Hispanic Heritage Month began yesterday, and today, September 16, is Mexican Independence Day. Dallas will mark it with parades and festival stages across the city. Oak Cliff has been marking it every day for years, in a building most of Dallas drives past without a second look.
Juan Gabriel is the first thing you see. Life-size, unmoving, standing guard just inside the door on West Jefferson Boulevard. Past him, nine rooms hold sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, textiles and paintings pulled from more than ten countries, Mexico down through Argentina, each piece chosen by hand rather than ordered by the crate. This is Mercado369, and a city forgets it has a place like this until someone walks them through the door.
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