In the heart of Puebla's historic downtown there's a small barrio (neighborhood) that hides among all the city chaos, noise and madness. The downtown are of this city is old, rusty and hasn't been taken care of in a while, but the touristy part of it has some hidden gems by the shadows of the colonial buildings: A huge number of antique connosieurs, rustic furniture makers and dealers, and a variety of curiosity hagglers, set their shops on this part of town, making it one of the most interesting parts of town, both for locals and for tourists. These shops are open to the public every day of the week, but when the weekend arrives, a huge Flea Market takes over the place, attracting hundreds if not thousands of visitors by the hour: The Bazar los Sapos, where hagglers, collectionists, hoarders, sellers, buyers, children, old people, hot tourists, local señoritas, and pretty much anyone and everyone can find an antique, a rare trinket, a special object, or any sort of curious device.
To get to Los Sapos you have to reach Puebla's Zócalo (the town square) and then try and find a parking spot, which will be your first challenge because every spot here is taken and will be taken throughout the day, so odds are you'll have to pay for a parking spot in one of the several parking lots spread through the downtown area. Then, you have to search for the Carolino building where you will find the beginning of the Flea Market, right where Porfirio Diaz, former Mexican dictator and 40 year ruler, escapred to Oaxaca from the French in 1865. That's where Los Sapos begins.
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“El callejón de los sapos” - The Alley of the Frogs, is in the street 6 Sur, between the 5th and 7th Oriente. This is where the antique friends have been setting shop for more than 30 years, and now it is a conglomerate of stores, shops, restaurants, bars, street performers, con men, artisan dealers and whatnot.
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There are several shops that are not part of the Flea Market but instead have a proper shop throughout the week like “Mesón de la Sacristía” which offers high quality pieces of religious art from the XVIII and XIX century; “Leobardo Antigüedades” and “Casa Poblana”, besides the religious pieces, owns and sells copies of famous sculptures and art. I stumbled upon a fine jewelry shop where I found a Gioconda almost identical as the one from Leonardo, and I found several great copies of art made by Pueblean artists. Next to these shops you can find “Bazar el Retablo”, the “Casa de la Abuela” and several other OG shops that despite their small size, they offer a lot of magical and exotic beautiful pieces. If you keep walking, you'll reach the "Bazar Los Sapos”, the true responsible of the reputation of the neighborhood or Barrio, as Mexicans call it.
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In this street, the 5 Oriente you will find the shop “Antigüedades La loba”, one of the oldest, most known among locals and most respected shops among vendors.
To try and list everything there is to visit would be impossible, as like with every Flea Market and old parts of town, everything constantly changes and evolves, new shops set grounds, and old shops set sail, new pieces arrive while old pieces get sold, markets change. You would have to see it for yourself, the chaos and at the same time the beauty of this Bazar.
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If you come here like I did (or if you keep reading this post, you choose), you will find all kkinds of things from every side of the world. There's such variety that even if you spend the whole day here, you'll feel as if you only discovered a small part of what this Bazar has to offer. From miniatures, to ancient paintings and art manifestations; small bronze statues, wood pieces, marble furniture and statues, arms and weapos both old and new, tools, bells, druid bottles, radios, cuttlery, dishes, music instruments, cameras, working phonographs, toys, electronic devices from years ago still working... so much to find here (or to see in the pics, if you keep scrolling)
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In this very same Bazar, you will not only find everything I've listed, but you will also find Authentic Pueblean food with prices that go from 2 bucks to 200 per dish, and there are tons of places to calm your thirst along the way and keep exploring the Market.
This is a true paradise for those who enjoy antiques, collecting or just finding; for those who are in the search of something exotic or extravagant or just looking for rare decorative objects.
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One of the probable origins of the name Los Sapos is that, in colonial times, back then the San Francisco river used to overflow constantly, flooding the alley of the 6 Sur street. People living here, as true Mexicans do, instead of worrying and trying to solve the issue, decided to make the most of it and live with it. They installed some water mills. Well, the water became stagnant (at least some parts of it) and the place became the home of hundreds of Toads, Frogs and Tadpoles, thus naming the place as "The Toads Alley".
Every Saturday and Sunday at 10 am, the place wakes up and every street seller and Flea Market member is already there, shop set and belly full, ready to make the most out of the day. This place has become not only a collectionist must-go places, but also a family day trip option for most locals, both rich and poor. I heard, I haven't been, that Fridays are a bomb here, there are a lot of bars and people come here to talk culture, enjoy music, and get hammered.
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At night, the "Plazuela de los Sapos" (Toads Plaza) hosts several couples walking by, declaring their love to each other, some drunk, half from love, half from booze. It is a romantic scene to walk by if it's not too late and not too dark, after all it is the downtown area of a Mexican city.
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There is a legend, a myth, a horror story told by grandmas to children since the colonial times. some speculate, others assure, that there are two beings from the supernatural that roam the Alley of Los Sapos at night. These two magic beings share a common goal: to punish those who drink too much alcohol and leave aside their responsibilities, forget about their families while prefering to party, drink and gamble.
The first of these beings is a puppy, a tender stray and defenseless puppy, or at least that's how drunk women perceive this being. Women are so dazzled by this beautiful, cute puupy that they almost get hypnotized and try to pet and hug him. Once they are close enough, the puppy becomes a horrorful creature that attacks them, both with fangs and claws, killing them and aftwerwards, having a nice female meal.
The second one is a beautiful woman that, during the night, she attracts several "cheaters and infidels". The men that find this woman roaming the Los Sapos streets never notice anything weird about this woman and try and court her and win her attention and hopefully, her love for the night... and once these men are close enough to kiss her, she becomes a skeleton and kills the man, if not by heart attack from the shock, by strangling him.
These two beings are called "Los Justicieros" (It is something like Vigilantes or Justice makers) and they bring justice to those who deserve a lesson for being irresponsible and in fact, bad people.
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Now, if you've reached this part of the post, you're areoung half of it. I know it's been a long one but if you're ready for a long ass tour gallery of Los Sapos, then you're in for a real treat, this is the real Photo Tour.
Fun fact for those who scrolled this far: This year, Playboy featured an Argentinian influencer which I won't mention to not give her anymore undeserved attention, and part of the shooting was in "Los Sapos".
