Central de Abastos

The Central de Abastos, officially the Mercado de Abasto "Margarita Maza de Juárez", is the biggest market in the state of Oaxaca and its main wholesale hub. It spreads over about 21 hectares on the southwest side of the city, across the Periférico from the historic centre and roughly a kilometre from the Zócalo, next to the second-class bus terminal. The state government calls it the largest and most important commercial centre in Oaxaca, and more than 20,000 people work there every day.

Planning began in 1970 and the land was expropriated in the mid-1970s; the market was built to move the street vendors who crowded the blocks around the Benito Juárez and 20 de Noviembre markets in the centro. It started with four covered halls (naves) and has kept growing. A study of its cultural life counted traders from 17 Oaxacan peoples speaking Spanish and six Indigenous languages, with Zapotec the most common. In 2023 the federal, state and city governments signed a plan with dozens of vendor organisations to rebuild the food and bread section and improve security, lighting and services, the first major works in some 40 years.

Inside it is a sprawling, noisy maze of aisles: fruit and vegetables by the crate, dried chiles and herbs, mole and chocolate pastes, meat, flowers, household goods, clothing, pottery and crafts. It is also where colectivos and shared taxis leave for the towns of the Valles Centrales. Food stalls feed the traders, and one of them, Doña Vale's memelas stand on the south side, became known after it appeared on Netflix's Street Food: Latin America. Saturday is the traditional main market day, when it is busiest. The crowds draw pickpockets, so keep valuables close.