks just for being in a nice-ish car. This is where we got the tortillas, and where I got my first lesson on the importance of understanding local customs to properly understand the economy. Specifically, I learned that one of the most significant numbers for most Mexicans is the price of a 1kg of tortillas. It is regulated by the government, and the tortilla sellers are mostly on a government salary. Increasing the price of tortillas would result in a much larger impact on an average Mexican than almost any other economic intervention government could make (taxes, price of petrol, etc). Each tortilla shop is usually 2-3 person operation. I found it cute that in pre-covid days, they would always let you sample one with salt - much like the. At Mercado 23, there were two shops open; one sold traditional corn tortillas, and one sold the cheaper white corn alternative.

Price per kilo of tortillas is one of the most important measures of local economy.

Whilst fish is common at the markets, locals often go to the fisherman’s collectives - union based shops that sell (and cook) fish for you for a reasonable price. Tamy and Manuél insisted that I would try the red fish pictured here - an endemic species of a mild white fish. I found it to be very similar to Croatian “arbun” (Pagellus erythrinus). The traditional way of preparation is a quick deep fry - scales and all which makes for great tacos with some lime.

Mercado 28 is a more local version of a tourist market. It’s meant for tourists, but it is not in the hotel zone, so it is less expensive and somewhat more authentic. It is still touristy enough that I felt comfortable around there to walk around and see what sort of goods were available. The vibrant colours were more prominent here than in the more touristy markets.

All the details and the matching colours <3

As this was the more touristy market, naturally I took disproportionately more photos here than anywhere else.

Even the usual “made in Mexico” trinkets are here hand made. Can’t wait for Lara to see this one.

We were at the market early - later in the day, all sorts of festivities happen. Although I was assured that it is much more quiet than pre-pandemic, which I can easily believe.