Mercado de Artesanias El Carmen

The Mercado de Artesanias El Carmen features a series of white arched stone ruins attached to a modern, open-air plaza. It sits on the site of the eighteenth century El Carmen church, which suffered catastrophic damage during the seventeen seventy-three earthquakes. After the colonial era, the surrounding rubble became a quiet space for local vendors to gather. Today, the marketplace occupies the ground beneath those weathered, towering arches, blending the remnants of Spanish baroque architecture with the constant movement of a busy trade center.