This Sunday afternoon, we decided to go for a exploration of the wholesale flower market of Mexico City, Mercado de Jamaica. This massive market is apparently *the* place for purchasing flowers for basically all flower vendors in Mexico City and for locals looking for fresh, gorgeous, bargain-priced flowers. We decided to go here with John’s dad Bob (who’s visiting along w/John’s stepmom Pam) because he’s a certified master gardner (I’m told this is an actual title? Who knew!) & thought he would be amused. If I was holding any sort of celebration here in Mexico City, I would definitely hit up Jamaica to stockpile on stunning flower arrangements in advance, since I cannot arrange my way out of the proverbial paper bag.
We were initially somewhat skeptical of how different this would be from the other bazillion mercados here in Mexico, but I can confirm: it is definitely worth a visit & also a good spot to bring visitors. (Most of the aisles are quite large/spacious, making it both easy to gawk & take photos from afar, and less stressful for disoriented gringos as you are less likely to be run down by locals with small grocery carts or men carrying sides of beef.) That said, there is plenty of the standard market fare as well, so if you are looking to see piles of avocados, hanging pig heads, or the best damn carnitas stall I’ve experienced, you will still be in luck.
Bob poses with roses (as well as bags of pre-plucked rose petals, in case one is too lazy for a full-fledged game of "He loves me, he loves me not")
John's favorite-- pollen-laden lillies. That said, by some act of God, we managed to get through this whole market with neither John's nor Bob's allergies acting up. A small miracle.
This intriguing arrangement has complemented its roses on top with another set of roses upside down, dipping into the water in the vase
The boxes of brightly colored gerberas were some of my favorites
I have never seen such a vibrant blue dye-job on a calla lily
Whatever your religious ceremony needs-- wedding, funeral, baptism, you name it-- Mercado de Jamaica has you covered
For those of you who find individual flowers a bit dull, but love dogs, do not fear: Mercado de Jamaica has something for you as well…
In case this isn't immediately obvious to you, these flowers have been formed into a white dog carrying a rose in his mouth.
Pam has a little white kick-dog named Teddy back in Florida, and since she was trapped in our apartment today with a displeasing illness, Bob brought her back a white Teddy look-a-like made from flowers. These are brilliant-- cost $2.10 USD in Mexico, but I bet you could sell these puppies for $30+ in the US. 
And finally for those of you who hate flowers altogether, still do not fear: like I said, you can always just eat.
For those of you familiar with the fruit-like vegetable jicama, this was a stand that sold "paddles" of jicama (note round, white thing on a stick in the back), which were then dampened & dipped in various colored/flavored sugars. A fan favorite with the kids.
And finally I think we found the best stand for a late lunch-- "Carnitas Paty". The carnitas tacos (braised/carmelized pork) were fantastic. Though we were a bit more skeptical when the client after us ordered what appeared to be several pig penises chopped into taco filling. Concerning.
John & Bob, mid-pork festival. A productive market trip on all fronts!!
HOW TO GET TO MERCADO DE JAMAICA IN MEXICO CITY: It is conveniently located right on top of the Metro stop of the same name (Jamaica) on the brown line (#9), whose endpoints are Tacubaya & Pantitlan. By taxi, it is just north of the Viaducto east-west highway and about ~2 miles southeast of the Zocalo.
on Feb 7th, 2009 at 1:51 am
Very entertaining! I really want to go there alas Mexico City is not on our list of places to vsisit this year!
on Mar 24th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
yup thats my mexico! im from over there i try to go every 2 yrs lately i have been going every year.. lucky:) and this mercado is my favorite i love flowers!! and there is so many there…thanks for the pics they are beautiful…and i want some takos now!
on Apr 28th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
[...] With dog with rose in his mouth. image credit [...]
on Jun 18th, 2009 at 4:01 am
i was just serching this place for fun and I found this…. OMG I used to live pretty close to the mercado! I can tell that those Carnitas are the best, i go over there every year and I can miss to go and eat there… Thanks Pedro (the owner) for those delicious carnitas!
on Aug 23rd, 2009 at 8:42 am
I love super love the puppy flowers, your so lucky to visit Mexico.I cant wait to go.
on Sep 29th, 2009 at 12:53 am
We really enjoyed your website and information. We are always looking for quality fresh flowers for our website http://www.Mexicoflorista.com. Thank you again for your beautiful site.
on Oct 31st, 2009 at 10:58 pm
[...] wanted to quickly share this gem of a Halloween decoration that we came across on Wednesday down at Mercado Jamaica (which reaffirmed its place in my mind as “the best market in Mexico City”). This [...]
on Nov 2nd, 2009 at 11:39 pm
[...] Patzcuaro in Michoacan and Mixquic just southeast of DF). However, we did manage visits to Mercado Jamaica, Coyoacan (incl. the Frida Kahlo Museum & Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares- thanks to Ruth [...]
on Nov 30th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] Jamaica: I’ve posted about Jamaica before, but just to reiterate– easiest way to get there is take the Metro to [...]
on Jan 28th, 2010 at 1:00 am
[...] Kick … Credit: Vince Flores/Celebrity Photo. Updated: Thursday Jan 04, 2007 | 06:00 AM EST …Mercado de Jamaica the flower market of Mexico City …image credit [...] #4 yara. on Jun 18th, 2009 at 4:01 am. i was just serching this place for fun and [...]
on Feb 5th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
This is one of the best places in Mexico City. I love all the flowers there and being that I’m a florist myself I have an eye for all those beautiful creations done by my ancestors. I can’t wait to go visit again.It’s like the Disneyland of flowers.