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In the Roma Sur district of Mexico City, the Mercado Medellin is a traditional covered market that has earned a particular reputation for its cosmopolitan range of goods, drawing shoppers from across the city in search of products that are hard to find elsewhere. Like the many neighbourhood markets that anchor daily life in the capital, it offers the usual abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, flowers, spices and prepared food, but it is best known for its international character, stocking ingredients from across Latin America and the Caribbean, so that it is sometimes called the little Latin America of the city. Stalls sell Cuban, Argentine, Colombian, Central American and other specialities, from particular cuts and sausages to tropical produce, sweets, coffee and drinks, reflecting the immigrant communities of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Alongside the produce, rows of food counters serve cooked dishes from various countries to a steady stream of locals, making the market a popular place to eat as well as to shop. Bustling, colourful and full of the sounds and smells of a working market, the Mercado Medellin offers visitors an authentic and unpolished slice of everyday city life away from the tourist trail. Markets of this kind are a cornerstone of life in Mexico City, each neighbourhood anchored by a covered public market where residents shop for the day's food and where the abundance, colour and noise of stalls heaped with produce give a vivid sense of the city's appetite, and the Mercado Medellin stands out among them for its unusually international flavour. The surrounding district has long been home to communities of immigrants from across Latin America and the Caribbean, and the market has grown to serve them, stocking ingredients and goods rarely seen in ordinary Mexican shops: Cuban coffee and cigars, Argentine and Uruguayan cuts of beef, Colombian and Central American sweets and snacks, South American grains, tropical fruits and the particular herbs, sauces and tinned goods that homesick cooks seek out, alongside the full range of Mexican produce. This blend has earned it the nickname of the little Latin America of the capital. Among the aisles of produce and dry goods, clusters of food counters serve cooked dishes from various countries, drawing a steady crowd of locals at lunchtime, and the mix of cuisines makes it a favourite for an inexpensive and authentic meal. Lively, fragrant and entirely unpolished, the market offers visitors a glimpse of the working, multicultural city far from the museums and monuments, and a chance to taste and buy flavours from across the Americas under one roof.