Mercado Juan Álvarez

The Mercado Juan Álvarez is a beloved central market within the northwest of the Vicente Guerrero Housing Development in Iztapalapa. It’s just west of the Vicente Guerrero Lineal Park, and so it’s close to both the Barco Utopia and the Iztapalapa Cultural Center.

The market stands on a wide stretch of the Avenida Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama. As it shares this avenue space with some playing fields, ball courts and a busy senior center, it’s also as much a cultural and community center as it is a center for commerce and shopping. The market is named for one of Mexico’s mid 19th-century presidents and military men.

• Juan Álvarez Hurtado (1790-1867), was a soldier and politician, and one of the few to have lived through both the entire Independence Movement through to the defeat of Emperor Maximiliano in 1867. He was briefly president in 1855, but he’s mostly remembered for having embodied the personification of the Mexican Military for the entire first half of the 19th century. Born in Guerrero he spent most of his life in Mexico City and died soon after the fall of the French Intervention.

The Mercado Juan Álvarez is a friendly neighborhood market that draws residents from all over the tianguis-heavy community. A more permanent residence for many of the area’s venders, it’s also a good place to catch regular meals. Independent cooks and restaurants turn it into a daily competition for the best Comida Corrida, although street food is usually tempting the senses, too.  International visitors get inexpensive fresh food, and they support smaller, independent, and women-owned businesses at the same time.

Hours: Daily, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.