Shopping Around with Kate – Cinco de Mayo & el Malecón

"...look for the gorgeous hand painted plates both in ceramic and wood."

Mexican arts and crafts are beautiful and unique, with a huge range of different styles to choose from. Most of the markets & shops offer examples of the works from the various regions of Mexico. These may include wonderful furniture from Guadalajara, masks from Guerrero, talavera from Puebla, rugs from Zapoteca or silver from Taxco. Each month we will feature another location for the best shopping in Zihuatanejo & Ixtapa.

In Zihuatanejo’s Mercado de Artesanías on Cinco de Mayo look for the gorgeous hand painted plates both in ceramic and wood. The colorful plates show scenes of weddings, bull fights and fishermen, no two are the same and it is fascinating to watch the craftsmen at work. This market is also a great place to buy silver and most of the stall keepers will have something to show you. I buy from Julia & Abel who have a huge selection including traditional & more modern pieces. They are both attentive, speak a little English and have wonderful taste! They can be located exactly half way along the market, look for a little courtyard and their shop is on the right. During your stroll thru the market make sure you try your hand at negotiating the price, its an energetic exercise but fun for everyone, including the locals.

The market is a fun day out and while you are there walk up to the Malecón (fisherman’s walk) to Casa Marina & have a look around. Casa Marina has 6 specialty shops and a restaurant in its environs so you can stop & relax to build up your strength for more shopping. The three shops on the road side have beautiful embroidered shirts, skirts & pants, a small but tasteful selection of silver, stamped tin work, fine woven baskets, table cloths, hand embroidered bags & belts and other regularly changing arts & crafts. The water front stores include El Jumil with its wonderful selection of masks & black pottery from Oaxaca, Costa Libre a small café that has bright sarongs, beach clothing and hand made semi-precious stone jewelry, Joe’s pizza restaurant and the store on the corner has fine rugs & cotton hammocks made by the Zapotec Indians. While in any of the shops at Casa Marina purchase a t-shirt for the Sociedad Protectora de Animales (animal protection society) of Zihuatanejo, which is housed in Casa Marina. Not only do the 100% cotton shirts look cool, they make great gifts and provide the means for food & shelter for the injured or homeless animals.

Here in Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo you can find such a vast array of arts & crafts that it will boggle your mind! From the carefully selected pieces that you will find at Galeria Maya to the colorful beads offered on the street you will be able to purchase something to suit your taste & budget.

Haggle.

December 1999

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