Tianguis

Tianguis or market day in Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc, Guerrero
Tianguis near central Monterrey.

A tianguis is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases essentially unchanged into the present day.[1] The word tianguis comes from tiyānquiztli or tianquiztli[2][3] in Classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire.[4] In rural areas, many traditional types of merchandise are still sold, such as agriculture supplies and products as well as modern, mass-produced goods. In the cities, mass-produced goods are mostly sold, but the organization of tianguis events is mostly the same.[4][5] There are also specialty tianguis events for holidays such as Christmas as well as for particular types of items such as cars or art.[6][7]

  1. ^ Orihuela, Gabriel (February 12, 2001). "El Comercio Informal: entre negocio y cultura" [The Informal Economy: Between business and culture]. Mural (in Spanish). Guadalajara, Mexico. p. 1.
  2. ^ "tianquiztli (58r) | Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs". aztecglyphs.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  3. ^ "tianquiztli. | Nahuatl Dictionary". nahuatl.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  4. ^ a b Rios, Adalberto (May 14, 2006). "Ecos de Viaje / De tianguis y mercados" [Travel echos/Of tianguis and markets]. Reforma (in Spanish). Mexico City. p. 14.
  5. ^ Padgett, Humberto (December 9, 2004). "Invaden tianguis las calles" [Tianguis invade streets]. Reforma (in Spanish). Mexico City. p. 4.
  6. ^ Marquez, Deyanira (May 21, 2001). "Uno de cada 10 autos es 'chocolate' en los tianguis" [One of ten autos is illegally imported in the tianguis]. Mural (in Spanish). Guadalajara, Mexico. p. 6.
  7. ^ Sorrentino, Joseph (Mar–Apr 2010). "Mexico City's Oldest Traditional Art Market". Americas (English Edition). 62 (2). Washington, DC: 58–60.