Among almond trees, palm trees, and shrubs, twice a month the heart of Santa Cruz Park bears witness to one of the most colorful and diverse markets of the Oaxacan coast: the Huatulco Organic Market (in Spanish, “el Mercado Orgánico de Huatulco”, or “MOH”). As has been a tradition for a little over a decade, on the first and third Saturday of each month, farmers, vendors, and artisans of various regional products meet. Coming together in the MOH, they offer tourists, visitors, and locals an array of flavors, aromas, colors, and even music

Mexican and Oaxacan cuisine and cultural roots can be found in the market’s food stalls, such as tamales, flavored tostadas, and quesadillas. There is an exquisite variety of Oaxacan flavors and ingredients such as black mole, green mole, beans, and corn as the main constant in these delicious dishes. The flavors of these foods stand out, with some of them prepared on-site, on a traditional comal and accompanied by Aguas de sabor (fresh fruit blended with water) or rich corn atole, a hot, sweet drink made from corn and usually consumed for breakfast, perhaps with a pan dulce for dunking.

Huatulco is home to people from around the world. Some of them offer their traditional foods here at the market, such as paella, vegan sandwiches, or handmade bread alongside the local products, such as mango, apricot, and even Jamaica (hibiscus) jams; sauces; cheeses; dried fruits; aromatic coffee; and ice-cold nieves, a type of small-batch ice cream.

Continuing the tour of the MOH, another section highlights the beauty of the mountains and our mother earth through the organic vegetables, fruits, and floral products of women from the community of La Merced del Potrero. They travel almost three hours to the market to sell their products and provide for their families.

The beauty of the stroll is found in the smiles of the vendors who camouflage themselves among the flowers and is complemented by the generosity of these women who, when you buy any of their products, do not hesitate to throw you the usual “pilón”. Even so, green abounds in this corridor in avocados, chayotes, and spinach; the yellow of oranges, pumpkin blossom, star fruit, and passion fruit; the red of tomatoes and strawberries. The colors of the earth stand out on their tables while these mercedeñas offer their organic products.

The richness of the Huatulco Organic Market stands out in the diversity and cultural exchange that it provokes by bringing together a cluster of forms and expressions through food, drinks, and the possibility of converging people from different places and countries to share a few minutes or hours, and the pleasure of living together, talking and even dancing.

So when you go to this market, get ready for an experience that will make you want to return: observe and live it with different eyes, like someone who for the first time goes to a party where you can share with your friends or family who live or visit the tourist destination of Huatulco. Especially the latter; amazed to know our culture, they feel an affinity with our uniqueness and come to love what Oaxacans is daily life for us.