Primitive Folk Art Crafts
Acapulco – Shopping for Folk Art, Crafts and Souvenirs – Where to Go
When you come to Acapulco you can appreciate how easy it is to find quality folk art as well as enjoyable gifts and souvenirs. This article tells you where in Acapulco you can go for souvenir and folk art shopping. A related article provides general information and tips and a third one discusses Mexican silver.
Cruise Ship Passengers. If you arrive by cruise ship, your time will be more limited, and you will probably want to stay in the part of town where the ship has docked. (If you have all day, however, do not be afraid to grab a taxi and explore the whole bay!) The few stores in the terminal itself are good choices. They are reliable, and though their prices are not the lowest in town, they are safe and convenient. The clerks speak English and French as well as Spanish, and the selection is always very good. If you walk to Fort San Diego nearby, that gift shop also has books, art prints and some genuine crafts. Around the central square, the Zócalo, just a few blocks away, you can find many other shops, too, though they tend more towards souvenirs than folk art and crafts. About a 10 minute walk beyond the Zócalo you will find the Mercado de Artesanias Parazal (also called “Tepito”), where you will find an overwhelming collection of booths and tables of all sorts, selling just about everything imaginable. You will be in Acapulco’s oldest shopping neighborhood, and you will pass lots of other stores on your way to and from. On the way back you can look for a couple more folk art shops in the two blocks immediately east of the Zócalo, on the Costera Alemán.
Acapulco Vacationers. If you will be in town for a while, you should plan to hit a few different places, mainly up and down the Costera Alemán. Technically, an open-air, souvenir market is a “Mercado de Artesanias,” but locals call it a “tianguis.” Some have more art than junk, others more junk than art, and all of them have lots of things to eat as well. In addition to the Mercado de Artesanías Parazal, mentioned above, there are smaller versions on Caletilla Beach (down at the western end of the Costera), across from Tamarindos Beach (called Noa Noa, near Hornos), across from Parque Papagayo, and across from the Crowne Plaza hotel in the “Golden Zone.” At the Diana traffic circle, the Mercado de Artesanías Diana covers a large area, and offers an especially rich selection of folk art, including blouses and skirts. Scattered along the Costera from one end to the other are small areas in which street vendors have spread out their merchandise. They are not as permanent (or semi-permanent) as the tiaguis, but they also have good selection and value. The indigenous vendors are usually the women, almost always dressed in colorful, shirt waist dresses with puffy sleeves and accordion-creased skirts, covered with a pinafore apron in a contrasting color and pattern. For most, Spanish is their second language, and a good proportion of them may speak it at least as well as you do. Gestures work fine.
For gifts and decorative items in a higher-quality range, several stores have become very popular with the tourists. In Costa Azul, around on the east side of the bay, you will find the “Casa de Cultura” (about a half-block past the CiCi Water Park on the same side of the street). Here the city government operates a cultural center that also supports sales by local artists of their own works. Ceramics, pottery, jewelry, painted items, all sorts of artisan handiwork is on sale here, and the prices are usually very reasonable. Sometimes the craftsmen will set up a demonstration for passers-by to show how they create their art. Artesanías Finas de Acapulco (locally known as Afa-Aca) is a large store with a large inventory of works from all over Mexico. You can even buy a complete mariachi outfit if you want. Furniture, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and hand-embroidered clothes and tablecloths are on sale here. Many consider this to be the top store of its kind in Acapulco and perhaps in all of Mexico. It is found on the corner of Horatio Nelson and the Costera in Costa Azul or downtown near the corner of the Costera with Juan Escudero (two blocks east of the Zócalo). In the Plaza Bahía center you will find Alebrijes & Caracoles, which has an inventory of fun items for the kids as well as decorative items for home and garden.
For the adventurous, there are a few “serious” marketplaces in town, where the chefs go in the early morning to buy for their restaurants, and where the locals go to buy everything for their home. The prices are better than in the supermarkets and fancier stores, but the conditions are a good bit more primitive. The Central Market (at Cine Rio) and the Mercado Del Campesino (in Progreso) are the two prime examples. Some folk art and souvenirs can be found there, but your main motive for going would be just to have a look at how the non-touristic sector of the city really works.
Primitive Folk Art Doll – How to Make Miniature Doll Art
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The Van Rensselear Children Portrait 1840 antique oil painting ! Folk art $24,900.00 |
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Antique Pair of Iconic American Folk Art Carved Pine Wood Eagle Sculpture – RARE $20,000.00 |
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Metal Art Sculpture Sculptor for Hire Travel Design fabricate install folk art ! $20,000.00 |
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Mamie Falk Folk Art Oil Painting – Considered Minnesota’s “Grandma Moses” $19,750.00 |
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Yuri Gorbachev ORIGINAL Landscape Oil painting Folk Art $17,500.00 |
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Folk Art wood statue of Grover Cleveland 1894 $9,500.00 |
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Antique Ship Captain Folk Art Carved Coconut Chalice $8,500.00 |
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Original Oil On Canvas Painting by Minni Hines Bayou Scene Folk Art 24×48 $8,495.75 |
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Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone for painting and handwriting $6,890.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab fly dragon $6,329.00 |
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Banjo Boy/ Pre-Civil War Folk Art on Linen $6,000.00 |
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LARGE Antique Americana Folk Art Painting of Boy -Civil War Col. Orlando H Moore $5,999.99 |
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Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $5,990.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Avalokitesvara $5,590.00 |
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AMERICAN FOLK ART PUPPET THEATRE QUEENS,NY $5,000.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Cotton Pickin’ c1977 20×26.25 $5,000.00 |
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vincent van gogh sculpture outsider folk art Dale Teachout assemblage junk $5,000.00 |
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Bessie Harvey Folk Art Found Object Museum Piece!!! $5,000.00 |
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PAIR OF 19TH C FOLK ART PORTRAITS PAINTINGS SIGNED P MARTIN 1886 HUSBAND & WIFE $4,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART ETCHED GLASS ALLEGHENY CTY PA GERMAN WOW $4,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART FISH HOOK MASSIVE IRON TRADE SIGN $4,999.99 |
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Signed OLD master GESSO FRAME OIL ON CANVAS PORTRAIT NELSON pipe Folk art $4,999.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Folk Art Painting Signed “Picking Cotton” $4,850.00 |
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Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone double dragon holding the sun $4,690.00 |
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FOLK ART OIL PAINTING PORTRAIT CHILD ICONIC RED DRESS PRINCE CHARLES SPANIEL $4,500.00 |
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Corbels Pair Wood Winged Griffins Victorian Old Paint Architectural Folk Art $4,500.00 |
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FOLK ART PAINTING SULLIVAN COUNTY NEW YORK J R GEROW $4,500.00 |
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Exceptional Folk Art Painting $4,500.00 |
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Johnnie Swearingen! Great Folk Art!!! Peddling Melons $4,500.00 |
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New England Folk Art Portrait on Canvas Ca.1830 $4,500.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting Wash Day c1977 19.25 x 23.25in $4,500.00 |
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A Outstanding Early Trade Axe,Folk Art Hatchet, $4,500.00 |
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Yuri Gorbachev Original Oil Painting Russian Art Folk $4,490.00 |
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FANTASTIC FOLK ART CHEST $4,200.00 |
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Clementine Hunter Signed Framed Folk Art Painting African Headdress c1977 25.5h $4,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE MINIATURE PRIMITIVE FOLK ART WOOD RURAL SCENE FRAMED 12 1/4″ UNIQUE $3,885.00 |
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*RARE TRAMP / FOLK ART Shoe Shine Box – Brass/Wood-Detailed-Ornate-Exquisite $3,800.00 |
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Antique KNOTTY Tree Root Twig FOLK ART CHAIR Set GOODY KOONCH West Virginia $3,750.00 |
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Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,650.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone-an old man finshing alone $3,590.00 |
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Folk Art Hand Carved Soldier,6ft Tall Pick Up Only $3,532.50 |
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Unique/Exceptional Large Oval Folk Art Santa Claus Wood Carving signed Cobb 98 $3,500.00 |
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Painting Vintage 50s Cowboy Folk Art Levis Jeans Vinicur Little Buckaroo Parade $3,500.00 |
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Advertising Art / Folk Art / Christmas Hooked Rug – 5′x3 1/2′ $3,500.00 |
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Johnnie Swearingen! Great Folk Art!!! $3,500.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab—Lofty aspiration $3,490.00 |
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Terrazzo Marble Micro Mosaic Latin Ethnic Musicians Mural Folk Fine Art $3,374.99 |
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Original Mexican Folk Art Icons Retablo:18-19th century $3,250.00 |
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FINE 19c EARLY FOLK ART PORTRAIT PAINTING $3,225.00 |
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Israel Jewish Art,Sara Hagay,Israeli Folk Dance “hora”,Oil,Judaica,Framed $3,000.00 |
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mud painting signed jimmy sudduth a real folk art outsider master piece $3,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD CANE ISLE ROYALE FIRE WW2 D DAY GI ? KENOSHA WI $2,999.99 |
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FRANK WYSO OUTSIDER FOLK ARTIST PENNSYLVANIA COAL MINERS 4 WORKS OF ART $2,999.99 |
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King’s Couch Rare One of a Kind Yard Art from Chicago Folk Hand Made furniture $2,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE 19th AMERICAN FOLK ART NATURALIST BUFFALO SETON STYLE CATLIN PAINTING $2,999.99 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab man walk in forest $2,999.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone inkslab a man watch moon $2,999.00 |
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fine Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab scenery $2,890.00 |
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Temperance Movement Folk Art Painting Folk Art Temperance Painting $2,850.00 |
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Anonymous Folk Art Carving Figure with Crown in Skirt with Snake $2,799.99 |
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ANTIQUE OIL PAINTING FOLK ART NEW ENGLAND ‘HUGES’ 1892 $2,750.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art stone sculpture carving inkstone inkslab with dragon $2,690.00 |
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FOLK ART Antique Wood Polychrome Carved Asian Figure Sculpture $2,500.00 |
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HUGE 37″ Antique 19th American Folk Art Carved Gilt Wood Eagle Statue Americana $2,500.00 |
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Antique Primitive Folk Art Hand Carved Wooden Dough Bowl $2,500.00 |
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FOLK ART OIL PAINTING OF THE SS “OCEAN” STEAMSHIP $2,475.00 |
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Ca. 1820 American Folk Art Painting Deformed Man $2,450.00 |
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James Harold Jennings Amazing and Colorful Folk Art! $2,400.00 |
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Doris Lee – Folk Art Painting – Signed and Titled – Original Condition $2,400.00 |
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DC: Prison Folk Art Matchstick Ship, HUGE 5′ Length $2,379.00 |
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Amazing ORIGINAL NAUTICAL AMERICAN FOLK ART PAINTING $2,285.00 |
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Early 20th Century Folk Art Sheep Painting/ Inside Barn $2,250.00 |
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FOLK ART COLLAGE/Presidential Stamp Collage $2,250.00 |
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Folk Art Handmade Ceramic Sculpture Plaque Dentist Pulling Tooth Dicker Vintage $2,200.00 |
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ANTIQUE Americana TRADE SIGN IMMIGRATION FOLK ART NYC ICE CREAM PUSH CART $2,200.00 |
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Ohio Pioneer Abraham Betz 1818 HANDWRITTEN LESSON BOOK with FOLK ART $2,150.00 |
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HAITIAN ART: Vibrant PAINTING, SIGNED by Renowned Folk Artist TOUSSAINT AUGUSTE $2,150.00 |
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Philippines National Artist Abdul Imao Brass Sculpture w/ Base Mindanao Folk Art $2,100.00 |
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Ellen Eilers Calico Country Folk Art Woodcut Ornamental Trees Rare Early Work $2,000.00 |
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antique 19th century oil painting folk art still life portraiture PA Amish girl $2,000.00 |
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ANTIQUE 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FOLK ART FRUIT STILL LIFE WATERMELON OIL PAINTING $1,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD BALEEN CARVED SPERM WHALE GROTESQUE AMERICANA WOW $1,999.99 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART SHIP LIGHTHOUSE LARGE OIL PAINTING GERNAND VERMIER $1,999.99 |
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Vtg Rutherford Tubby Brown Xmas 25″Folk Art Santa Claus $1,999.99 |
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AMERICAN FOLK ART GAMEBOARD TABLE WITH SWASTIKAS $1,999.00 |
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Chinese handcraft folk art sculpture carving inkstone peasant work on his land $1,999.00 |
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LAURA SIQUEIROS “POSEIDONS ADVENTURE” FOLK ART PAINTING $1,999.00 |
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Old Folk Art Cinderella pre Disney & Kincade Beautiful $1,995.00 |
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Clyde Connell 1943 Folk Art hooked rug signed LISTED $1,900.00 |
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ANTIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART WOOD CARVING TOBACCO CIGAR TRADE SIGN ? DISPLAY WOW $1,899.99 |
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Chinese folk art sculpture carving stone inkstone for painting and handwriting $1,890.00 |
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WELSH AMERICAN SIGNED FOLK ART PAINTING JFK PT 109 $1,850.00 |
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ORIGINAL TEXAS ARTIST FERGUSON OIL PAINTING FOLK ART $1,822.50 |
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C Peterson ORIGINAL modern FOLKART sculpture SIGN ART painted OUT of WORK tools $1,817.00 |
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48x48x1.5″█OIL▀PAINTING█ART█LARGE█BIG█PAINTINGS█FINE█RAW█MALE█REALISM█FOLK_POP█A $1,800.00 |
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American Folk Art Painting of Little Girl Circa 1825 $1,800.00 |
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Emma Schrock Folk Art 16″ by 12″ $1,795.00 |
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c1920 Girl Knitting Folk Woman Antique Art Signed Oil Estate Painting $1,795.00 |
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Folk Art Wood Carving Listed Folk Artist Albert Hoffman $1,750.00 |
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Folk Art New England Oil on Canvas Painting/Circa 1860 $1,750.00 |
