City: San Antonio, TX

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (210) 207-8600

Insider Pick:

Description: One of the neatest things about shopping in San Antonio is the opportunity to buy great Mexican-­made items. Although scores of small boutiques and shops throughout the city sell Mexican goods, there’s one place where virtually every conceivable kind of Mexican handicraft is represented. It’s the largest Mexican market in the US, known variously as El Mercado or Market Square. A few blocks from downtown, this market is where generations of San Antonians have come to buy and sell everything under the sun: vegetables and meats, hay and firewood, clothing, hammocks, chess sets, musical instruments—you name it.Clothing, leather purses, and textiles are always best sellers at El Mercado. The traditional Mexican dress, complete with an embroidered bodice and short sleeves, starts at about $35. To make sure you’re getting a high-­quality garment, look for tight embroidery stitches. Men’s shirts, called guayaberas, are found in many stores as well. These solid-­color, short-­sleeved shirts, decorated with pleating and stitching, are worn outside the pants.Blankets are another popular item. Many stores sell striped ones in a variety of sizes and colors, most made from a wool blend. A 5-by-7-foot blanket typically costs $8 to $10; ponchos and hoodies sell for $12 to $17.Piñatas are found throughout Market Square. At Mexican birthday parties, one of these colorful paper creations is filled with candy and hung from a tree. Blindfolded children take turns swinging at the piñata with a stick until someone finally breaks it and the loot spills all over the ground. Look for piñatas in the shapes of watermelons, clowns, donkeys, and even parrots.Cascarones, dyed eggshells filled with paper confetti and covered with tissue paper, are sold in many stores. They’re especially popular during the annual Fiesta, when children break them over the heads of their friends (or sometimes complete strangers).