Every weekend there are a couple of different markets. The most beautiful is the mercado de los toros (market of the bulls) on Sundays. From about 9 am the people from nearby villages are arriving with their characteristic dresses (ponchos, straw hats, skirts in amazing colours) with their animals to sell: bulls, cows, sheep, horses and pigs. Once the sales have been concluded, there are a variety of small stands that offer a characteristic lunch consisting of guinea-pig and chicha (mais beer). Not just at the Plaza de los Toros (the square or field where the market is held), but also in the streets around the aquare you will be surprised by the amazing amount of opportunities to take beautiful pictures (of course always respecting the peoples will to pose for you) when the sellers arrive and return with their animals and family.
If you wake up early enough, that Sunday, there's another market that's worth a visit. Between 6 and 7 am the mercado de los sombreros, market of the straw hats. There you can buy straw hats and the materials necessary for the production, all handicraft! The straw hats of Celendín are famous in the whole country and abroad.
Saturdays and Sundays, mostly in the afternoons, there's the mercado de las papas, potato market. People arrive with their potatoes, corn or vegetables to meet and sell to the buyers who buy wholesale. The potatoes are still measured in a traditional way.
And of course there's also the everyday Mercado Central, where you can buy fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, food etc etc.
Last changes: 15-03-09© Q'espe design © Fotos Susan van der Wielen