Day in the Life: Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey

Every Tuesday, Pachuca Street in Colonia Condesa blossoms into a tianguis—one of Mexico City’s colorful, temporary, open-air bazaars. I’m following Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey through the scrum—we’re winding our way through vegetable vendors offering huitlacoche and neon-green fava beans, past stands of cell phone chargers and bootleg Blu-ray discs. “This is where I get some of my basic bitch office-worker button-downs,” she chuckles, floating through a bottleneck of families and tourists.

We had arranged to meet at a new restaurant. I had double-checked the hours and their Instagram page, but we arrive to find it shuttered—plans in Mexico City are often stymied by unanticipated hiccups. This city and her work, as author, activist and cannabis cultivator, demand the flexibil...