The Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet is a local outdoor swap meet located in Santa Fe Springs.

Swap meets typically sell some valuable day-to-day items you need like clothes, shoes, food and more.

The swap meet was land that was purchased 63 years ago of 18 acres and in 1953 it was known as the “La Mirada Drive-In;” It was one of the largest drive-in theaters that held a capacity of 1,000 cars.

12 years later it was changed into the ‘La Mirada Swap Meet’ and in the early 90s they changed to what is known to this day as the “Santa Fe Swap Meet.”

The swap meet is beloved in the Southern California area and was brought up by the Mexican culture as there are many vendors that sell Mexican food, CDs from Mariachi music and you see tons of flags when walking around.

Sonia Elias, an attendee and Moreno Valley resident, gave her thoughts on the culture of the swap meet.

“The people in the swap meet is what makes this place what it is,” Elias said, “It’s just a really great environment to be around and it definitely deserves more recognition.”

In the swap meet some of the most popular items they sell are items like sports jerseys, shoes, blankets, food, toys and music CDs and records.

They sell tons of Mexican foods like tacos, churros, elotes and chicharrones de harina with the option to add chili and limon.

My personal favorite vendors are the sports jersey area because they sell authentic basketball jerseys for a good price.

The art area is where they have drawings and paintings of some of the biggest athletes and music artists in the world past and present.

I asked a total of 50 people on what they thought were the most popular items at the swap meet and the most popular was the clothing section.

“I feel like clothes might be the most valuable or popular item they have to offer,” Norwalk resident Angel Turner said, “They are nice in quality and are affordable.”

Although it is centered around Mexican culture anybody is welcome to join in the experience.

Norwalk Resident Rosalie Ceballos said that the posters was here favorite part of the swap meet, “They have some of the best rappers every on posters like Tupac, Snoop, Cube and all the legends from Cali.”

The Santa Fe Swap Meet is also known for having live performances from smaller bands and artists trying to make a name for themselves with a performance that can get the artist with the publicity that could be needed.

Live performances happen every Friday night from 7 to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m.

Next weekend Corazon De Mana will be performing on Friday and Led Zepagain on Saturday.

The swap meet is closed on Mondays but it’s open from Tuesday through Sunday, it’s free to get in on Tuesday through Thursday but on Friday is $3.50, Saturday is $2.00 and Sunday is $2.50.

Tuesday-Thursday they are open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Fridays, they are open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays are from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you live in the Southern California area I would highly recommend checking out the Santa Fe Swap meet.

The environment around the area is great and it offers some great prices for great items.

The food, music, people and culture are what make the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet special and there is nothing like it.