The city's street cry: popular street vendors

Street vendors in Mérida are an essential part of the urban folklore.

If you want to delight your palate, discover their food and let yourself be wrapped up in the street cry…

Mexico is one of the best countries in the world to taste typical street food.

Walking through any city in the country, you find different specialities depending on the destination — for example: in Jalisco the tortas ahogadas are typical; in Mexico City, the tacos al pastor, and in Mérida, the tortas de cochinita.

Read: The what, how and where of cochinita pibil

And when it comes to eating in the street, you’ll find that in Mérida every corner proclaims its flavour and tradition.

In the city’s old town, Mérida’s historic centre and surroundings, there are different kinds of street stalls, in public squares and on the streets, where you can enjoy tasty local snacks.

From the beloved marquesitas to the popular kibis, palanquetas, elotes or tortas de cochinita, eat well and cheaply with these street vendors in Mérida.

We recommend: Maya crafts. Towns in Yucatán born to create.

Street vendors who make life in Yucatán a fantasy

1. The marquesita man

Without doubt, the most famous street vendors in Mérida are the ones who sell marquesitas.

The origin of this sweet dates back to the early 20th century and is attributed to Leopoldo Mena, a Yucatecan ice-cream maker who combined the wafers from his ice creams with different fillings such as Dutch cheese, cajeta, chocolate and other options.

Where do you find them? These kinds of businesses in Mérida are found in any square, outside the churches or in Parque de las Américas.

2. The tooth-breaking palanquetas

Their origin is imprecise but centuries old. Typical of Mérida and super sweet, traditional palanquetas are made with local peanuts and you can buy them on the streets of the historic centre and in squares like Santa Ana.

3. The box of kibis

Crunchy on the outside, they’re a legacy of Lebanese immigrants in Yucatán.

They can be found on almost any corner. In street sales, these businesses in Mérida are found on streets, squares, parks and beaches.

With a Lebanese past, kibis — wheat balls filled with lamb, beef or cheese — are sold on the streets in glass boxes, along with a salad of red onion and cabbage.

4. Polcanes and piedras

The pre-Hispanic flavour survives on the streets of Mérida through the polcanes.

Of Maya origin, they’re made with corn and toksel, a filling with little onion and ground pumpkin seed.

Piedras, also of pre-Hispanic origin, are made with corn dough and filled with black beans.

They look aesthetically like a gordita and can be found at street stalls in squares and markets.

5. The one that never fails: corn on the cob with chilli

Also pre-Hispanic, elotes with chilli are typical of street food in Mexico.

With mayonnaise, lime, chilli and cheese, they’re common in public spaces, and if you move to Mérida you can enjoy them on its streets, usually after 7 in the evening.

6. Cochinita Sunday

As with the taco, in Mexican food the variety of tortas that exist in Mexico is infinite. A typical example from Mérida is tortas and tacos de cochinita.

If you’re going to live in Mérida, you can’t miss trying this dish made with pork marinated in bitter orange and baked for several hours.

The Lucas de Gálvez Market is an excellent place to taste this Yucatecan delicacy.

This Yucatecan food is also very commonly found at any street food stall, especially on Sundays.

Lucas de Gálvez Market.

Our list is missing many other pillars of the Yucatecan street cries, such as the guayas with chilli lady, the chinas with chilli, the chicharrones with sauce.

All ready and delicious for a snack on the way home or to work.

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