The old adage about one man’s trash being another’s treasure never seemed more true than after a trip to the local flea market, or mercado libre. Every Sunday from 6 a.m. to mid-afternoon, a wealth of both spills out of booths and stalls set up in about six square blocks around the Juarez church. Produce and foodstuffs of every kind, shoes, clothes and linens (both new and used), toys galore, housewares, tools & hardware, and flotsam and jetsam of every variety can be found here. There’s even a special aisle full of hairdressers where mostly men and boys get their hair cut. In case all this shopping makes you hungry or thirsty, vendors of everything from tacos de cabeza to donuts, flan and agua de Jamaica are on hand, too, many with small tables set up out of the lines of foot traffic and sometimes, in the shade of an umbrella or tree.

To get there, take the bus with “Juarez” on the windshield and tell the driver you want the “el mercado libre,” or follow Insurgentes till it ends; bear to the right (there’s a sign), wind through a neighborhood, and suddenly you’ll find yourself in the thick of it. (You’ll want to have good parking karma for this one.) For landmarks, somewhere buried in the sea of humanity is a giant bust of General Benito Juarez and a church, but whatever. Bring a big bag for your treasures, have lots of small bills and change, and of course, go early for the best selection.

Click on the image above for more photos.