Why Pata de Perro? This is a Mexican expression for someone who like to travel frequently and is rarely home. It literally means ‘leg of the dog’, and I have often been called or accused of having this trait by many Tapatios.

I guess I have lived in Mexico long enough for friends, family, and past clients to start asking me for recommendation in Guadalajara and other parts of Mexico I have met. I just got home from biking to the Flower Market in Downtown Guadalajara so I figured that’s as good a place to start and any other.

Mercado de Las Flores de Guadalajara (Mercado Mezquitán)

Interestingly this is the first market I ever visited in Guadalajara, and the one I know the least about. When I first arrived in GDL with my ex in August of 2018, we immediately when to the flower market for him to purchase flowers for his mother after checking into Hotel Demetria (still my favorite hotel in Guadalajara). I have recently been back twice within a month to purchase fresh eucalyptus for my steam showers. I bunch or eucalyptus cost about $4 usd which is nearly 4 times the amount you will spend at Mercado Sonora (the witchcraft market) in Mexico City, but the Flower Market is decidedly safer for the novice explorer in Mexico.

Calle Mezquitán 820, Artesanos, 44200 Guadalajara, Jal.

Mercado Ávila Camacho (Mercado Santa Tere)

Santa Tere (Santa Teresita) is the very traditionally Mexican neighborhood across Avienda Mexico from my apartment building in Ladrón de Guevara or Lafayette or Colonia Americana. (In Mexico, Colonia means neighborhood and Barrio means ‘the hood’ or the ghetto.) I have no idea why or how I can live in 3 neighborhoods at once, but I’ll take it. I identify mostly with Ladrón de Guevara. I think it most accurate describes where I actually live, and I really love living in a place named for both a thief and very prominent last name originating in Spain.

Calle Andrés Terán 523, Santa Teresita, 44600 Guadalajara, Jal.

Mercado Corona

I think this might be one of the few markets in Mexico that is actually called by its proper name. This place is also pretty orderly for a Mexican market. The top floor is the closest thing, but absolutely nothing like Mercado Sonora in CDMX. I really only know the place because I wanted to purchase some black candles for winter solstice last year.

Av. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla 469, Zona Centro, 44100 Guadalajara, Jal.

Mercado San Juan (Mercado San Juan de Dios)

C. José María Mercado, San Juan de Dios, 44360 Guadalajara, Jal.

Mercado Benito Juarez (Tlaquepaque)

Calle Álvaro Obregón 25, Centro, 45500 San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Jal.

Tianguis Trocadero de Antiguedaded

This flea market held on Sunday on Av. Mexico 2 blocks from my apartment is one of my favorite things to do in Guadalajara. It was a lifesaver when I first moved here. A place to rediscover myself, to learn more Spanish and to really connect with some of my favorite aspects of the culture in Guadalajara. I started collecting art, objects, and especially crystals here on Sunday mornings.

This tianguis is a great place to go roam around. It is heavy on art, chingaderas (just objects from the past), crystals, stone pottery, and books. There is also a plant market every Saturday in the same location which I also love. Both are great activities to just shoot the shit in Spanish, but most vendors can speak English and there is always someone close by wanting to show off their interpretation skills if needed.

44600, Av. México 2074(1700, Santa Teresita, Guadalajara, Jal.
It is basically located in the median of Av. Mexico between Av. Chapuletec Norte and Alfredo R. Plascencia in the Ladrón de Guevara section of the city.

Tianguis Tonalá

This flea market on Thursdays and Sundays is a bit of a shitshow in my opinion but worth the experience.

Calle 16 de Septiembre 276-298, Tonalá Centro, 45400 Tonalá, Jal.