Mexico: Part I

Being that Houston has almost 600,000 people of Mexican origin, it's not hard to find places to visit that are influenced by this culture.  Unlike Chinatown, the influence of Mexico is not concentrated in one place in this city, but all over...so my tactic for exploring Mexico in Houston is choosing one area of town and trying to visit 3 or so places at a time (given our 4 hour time constraint and interest/engagement levels of 5 and 7 year olds)!

Our first day of exploring Mexican culture in Houston was primarily focused on Canino Produce Co. located on the north side of town, just inside Loop 610 on Airline. This open-air market is a good representation of a Mexican market, except I would argue it is cleaner and smells better. My kids loved looking at all the toys and candy, I liked reading the labels for the herbal medicines and we all enjoyed trying some fruits for the first time (like dragon fruit and lychee).  Each kid was allowed to buy one toy and they also enjoyed small mangos carved into flowers as snacks!  Although produce is the main attraction here, you can also find dried herbs, cookware, Mexican sodas, candy, hats and toys for kids.

Tips: 1) Be sure to bring cash since most vendors don't take credit cards.  2) Consider trying to bargain.  I didn't think to try, but I bet the vendors would have been willing to bargain for most things, especially the cheap toys. 3) Pack a cooler and some ice in the car in case you're not going home immediately after your visit to store your produce and some cold drinks (need to stay hydrated on your adventures).

Front view of Canino Produce Co.

spices

herbal remedies

A woman carving mangos into flowers.

Watch out for the mango snatcher!

Our 2nd stop was at MECA (Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts), located in the Historic 6th Ward.  Although no performances were scheduled for this day, we were able to get a private tour from my high school buddy, Armando Silva, who works there.  MECA does a ton of amazing work to teach arts and culture to underserved kids in this community which has a high concentration of hispanic families.  The biggest event of the year is the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration.  It is scheduled for October 28th & 29th 11am-7pm this year and it's on the calendar!

MECA's aluminum can sculpture of the Virgin Mary

A version of the Aztec calendar

G tries out the huge guitarrón, played in mariachi bands

powerful prison art done by children in detention centers

kids in MECA's camp learning traditional music

MECA camp kids learning traditional dance

Me, Armando (our tour guide at MECA), and co-adventurer Sharon, all classmates from HSPVA

We ended our adventures with a Mexican lunch at La Mexicana in Montrose.  My favorite discovery there was the milk candy at the check-out counter which was basically like fudge without cocoa (which I loved). 

Adios amigos!  We look forward to many more Mexican adventures in Houston!