Tianguis Cultural del Chopo
Encyclopedia
The Tianguis Cultural del Chopo is a Saturday flea market
(tianguis
in Mexican Spanish) near Mexico City
downtown, known locally as El Chopo. It is named after its original location which was near the Museo Universitario del Chopo, an art deco building with a couple of towers designed by Bruno Möhring. Since the end of the eighties, the Tianguis del Chopo has been at a location very near subway station Metro Buenavista
in the street of Aldama in the Colonia Guerrero
neighborhood.
Originally, the Tianguis was a place for hippies to trade sixties memorabilia including not only records but also clothing, magazines, books and other collectibles. Eventually, the Tianguis has also given place to more recent musical styles like metal
, goth
, punk
, grunge
and ska
, among others. Almost always, some local and touring bands play live gigs at the back of the market, where can also be found the casual traders standing and looking up for that rare and collectable record or CDs.
On the northern end of the market at Aldama and Camelia is an area called Espacio Anarcho-punk
. Vendors in this part of El Chopo sell mostly books, movies, and other materials that have an anarchist
or radical perspective. Many of the Espacio Anarcho-Punk vendors contribute to a weekly zine
of the same title addressing local social issues and radical politics.
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
(tianguis
Tianguis
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....
in Mexican Spanish) near Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
downtown, known locally as El Chopo. It is named after its original location which was near the Museo Universitario del Chopo, an art deco building with a couple of towers designed by Bruno Möhring. Since the end of the eighties, the Tianguis del Chopo has been at a location very near subway station Metro Buenavista
Metro Buenavista
Metro Buenavista is a station on the Mexico City Metro, in the Colonia Buenavista neighborhood of the Cuauhtémoc borough. It is the southwestern terminal station of Line B . It also offers connections to the Insurgentes Metrobús bus rapid transit line.The station logo represents the front of an...
in the street of Aldama in the Colonia Guerrero
Colonia Guerrero, Mexico City
Colonia Guerrero is a colonia of Mexico City located just north-northwest of the historic center. Its borders are formed by Ricardo Flores Magón to the north, Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas and Paseo de la Reforma to the east, Eje1 Poniente Guerrero to the west and Avenida Hidalgo to the south...
neighborhood.
Originally, the Tianguis was a place for hippies to trade sixties memorabilia including not only records but also clothing, magazines, books and other collectibles. Eventually, the Tianguis has also given place to more recent musical styles like metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
and ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, among others. Almost always, some local and touring bands play live gigs at the back of the market, where can also be found the casual traders standing and looking up for that rare and collectable record or CDs.
On the northern end of the market at Aldama and Camelia is an area called Espacio Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
. Vendors in this part of El Chopo sell mostly books, movies, and other materials that have an anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
or radical perspective. Many of the Espacio Anarcho-Punk vendors contribute to a weekly zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
of the same title addressing local social issues and radical politics.