Los Mercados de Latinoamérica

Copán Ruinas, Honduras

Walking through an outdoor market in Latin America is often a crowded maze of boothes and stalls where vendors sell just a bit of everything in their little business.  Here, we see fruits, vegetables and plantains, packs of white and brown sugar, candles, kitchen utensils, ropes and numerous things.

*   If there are 20 other vendors selling mostly the same exact things within this crowded area, how much money do you think this lady earns in a day?  Is anything better than nothing?

Río Dulce, Guatemala

Outdoor markets are not just places where people buy foods to take home and prepare.  They are also some of the best and least expensive places to try local specialties.  A traveler could eat three meals a day in the streets and never even have to go into a restaurant.  For Latinos, it is very common for them to pick-up something fast like this for breakfast but it is very uncommon for people to regularly eat-out for meals because they simply can not afford this.  By 1:00pm, most food vendors have sold-out and gone home for the day before the mid-day heat sets in.

*  Would you be willing to try foods in places like this?  What if you didn't know what things were, or how to speak the language? 

Higuey, Dominican Republic

La Carnicería -- the meat shop like these are still very common in Latin America.  Remember that electricity and refrigeration are still very new concepts in most places!  Here in America, we buy our USDA-inspected meats at the store prepackaged, refrigerated, and pumped full of additives and preservatives that still don't keep it from turning bad colors and rancid before the expiration date.  How is it these meats can hang all-day in the tropical sun and heat, get covered with flies and dust from the road, never be refrigerated before or after preparation, and the people don't get sick, including myself?  This also includes far fewer problems from cancer, cholesterol and heart-related diseases.

*  Are our methods and expectations really better?

Esquipulas, Guatemala

Outdoor markets and streetside restaurants are one of the biggest opportunities for Hispanics to fulfill their #1 dream -- to own their own business!  Usually, there's no start-up cost.  All that's required is a plan and a lot of hard work!  They're their own boss, start/finish when they want too, and that's a good thing because Latinos aren't good time managers for following schedules -- theirs or anyone elses.  So the Guatemalan woman, shewing flies off her food, is running her own business...just as countless others were up-and-down both sides of this street. 

*  This picture was taken about 8:30am in the morning.  What time do you think she had to get-up to start cooking all that food?  If there were no jobs in the area, and this was the only way you could earn money to support yourself and your family, would you do it?

Maracaibo, Venezuela

For 85% of the oil capital's population of 2-million living in poverty, this is where they get everything they need!  This 10+-acre sprawl of outdoor markets was by far the biggest and filthiest I've ever been to, including cat-sized rats crawling around garbage piles and open sewer trenches.  I was definitely out of my comfort zone, got lost within the labyrinth countless times, and have to consider this probably my closest third-world encounter.  Considering I never saw another caucasian the entire 4-days while in the city, I came back to the markets a second day without camera/backpack hoping to blend-in.  (And yet again, ate all kinds of foods without getting sick!)  They cheaply sell absolutely anything you could possibly want, including maletas/suitcases which I needed for hauling home everything I bought.

*  If a place like this was your only option available, could you shop here?  Would you even have the curiosity or courage to want to visit and at least check it out? 

Livingston, Guatemala

Think about how many everyday things you have in your home, and where your parents probably bought them -- Wal-Mart, Target, a department store, the mall?  Except in the largest Latin American cities, there are no types of places like these so everything can be found as part of outdoor markets.  Notice how everything in this picture is made out of plastic?  It's cheap, weather-resistant and basically treated like disposable goods.

*   About the best way for me to put this into perspective is by saying this:  imagine if your only shopping option in Springfield was the $1 store, and you had to save-up your money just to buy the most basic necessities.  What would you buy?  What would be a splurge item you treated yourself to after pinching saving your money?

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Los Mercados -- More than just shopping!

Since Springfield is so big with so many options to shop, let me try and put this in a way that you can understand and relate to.  While living in Carthage, Wal-Mart was about the only place in town for shopping.  I tried to never go if I was in a hurry or running short of time.  Why?  Because you never could go in without running into half the town, and always stopping to talk!

Markets in villages, town and cities of Latin America are just as much a place for meeting friends as they are for shopping.  Consider that many people live in isolated rural areas without nearby neighbors, telephones, computers or any means of communication.  Saturdays are usually reserved as "market day" when people come from miles around to sell their crops, shop and socialize.

This is one of the biggest cultural aspects commonly shared all over the world, and is one of my most favorite experiences while traveling.  I always track down the local outdoor markets when arriving in a new town because there's no better place for making contact with the people and being welcomed into their daily lives.

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The following collection of photos is from a Saturday market day in Gracias a Dios, Honduras; a small town established by the Spaniards in 1526 as their capital for all of modern-day Central America.  I spent the better part of the entire day just hanging-out and people watching.  Once they realized I spoke Spanish, it was like being a guest-of-honor celebrity from the outside world as they were as curious about me as I was of them.

Before dawn, people start filling streets around the market area.  Earliest customers can select the best and freshest of what ever they're looking for. Ladies shop while guys hang-out.

There's nothing in cans!  Everything is fresh, and I'm always amazed at the quality and quantity of items, and often wonder how much ends up going to waste when there's so much.

It also saddens me to see people that are so poor, they are trying to sell scrawny things they have grown just so they can afford to buy something.

*  Which do you think has a better quality of life -- poor people in Latin America or the United States?  Why?

In these family-owned businesses, kids work just as hard learning how to do everything from the time they are very young.  Everyone contributes, because they know that family is the most important and valuable thing they have.

Getting ready for school, where did you get new clothes, shoes, school supplies?  How much did your parents spend?  Could you be satisfied if the only place to shop looked something like this?  In most places beyond big cities, this would be it!

Because people are so poor, clothing is merely a necessity to cover the body.  It has nothing to do with fashion, style, accessorizing, coordinating colors or anything.  As long as it somewhat fits, price is right, and you can afford it because the one you had won't make it another day, then you're in business!

Prices here were dirt cheap!  I didn't buy anything because the people are so small, and I'm so large!  That's another thing to remember when visiting Latin American markets:  Because the people are so short, everything is hanging extremely low!  See those soccer balls up ahead?  They weren't the only things I binged my head on!

I guarantee that any of us (including myself) have more clothes hanging in our closets than the average Hispanic family, combined!  Why?  Because our culture and society dictates that we do!

*    Could you manage with only a couple of changes of clothes?  Do you think you could find what you needed to survive in a clothing market like this?  If you answered yes to either or both of those questions, then why not live like that here in Springfield?

Once the shopping is finished, that's when the real fun of Market Day begins!

The women of all ages cluster around for gossips sessions that are often hilarious because latinas are so melodramatic about everything -- especially their no-good rotten men!  While girls are always expected to be with the ladies, boys of all ages are allowed to roam freely.  The men do their macho ritual of a weekly haircut and shave, drink beer, and talk about the women.  

*  Which do you think has a better understanding of value(s) -- Americans or Latinos?  How boring would you find this simple lifestyle, as a child or an adult? 

Influences and Expectations of the 21st Century

La Romana, Dominican Republic

This Jumbo super-center opened in 2002, with everything you'd expect to find at one of our large department stores like Wal-Mart.  There's a larger outdoor market and older city grocery stores in the downtown area, but this was built all modern and new for the growing tourist and expat populations.

If you were in-town, would you prefer to shop here more than the traditional market?  Think again!  At Christmas time, an 18-lb imported Butterball turkey was outrageously priced US$48.00, a 10-lb bag of rice US$7.65, and a can of beans US$2.00!  At least the business chain is owned by Dominicans and not Americans, and there are some things that are very cheap for me but very expensive for the local people.

*  With places like this on the rise as modernization moves in, where do you think Dominican kids your age will want to shop when they become adults?  What do you think this means for the outdoor markets in terms of culture?

Panamá City, Panamá

Avenida Central slicing through heart of the old shopping district in the capital.  Now, this area is considered a slum compared to all that sparkles and glitters in the suburbs catering to wealthy foreigners, including Costco and most of the major corporate business franchises you can find right here.  We haven't had a chance to discuss this yet, but Panamá is perhaps the most Americanized country in Latin America because of our involvement with the Canal.

While there were numerous sidewalk street vendors running their individual businesses all over Panamá City, I never found an outdoor market anywhere!  I did most of my shopping right here, where everything was priced for the local population whom still earns US$1.25 an hour as minimum wage.

Now please understand -- most major cities in Latin America have appearances such as this picture.  There's nothing wrong with progress but look back and see how the photos and expectations have changed, largely depending upon the size of the places and influences from the outside world.

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*  If you had the chance to step into any one of these photos and experience the real deal, which one would you choose and why?

*  What can culture, in terms of outdoor markets in Latin America, tell us about ourselves?

*  Why would you guess that there are no pictures from Puerto Rico included in this series?