Acapulco is not among the best places to buy Mexican crafts, but it does have a few interesting shops. The best are the Mercado Parazal (often called the Mercado de Artesanías), on Calle Velázquez de León near Cinco de Mayo in the downtown zócalo area. When you see Sanborn's, turn right and walk behind it for several blocks, asking directions if you need to. Here you'll find stalls of curios from around the country, including silver, embroidered cotton clothing, rugs, pottery, and papier-mâché. As they wait for patrons, artists paint ceramics with village scenes. The market is a pleasant place to spend a morning or afternoon.
The shopkeepers aren't pushy, but they'll test your bargaining mettle. The starting price will be steep, and dragging it down may take some time. Before buying silver, examine it carefully and look for ".925" stamped on the back. This supposedly signifies that the silver is 92.5% pure, but the less expensive silver metal called "alpaca" may also bear this stamp. (Alpaca is generally stamped MEXICO or MEX, often in letters so tiny that they are hard to read and look similar to the three-digit ".925"). The market is open daily from 9am to 6pm.
For a well-known department store with fixed prices, try Artesanías Finas de Acapulco (tel. 744/484-0484), called AFA-ACA for short. Tour guides bring groups to this mammoth air-conditioned place, where the merchandise includes mass-produced tacky junk, fairly good folk art, clothes, marble-top furniture, saddles, luggage, jewelry, pottery, papier-mâché, and more. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 6pm, Sunday from 9am to 2pm. To find it, go east on the Costera until you see the Hotel Romano Days Inn on the seaward side. Then take Avenida Horacio Nelson, across the street; on the right, half a block up, you'll see AFA-ACA. Sanborn's, a good department store and drugstore chain, offers an array of staples, including cosmetics, music, clothing, books, and magazines. It has a number of locations in Acapulco.
Boutiques selling resort wear crowd the Costera Alemán. These stores carry attractive summer clothing at prices lower than you generally pay in the United States. If there's a sale, you can find incredible bargains. One of the nicest air-conditioned shopping centers on the Costera is Plaza Bahía, Costera Alemán 125 (tel. 744/485-6939 or 744/485-6992), which has four stories of shops, movie theaters, a bowling alley, and small fast-food restaurants. The center is just west of the Costa Club Hotel. The bowling alley, Aca Bol in Plaza Bahía (tel. 744/485-0970 or 744/485-7464), is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 1:30am, Sunday from 10am to midnight. Another popular shopping strip is the Plaza Condesa, adjacent to the Fiesta Americana Condesa, with shops that include Guess, Izod, and Bronce Swimwear. Olvida Plaza, near the restaurant of the same name, has Tommy Hilfiger and Aca Joe.
Acapulco has a few notable fine-art galleries. My favorite, Galería Espacio Pal Kepenyes, Costera Guitarron 140, on the road to the Radisson (tel. 744/484-3738), carries the work of Pal Kepenyes, whose stunning bronzes are among Acapulco's most notable public sculptures. The gallery shows smaller versions, as well as signature pieces of jewelry in brass, copper, and silver, by appointment only.
Works by another notable Mexican artist, Sergio Bustamante, are available at his gallery and shop, La Colección de Sergio Bustamante, Costera Alemán 120-9, at Galerías Picuda (tel. 744/484-4992). You'll see his capricious suns, moons, and fantasy figures in a variety of materials.
