Traditional markets of the Valley of Tehuacan-Cuicatlan: Background and current situation

In this article, the authors describe the characteristics of what is considered to be a "traditional market" and the specific features of six markets in the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley located in: Tehuacan, Ajalpan and San Sebastian Zinacatepec (State of Puebla); Teotitlan de Flores Magon and San Juan Bautista Cuicatlan (State of Oaxaca). In all of these markets, interviews were conducted with stallholders offering produce, which are part of their own subsistence and cultural tradition and are an essential part in these traditional markets. Moreover, they discuss the wealth of cultural elements associated with the diversity of these vendors, the types of vendors, specificities of the different types of sales, dates when sales are the best, and the kinds of sales methods used, among others. The cultural and biological diversity one finds in markets in the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley are unique when compared to other markets in Mexico. Adapted from the source document.