Vegetable market in Guanajuato, Mexico
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- December 1981
- Location
- Guanajuato, Mexico
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use
See this photograph in context
- To market, to market: Photograph analysis: In this lesson, students analyze photos of markets from around the world to gain an understanding of the similarities and differences between geographically distant places, to learn about the economic and cultural significance of markets, and to improve visual literacy skills.
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for Guanajuato, markets, Mexico, and vegetables.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
A vendor in a striped hat sells many varieties of vegetables in an open-air market. The stand includes lemons, limes, tomatoes, string beans, broccoli, and other vegetables.
Guanajuato is a large city in the central highlands of Mexico. It was an important colonial city because of the area’s large silver deposits. Silver continues to be a major export, while tourism and industry round out the balance of the economy. Because it was an important colonial site, the city boasts of lavish colonial architecture and a historic city center that is recognized by UNESCO for its cultural heritage.
Guanajuato is also famous for one of the most important battles in the early push for independence. In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo led his ragtag peasant army to the rich city of Guanajuato. The undermanned Spanish garrison was routed and the surviving soldiers and many wealth citizens barricaded themselves in the granary. The insurgent army then lit the granary on fire, killing all the occupants. Ironically, the granary fire at Guanajuato may have actually slowed down the independence movement because many moderate Mexicans feared the violent insurgents more than the corrupt colonial officials.
