Mexico Traditions: Discovering Pueblo in Coyoacán, Mexico City

The process of settling into our new home in the upscale neighborhood of Coyoacán has led to a delightful discovery. The pueblo is thriving in Mexico City! Tucked within the cosmopolitan urban environment, we are happy to report that in our experience traditional customs are alive and well.

To 'set the stage' for the discoveries of pueblo described below, you might want to tour our neighborhood, Parque San Andrés, Coyoacán.

In Mexico, the word pueblo is has two meanings. It is used to refer to a small town situated in a specific place, but it is also used to refer to the people who live in that small town. At the national level, Mexican politicians sometimes speak of el pueblo; in English we'd say 'the people'.

In Parque San Andrés we've been startled to discover that traditional customs rooted in the pueblo co-exist inside the upper middle class block that is our focus. The photos below capture this coexistence.

This upscale restaurant is about a block and a half from our apartment. We enjoyed a delicious, interesting comida here.  A traditional dish was prepared with unusual ingredients to bring satisfied smiles of gastronomic pleasure!

Directly across the street from the lovely upscale restaurant is this traditional tiendita (little store).  La tiendita is a window (often barred) with direct access to the street.  Typically, junk food is sold here--Coca Cola!

Directly across the highway from us in Pátzcuaro, our neighbor Victoria ran a tiendita de abarrotes (convenience store) very much like this one. Truck drivers were typical customers.  But Victoria also sold bread, milk and eggs, so housewives in the neighborhood shopped there in an emergency.

An intrinsic part of Mexican culture is the mercado. The roots of the mercado tradition reach down into the Mesoamerican subculture. As this abarrote suggests, the market tradition remains strong in today's highly urbanized Mexico City.

Yesterday Reed and I walked over to the mercadito (little market) a block and a half from our house. We felt as if we'd stepped into the mercado in Pátzcuaro! We bought first quality fruits and vegetables and what proved to be incredibly tender chicken breasts. Most of all, we enjoyed the walk and strolling through the market getting acquainted.

Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers displayed in our local mercado

Then, of course, there are the street vendors! I swear that where there are three Mexicans, at least one--maybe two--is selling something to the others.


Puestos (stalls) are set up daily outside the Metro (subway) stations. It's a lot of work: poles hold tarps in place to provide cover over tables on which wares are displayed.  Much of this economic activity falls into the 43% of the Mexican economy that economists categorize as informal--that is, outside the tax structure.

This puesto is just outside the mercado near our apartment.

We had to go to Immigration to report our change of address. Outside Migración, vendors were hawking visa and passport photos.

On Sundays in our neighborhood the organ grinders appear, and guitar player-singers stroll through the restaurants. During the week, indigenous women go house to house selling home-made products (tortillas, eggs, etc.) to families who clearly expect their visits.  One man comes by hawking 'Rico Tamales' from his pedi-cart.

The tamales vendor came by as we were on our way
to dinner, so Reed snapped his photo. 

Here's our local Abarrotes (neighborhood convenience store; in New York it's a bodega), where I buy the tastiest tomatoes. The three-wheeled vehicles (left) are used for deliveries. The pan dulces (sweet breads) have just arrived; the driver is unloading them from cabinets on the back of his vehicle. Note the taxi's open door! This driver is taking a break.   

Oh, and speaking of the taxistas!  Reed and I have been dragging our feet about buying a car.  Frankly, we were nervous about riding in Mexico City taxis.  One of our first drivers told us exactly what to look for:  make sure that the number printed on the taxi is identical to the number on the license plate, that the driver's photo is posted in the car window, and that the driver's face and name match the photo.  If not, said the driver, tell him--¡No, gracias. Adios!


We've been pleasantly surprised to have the same kinds of chats with Mexico City drivers that we had with our drivers in Pátzcuaro. We talk about the city's history and traditions, where we are from, where the drivers are from and, quite often, we learn about their family members living in the United States.

One driver asked us if we aren't afraid to talk to him.  When we answered, "No, not really," he replied, "I've driven people from all over the world; usually, people don't talk to me at all." We then explained that it is precisely our intent to speak with as many Mexicans as we can...from all different walks of life. Our openness and directness, and our respect for all we meet, nine times out of ten leads to a conversation similar to this one.

Last week a driver invited us to his pueblo ("Twenty minutes from the Olympic Stadium") to attend their upcoming fiesta. We smiled in recognition, because our drivers in Pátzcuaro also invited us to their pueblo's fiestas.  We thanked him, then explained that we're still focused on getting settled, but next year....

And the cohetes! Cohetes are an essential feature of life in Pátzcuaro, but we wondered if they were used here in Mexico City.  We were about to find out--big time!

It turns out that last Sunday (August 14) was the Fiesta of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. We'd been hearing the cohetes (rocket firecrackers) since Friday evening and wondered what they were all about. In retrospect, this is the fiesta the taxi driver mentioned to us.

Then Sunday evening at about 9 PM Reed thought he heard pirotécnica--fireworks displays in the sky. He was right!

What a show! From our balcony we saw at least three separate fireworks displays at varying distances:  close (maybe in downtown Coyoacán), middle distance (a second pueblo nearby), and a third way up in the cerritos (lower mountains that are called 'hills').

Everyday Mexican culture is absolutely delightful! I'll say this: We are never bored!

So I guess the best answer to the question our friends al otro lado (in the U.S.) sometimes ask us--"But what do you do in Mexico?"--is, "We walk out the front door and see what happens!"