The Mercado de la Merced is the largest market in the second largest city in the world (think of it as 18 million mouths to feed). It’s a feast for the eyes and as you approach the market you encouter a riot of noise.
As Joe puts it about his latest trip there: “As you walk up to the mercado, all the storefronts are open and everyone’s hanging out front and it’s a combination of blaring techo music and mariachi music coming from every which way. It’s really upbeat music but for the most part all the people are standing still. There are trucks driving by with speakers, and kids and women walking with speakers—anything that can move has a speaker—and they’re blaring out their daily specials.”
“There was a minute where I was walking across the street and I got run over by a blind guy and it made me think, What an impossible place to be blind. There’s so much noise pollution. Close your eyes and you can’t hear anything but noise. It brings your stress level up so much. And then, all of the sudden, at 12:15—right when a soccer game between Holland and Mexico began—with the exception of that familiar buzz of the announcer’s voice, there was total silence. It was crazy. It was so, so crazy.”
Joe was down there with his good friend and excellent photographer Tyler Gourley. His images of the market might not show the noise but they definitely show the color.
