Justice

A Day in the Life of Mexico City's 'Diableros'

A profession that dates back to Aztec times, most today are indigenous farmers on the grey divide between migration and seasonal work in the city.
Diableros, loaders of goods and merchandise, walk through the aisles of La Merced, one of the oldest and biggest traditional markets within Mexico City. Gustavo Graf

In Aztec times the tamemes—bearers—would wait at the edge of the markets on the edge of Tenochtitlan, looking for customers.

There were no beasts of burden to carry loads in pre-Hispanic Mexico and humans were the best and only option. Several transport revolutions later, this occupation still exists in the iconic markets of Mexico City’s historical center such as Tepito and the Merced. Though the mecapal—a headband used for tying loads to one’s back—has been changed for a metal dolly called a diablo due to the resemblance of the handlebars to the devil’s horns, bearers of cargo still work the city’s streets.