General Information

Located in the historic centre of Mexico City, the Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market was built in 1934 as a prototype for a more modern marketplace. It has a number of unusual features, such as day care and an auditorium. The market’s most distinctive feature, however, is the approximately 1,450-square-metre area of wall and ceiling space covered in murals.

Additional Information

With its area of 12,450 square metres, the market is the main shopping location for foodstuffs in this part of the city. Upon completion, it was named after the president of Mexico who ordered the construction. Eventually, the area around the market became known as “Abelardo.”

Features and facilities: highlights

This market was the second major market built in Mexico City in the first decades of the 20th century. The Abelard L. Rodriguez market was intended to be a prototype for a new, more modern and popular marketplace, first for the large size and second for a number of extra services offered within the building.

Features and facilities: explained

The extra services include day care centres, youth centres and libraries. However, probably the most distinctive feature is the Teatro del Pueblo (Theatre of the People) auditorium, which is located on the upper floor. A number of the services of this market were copied in markets built as much as twenty years later, such as the markets of La Lagunilla, Tepito and La Merced.

The Murals: Highlights

What makes this market unique is the presence of approximately 1,450 square metres of wall and ceiling space covered in murals. These murals were painted by students of Diego Rivera and under his supervision. The works reflect mostly socialist themes, such as the exploitation of workers, peasants and miners, as well as the fight against Nazism and fascism, and racial discrimination.

The Murals: Explained

Six of the ten painters involved in the project were Mexican, three were American and one was Japanese. The murals are located in the main entrances, vestibules, patios and hallways of the market. They reflect socialist themes, in part due to the policies of the Mexican government to promote the benefits of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Abelardo’s murals were painted from the 1930s to 2009. In that time, no organised effort has been undertaken by authorities to conserve them. The 1985 earthquake, humidity, the passage of time, lack of maintenance and vandalism took their toll on the artwork. Almost all of the murals show some level of damage.