market bounty, the little baggies are fresh coconut water…mmm

There is nothing quite as satisfying about living in Nebaj as the market. It’s there everyday, an open-air market with vendors upon vendors and low-hanging tarps. Most of the vendors come from larger cities, bringing goods not produced in the region, and the mix of traditional traje/dress from other regions is notable. But on saturdays the mercado campesino, or local farmer’s market, pops up on a side street and Ixil women in full head wraps sell handfuls of organic mustard greens for 15 cents a piece that they grew on their farms.

photo by Leonel Morales