Leaving behind the busy intersection at West Commerce Street and Santa Rosa Avenue, visitors can wander the papel picado-lined walkways of bustling El Mercado (Historic Market Square). With more than 100 shops and stalls in the Market Square, Produce Row, and Farmers Market Plaza, traditional and modern examples of Mexican craft, clothing, and cookery abound. Working artists sponsored by the City of San Antonio set up throughout the square, creating and selling handicrafts.

Traditional Mexican cookware and ingredients, such as molcajetes and dried chiles, are easily found in many shops, as is fresh, handmade food. Carrying on the legacy of the "Chili Queens" of the mid-1800s, food stalls and eateries on the plaza serve Mexican street-food delicacies such as gorditas, elotes, and aguas frescas.

Back at the corner of Santa Rosa and West Commerce, the Texas A&M University–San Antonio Educational and Cultural Arts Center provides a series of exhibitions and innovative programming to increase understanding and appreciation of Latino arts and cultures and their influences in the U.S.