This traditional Mexican marketplace, extending across several blocks, began as an early-19C farmers' market. Later, pharmaceutical items were sold at Botica Guadalupana, oldest continuously operated drugstore in central and south Texas. Today a Latin flavor persists in the shops and restaurants, including El Mercado, largest Mexican mall in the US. At two long-standing restaurants, La Margarita and Mi Tierra, troupes of mariachi musicians serenade diners. El Centro de Artes, a cultural arts center, is scheduled to reopen in Fall 2003 with traveling exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution.