Friday
Nov 21st
Home 
Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining For The Freshest Fish Head Out To ZapopanŐs Mercado Del Mar
Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining For The Freshest Fish Head Out To ZapopanŐs Mercado Del Mar | For The Freshest Fish Head Out To ZapopanŐs Mercado Del Mar |
|
|
| Written by James Ollen-Smith | |
| Saturday, 12 November 2005 | |
 'ZapopanŐs fish market boasts 37 indivudal stalls.' - Photo By J. Ollen-Smith Seventy percent of the stock is trucked in daily from the Pacific, guaranteeing its freshness. Another 20 percent arrives daily from the Gulf of Mexico, and ten percent is imported from as far away as China. Trucks start unloading their products at 4 a.m., and the wholesale market is going an hour later. Individual customers begin to arrive in force at 9 a.m. If you stand on the general market's long plaza, it's hard to believe you're less than a mile from the arches of Zapopan. The tropical music and thick aroma of fish transport you instantly to the coast. Stores named "Medit-erraneo," "Taiwan," "Pescaderia Mazatlan," and "Pescaderia Hawaii" add to the illusion. Most fish is sold whole and filleted, and everything is by the kilo. Rosalba Ortega Martinez, who works at Pescader'a Golfo de Mexico, says, "However the person wants it, we'll prepare it Ń filleted, for frying, for stews, for ceviche ..." On Wednesday, whole red snapper (huachinango) sold for 65-75 pesos a kilo, fillet of baby shark (cazon) for 65-75 pesos and smoked marlin (marlin) for 65 pesos. Octopus (pulpo) is 72-80 pesos, crab (jaiba) 35-45 pesos and shrimp (camaron) ranges from 80-115 pesos depending on the size. The Mercado del Mar has existed in its current location for 24 years. Guadalajara's strategic location, linking Pacific ports with the interior of the country, has helped its prominence. Another factor is the city's culture of seafood consumption, says Ernesto Marquez, secretary of the Fish and Seafood Merchants Union of Jalisco. He notes the influx of migrants from Sinaloa, Sonora and Nayarit who have brought seafood businesses with them. As a sign of the Mercado's strength, clients from as far away as Cancun buy from the Zapopan market, he says. Weekdays are busiest for the wholesale market, located on both sides of the regular market. Trucks from the Pacific coast pull up to loading stations where men in boots and overalls await. More of the general public shows up on weekends, filling the pedestrian walkway where the smaller shops are located. A few customers trickle in at sunrise on this Wednesday morning. Rosalina Varga of Zapopan, buying fillets of baby shark for her family, shops here once a week "because [the seafood] isn't as good in other places. [Here] it's fresher." By 3 p.m. most stalls have closed. The vendors have to prepare for another early morning. But lingering customers can still enjoy one of the many seafood restaurants. "El Barco" might be hardest to resist with this message: "Coma pescado y viva mas. Coma ostiones y ame mas." (Eat fish and live more. Eat oysters and love more.) The Mercado del Mar borders Calle Pino Suarez near the center of Zapopan. Take Avila Camacho into Zapopan, turn right at the arches onto Avenida los Laureles, and go about a third of a mile. At the traffic light with the Squadron 201 airplane statue, take a right into the Mercado del Mar parking lot. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
This Week's Stories
Popular
Feature of the Week
Competitors stay cool despite Wal-Mart fever
Photos of the Week
|
Copyright © 1998 - 2008 Guadalajara Reporter. All rights reserved.
The material on ths site may not be reproduced, distrubuted or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of the Guadalajara Reporter. Developed by Hawk Tail Design |
|
