You might think this is a dance, but it’s really how to push your way through the huge Abastos Market crowds that come the morning of October 31 to buy all the things needed to decorate family graves and home altars. This is not a market for the faint of heart. It is serious stuff. Huge. It’s a market you can get lost in. And, if you aren’t careful you could lose more than you came in with. People press up against you to get by. Children are underfoot. There are some moments when you have to step out of the aisle to catch your breath. To get there is no small feat either. The traffic outside the market is bumper to bumper and there are no lanes. Drivers push through the street to get their nose out in front of another vehicle just like the people who push through the crowds inside.
Shopping for fruit, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
You need a person with you who knows this market well to get you back to where you started. You need a money pouch that is tucked tight close to your body. If you are carrying a passport, keep it inside your shirt. Don’t bring a lot of cash. Keep your camera strap hung around your neck and your hand on your camera. Leave all unnecessary equipment back at your hotel! If this is all too daunting, then you might try going to the tamer Benito Juarez Market in Oaxaca instead. It is within walking distance of the Zocalo!
Our Group with the Chavez Santiago Family at the Abastos Market, Oaxaca
Pan Muerto -- Day of the Dead Bread, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
The market is filled with edible treasures: sugar skulls; bread baked with painted images of Jesus, Mary, the Virgin of Guadalupe; chocolate skeletons; and every household staple that one can imagine plus some.
Fruit Vendor, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
Fruit is used to decorate graves and altars. In addition to oranges, limes, bananas, grapefruit and apples, there are papayas, mangoes, and many more exotic varieties than I am familiar with. Children learn to sell by their mother’s side at a young age, packaging the purchases of shoppers and making change.
Spun and Molded Sugar Treats, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
Fish Vendor from the Isthmus, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
If you enter the market near the bus parking lot, you might find this woman from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec who prepares and sells the most delicious battered and deep fried fish.
There are three ways to get to Teotitlan: by bus, by collectivo and by private taxi. Each village has it’s own bus system which it contracts with the village leaders. The Teotitlan bus is colored bright yellow with orange contrasts. The best place to catch the bus is from CHEDRAUI. This is a shopping center not too far from the Zocalo. You can catch a taxi to get to Chedraui for a few pesos. It would be a long-ish walk. The bus runs every hour at the 1/4 hour … best to get there 20-30 minutes early because these times are approximate. The fare to Teotitlan is 10 pesos (about $1.00). The collectivos will also swing by this stop and the fares are a little bit more. They will circle the bus stops to pick up passengers until they are packed full — 4 in the backseat, sometimes 2 in the front seat. A private taxi will cost about $20-25 USD. The Teotitlan bus will take you right into the center of the village, but you can ask them to drop you off anywhere along Benito Juarez, the road into town. If you wanted to stop at Federico Chavez’s casita before entering the center of town, you would ask to be dropped off at Francisco I. Madero which crosses Benito Juarez. (There’s a yellow sign at the corner advertising Federico Chavez Santiago Family Weavers. Continue down F.I. Madero to #55 in the last block and turn right down the alley into the courtyard. Phone: 52 44078) You can also hop a bus from Oaxaca to Tlacalula or Mitla. It will drop you off at the Crucero (the crossroads where Avenida Benito Juarez joins Pan American Highway 190). There are usually taxis or tuk-tuks waiting for these buses, and they will take you into town for 10 pesos. If there isn’t one there, it won’t be too long before one comes along!
The other option is to catch the same bus or collectivo at the Abastos Market where they originate, but it’s so confusing down there, a huge hubbub of people and cars and taxis and buses, that I prefer Chedraui. It’s just easier. Chedraui also has ATM machines, some fast food services, boutiques, and a supermarket. The other bus stop is near the ball stadium at the corner of Calle de Los Derechos Humanos and Boulevard Eduardo Vasconcelos on the main road leading into and out of town. It picks people up between 15-25 minutes after every hour from Monday through Saturday. This is the last main stop and by the time the bus gets there, there is usually standing room only.We love riding the bus. It will take about 45 minutes in either direction. The bus directly into Teotitlan does not operate on Sunday, but you can get the bus to Mitla and ask them to stop at the Crucero. Same routine: pick up a taxi or tuk-tuk into town.
The Teotitlan bus will go through Tule and stop to pick people up along the 190 Highway. Villagers go back and forth for doctors appointments, to their stalls in the markets, to school, and to visit with friends. They haul bags of food and flowers, rugs and baskets, books in backpacks. This is where I love people watching: the elderly women with their fancy braided pigtails and huge dangling 10K gold filagree earrings embellished with pearls or colored zircons or amethysts, and the school children in uniforms.
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
Norma Contributes Two Chapters!
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Norma Schafer and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university program development experience. See my resume.
Study Tours + Study Abroad are personally curated and introduce you to Mexico's greatest artisans. They are off-the-beaten path, internationally recognized. We give you access to where people live and work. Yes, it is safe and secure to travel. Groups are limited in size for the most personal experience.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, universities and other organizations come to us to develop customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
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We offer textile experiences in our studio where we weave and work only in natural dyes.You can see the process during our textile tours, dye workshops or customized weaving experiences. Ask us for more information about these experiences, customized scheduling, and prices.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
1-Day OaxacaCity Collectors Textile Tour.Exclusive Access! We take you into the homes and workshops of Oaxaca State's prize-winning weavers. They come from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Mixteca, Mixe, Amuzgos and Triqui areas and represent their weaving families and cooperatives here. For collectors, retailers, buyers, wholesalers, fashionistas.
1-Day Oaxaca Textile Walking Tour When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
2022 Going Deep, Not Wide--Extended Tours
July 25-31, 2022. Oaxaca Textile Adventure Tour: Sierra Norte Mountains. Visit two remote mountain villages where silk and cotton are woven into glorious cloth and dyed with natural plant materials. Come early or stay later for Guelaguetza! Not too late to join!
October 28-November 4, 2022: Women’s Creative Writing Retreat in Teotitlan del Valle — Memory and Tradition. Click this link to read about it. ONE SPACE OPEN FOR SHARED ROOM.
October 29-November 4, 2022:Day of the Dead Culture Tour. We meet locals and visit 4 villages to experience this mystical pre-Hispanic observance, awesome and reverent. Still space for a few more!
February 5-13, 2023: Bucket List Tour: Monarch Butterflies + Michoacan. Spiritual, mystical connection to nature. Go deep into weaving, pottery, mask-making and more! We haven't offered this tour since 2019 and we anticipate it will sell out quickly. TWO SPACES OPEN
February 21-March 1, 2023: Chiapas Textile Study Tour--Deep Into the Maya World Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we travel to distant pueblos to meet extraordinary weavers --Best of the Best! Just a handful of spaces open.
Stay Healthy. Stay Safe. In Oaxaca, wear your mask. Questions? Want more info or to register? Send an email to Norma Schafer.
Maps: Teotitlan + Tlacolula Market
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after order received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle
Day of the Dead Abastos Market Crush and Shuffle
You might think this is a dance, but it’s really how to push your way through the huge Abastos Market crowds that come the morning of October 31 to buy all the things needed to decorate family graves and home altars. This is not a market for the faint of heart. It is serious stuff. Huge. It’s a market you can get lost in. And, if you aren’t careful you could lose more than you came in with. People press up against you to get by. Children are underfoot. There are some moments when you have to step out of the aisle to catch your breath. To get there is no small feat either. The traffic outside the market is bumper to bumper and there are no lanes. Drivers push through the street to get their nose out in front of another vehicle just like the people who push through the crowds inside.
Shopping for fruit, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
You need a person with you who knows this market well to get you back to where you started. You need a money pouch that is tucked tight close to your body. If you are carrying a passport, keep it inside your shirt. Don’t bring a lot of cash. Keep your camera strap hung around your neck and your hand on your camera. Leave all unnecessary equipment back at your hotel! If this is all too daunting, then you might try going to the tamer Benito Juarez Market in Oaxaca instead. It is within walking distance of the Zocalo!
Our Group with the Chavez Santiago Family at the Abastos Market, Oaxaca
Pan Muerto -- Day of the Dead Bread, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
The market is filled with edible treasures: sugar skulls; bread baked with painted images of Jesus, Mary, the Virgin of Guadalupe; chocolate skeletons; and every household staple that one can imagine plus some.
Fruit Vendor, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
Fruit is used to decorate graves and altars. In addition to oranges, limes, bananas, grapefruit and apples, there are papayas, mangoes, and many more exotic varieties than I am familiar with. Children learn to sell by their mother’s side at a young age, packaging the purchases of shoppers and making change.
Spun and Molded Sugar Treats, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
Fish Vendor from the Isthmus, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
If you enter the market near the bus parking lot, you might find this woman from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec who prepares and sells the most delicious battered and deep fried fish.
Chicken Feet, Abastos Market, Oaxaca
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Food & Recipes, Oaxaca travel
Tagged Abastos Market, day of the dead, Oaxaca