giant statue of the president’s head nearby. The tianguis is officially part of the Colonia Ejército de Oriente Indeco II ISSSTE, the neighbourhood visible in the top left quadrant. At
lower left is the massive Unidad Ex Lienzo Charro. The tianguis occupies an asphalt municipal soccer field adjacent to the Casa dela Cultura Tonacalli –the circular building at the top of the market.
Tianguis De Segunda Mano-Guelatao For second-hand clothes, residents of the surrounding barrios and unidads head to this area known colloquially as Cabeza de Juárez for the
the delegation, troubleshoots technical problems, intervenes in disputes and brokers the interests of vendors, neighbours and local officials. The committees are a venue for collective bargaining as well as a buffer against abuse, harassment, detention and confiscation of wares by police. To press their interests and make claims on the legal system and spatial regulation of the city, individual tianguis associations band together into larger confederations. Every vendor must obtain a licence from the delegation to sell goods on the street, whether they do so through the tianguis or as roving ambulantes. Most studies suggest that no more than half street vendors are licensed in the city; the remainder operate outside the formal regulatory apparatus of the state, particularly the hawkers and small cart operators whose margins simply do not yield enough to pay regular fees. Tianguis and ambulantes are key elements in a broader ecology of quotidian commercial exchange in Mexico City, particularly for food and household goods. In the twentieth century, the government of Mexico City constructed over 300 permanent public markets across the city to disperse commercial activity from the crowded Centro Historico and to establish a ‘pivot between the tianguis of indigenous tradition and wholesale trade’. However, the metropolis expanded more rapidly than
At ground level, the tianguis follow a simple set of rules repeated over and over. A kit of parts includes a plastic canopy cover supported by aluminum poles, a kiosk or table for the vendor,usually covered by a tablecloth or oilcloth, signs and prices, crates and cooking equipment and stools for the food stalls. Some of these elements are standardised products available through suppliers, others use more makeshift means. Rules determine how this kit of parts is organised and spatially arrayed. The standard floor area for one allotment is 1.8m x 1.2m (6’ x 4’), which can be doubled or split. Vendors set up adjacent to one another, with no space in between, breaking only for doorways, streets and other openings. Canopies protect wares from rain and sun. The repeated application of these rules results in a wide range of sizes, colours and forms. The most iconic feature of the tianguis are the canopies, which come in white, pink, red, dark blue, light blue, yellow, forest green and grass green. Some tianguis deploy uniform colours through pooled acquisition by the vendors’ association and subsequently required of all new vendors. Other tianguis present a mix of colours, sometimes interspersed, other times alternating from one block to the next. Multiple colours might indicate a preference by the vendors, or it might indicate a less established tianguis
where vendors have yet to agree on a uniform scheme. In all cases, the result is a dramatic, brightly reflective polychrome line. Vendors in the tianguis sell a wide variety of goods. In addition to fruits, vegetables and meats, shoppers also find stalls with batteries of propane tanks, grills and portable ovens, selling the street food of the city – tacos, quesadillas, cemitas, tlacuyas, ceviche, fried fish, nopales and mole dishes. After food, the most common items sold are electronics equipment, sunglasses, toys, new and used auto parts, household goods and furniture. There is a substantial traffic in new and used compact disks, some bootlegged; these vendors often provide the lively soundtrack for the market, sending out bachata and reggaeton beats at high volumes. Other vendors sell clothes, ranging from used articles and cheap Chinese T-shirts to more expensive name brands. tianguis in context While largely a self-organising system, tianguis occupy a grey zone with respect to governance and the local state. Each tianguis is managed by a non-profit association that receives its charter from the delegation in which it operates. A committee comprised of vendors oversees the tianguis association’s business. The head of the committee collects fees from vendors, ensures payments to
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on site review 36: our material future
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