| When you come to Acapulco you can appreciate | | | | which street vendors have spread out their |
| how easy it is to find quality folk art as well as | | | | merchandise. They are not as permanent (or |
| enjoyable gifts and souvenirs. This article tells you | | | | semi-permanent) as the tiaguis, but they also have |
| where in Acapulco you can go for souvenir and folk | | | | good selection and value. The indigenous vendors are |
| art shopping. A related article provides general | | | | usually the women, almost always dressed in colorful, |
| information and tips and a third one discusses Mexican | | | | shirt waist dresses with puffy sleeves and |
| silver. | | | | accordion-creased skirts, covered with a pinafore |
| Cruise Ship Passengers. If you arrive by cruise ship, | | | | apron in a contrasting color and pattern. For most, |
| your time will be more limited, and you will probably | | | | Spanish is their second language, and a good |
| want to stay in the part of town where the ship has | | | | proportion of them may speak it at least as well as |
| docked. (If you have all day, however, do not be afraid | | | | you do. Gestures work fine. |
| to grab a taxi and explore the whole bay!) The few | | | | For gifts and decorative items in a higher-quality range, |
| stores in the terminal itself are good choices. They are | | | | several stores have become very popular with the |
| reliable, and though their prices are not the lowest in | | | | tourists. In Costa Azul, around on the east side of the |
| town, they are safe and convenient. The clerks speak | | | | bay, you will find the “Casa de Cultura” (about a |
| English and French as well as Spanish, and the | | | | half-block past the CiCi Water Park on the same side |
| selection is always very good. If you walk to Fort San | | | | of the street). Here the city government operates a |
| Diego nearby, that gift shop also has books, art prints | | | | cultural center that also supports sales by local artists |
| and some genuine crafts. Around the central square, | | | | of their own works. Ceramics, pottery, jewelry, painted |
| the Zócalo, just a few blocks away, you can find | | | | items, all sorts of artisan handiwork is on sale here, and |
| many other shops, too, though they tend more | | | | the prices are usually very reasonable. Sometimes the |
| towards souvenirs than folk art and crafts. About a 10 | | | | craftsmen will set up a demonstration for passers-by |
| minute walk beyond the Zócalo you will find the | | | | to show how they create their art. Artesanías Finas |
| Mercado de Artesanias Parazal (also called | | | | de Acapulco (locally known as Afa-Aca) is a large |
| “Tepito”), where you will find an overwhelming | | | | store with a large inventory of works from all over |
| collection of booths and tables of all sorts, selling just | | | | Mexico. You can even buy a complete mariachi outfit |
| about everything imaginable. You will be in | | | | if you want. Furniture, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and |
| Acapulco’s oldest shopping neighborhood, and you | | | | hand-embroidered clothes and tablecloths are on sale |
| will pass lots of other stores on your way to and from. | | | | here. Many consider this to be the top store of its kind |
| On the way back you can look for a couple more folk | | | | in Acapulco and perhaps in all of Mexico. It is found on |
| art shops in the two blocks immediately east of the | | | | the corner of Horatio Nelson and the Costera in Costa |
| Zócalo, on the Costera Alemán. | | | | Azul or downtown near the corner of the Costera |
| Acapulco Vacationers. If you will be in town for a while, | | | | with Juan Escudero (two blocks east of the Zócalo). |
| you should plan to hit a few different places, mainly up | | | | In the Plaza Bahía center you will find Alebrijes |
| and down the Costera Alemán. Technically, an | | | | & Caracoles, which has an inventory of fun items |
| open-air, souvenir market is a “Mercado de | | | | for the kids as well as decorative items for home and |
| Artesanias,” but locals call it a “tianguis.” | | | | garden. |
| Some have more art than junk, others more junk than | | | | For the adventurous, there are a few “serious” |
| art, and all of them have lots of things to eat as well. In | | | | marketplaces in town, where the chefs go in the early |
| addition to the Mercado de Artesanías Parazal, | | | | morning to buy for their restaurants, and where the |
| mentioned above, there are smaller versions on | | | | locals go to buy everything for their home. The prices |
| Caletilla Beach (down at the western end of the | | | | are better than in the supermarkets and fancier stores, |
| Costera), across from Tamarindos Beach (called Noa | | | | but the conditions are a good bit more primitive. The |
| Noa, near Hornos), across from Parque Papagayo, | | | | Central Market (at Cine Rio) and the Mercado Del |
| and across from the Crowne Plaza hotel in the | | | | Campesino (in Progreso) are the two prime examples. |
| “Golden Zone.” At the Diana traffic circle, the | | | | Some folk art and souvenirs can be found there, but |
| Mercado de Artesanías Diana covers a large area, | | | | your main motive for going would be just to have a |
| and offers an especially rich selection of folk art, | | | | look at how the non-touristic sector of the city really |
| including blouses and skirts. Scattered along the | | | | works. |
| Costera from one end to the other are small areas in | | | | |