The weekly village markets do not give up

Riudellots de la Selva / Cholera / VirginsMaria Rosa López is one of the most punctual customers at the Verges market. Before eight in the morning, she's already waiting for the doors of El Café de la Plaza to open so she can take a sandwich to one of the stallholders. "The trust between vendor and customer is one of the markets' strengths; here we all know each other, we greet each other, and we catch up," López acknowledges. Verges is an example of the continued existence of small-town markets, with five or six stalls where one day a week you can find fruit, vegetables, clothing, or shoes. These types of markets are threatened by a lack of generational relevance, counterfeit products, government regulations, and a lifestyle that prevents younger generations from going shopping in the morning.

Anna Isern, who has been running markets for forty-one years, is running late today and is setting up a crowded stall alone that resembles a supermarket. We find underwear, robes, pans, glasses, watering cans, cleaning products... She drives a stationary van towing a trailer, which makes her job much easier because it has large drawers that open with the products inside. "Luckily, I already have a strong clientele. Everyone knows I have a little bit of everything, and if I don't, many customers make specific orders that I serve the following week," she explains. She says that young people don't want to continue her business because it's hard work: "But dealing with people gives me life," she explains. She works Tuesday through Saturday: Verges, Banyoles, La Cellera, Les Planes, and Sant Jaume de Llierca. She used to go to much larger markets, but now she prefers to go to smaller towns, with fewer access problems and a more relaxed atmosphere.

The competition from plastic shoes

Juan Carlos Monter, with a shoe stand, exemplifies the unequal struggle with other stands full of counterfeits and products. Made in China. In addition to Verges, it goes to L'Escala, Sant Pere Pescador, and Empuriabrava, and has a shop in L'Escala (Calçats Susi). He continued the in-laws' stall about twenty years ago. "Those of us who carry national products face competition from counterfeit and Chinese products. People buy them even if they know it's not authentic, or the plastic shoes break after two weeks. blanket top In Empuriabrava and Sant Pere Pescador it also hurts us a lot."

Marc Cabarrocas, with the largest stall in Verges, is the manager of Frutas y Verduras Cabarrocas in Llagostera, with eight people. In addition to markets, he recently distributes to the hospitality industry and schools. It's an example of a highly professionalized business that has expanded from markets to other sectors. "We've moved into the restaurant business to find more business." At 38, he's usually the youngest stallholder wherever he goes. "I've been doing it since I was little and I like it, despite the tough times. If you have empathy, dealing with people is the most beautiful aspect, especially now that personal relationships are being lost." The morning hours influence the audience, but in the summer or on weekends, you'll see a younger crowd. "Markets clash with today's lifestyle," he admits, "but one thing that could bring more people to the markets is making parking easier."

In ten years, will there be no markets?

Entering Riudellots from the station, a yellowish sign warns residents that there will be a market on Monday. In practice, this translates to four stalls: two selling fruit and vegetables, one selling plants, and one selling meat. On peak days, a shoe store and a clothing stand are added. "In ten years, there won't be any markets," says Paqui León, while serving alongside her father. "Ninety-five percent of our customers are older women. Younger people come to the supermarket."

Her family is from Riudarenes and has been unemployed since 1996, but she's clear that "when her father or mother says enough," she'll find a salaried job and stop getting up at 3:30 a.m. in the summer to load groceries onto the truck. On Tuesdays they go to Pontós, on Thursdays to pick up fruit and vegetables in Mercagirona, and on Fridays to Celrà. "This job doesn't earn more than €1,000 or €1,200 a month per person, and you have to pay insurance and taxes on everything," she laments.

Just like fifty years ago

Jordi will also stop selling roast chickens once he retires in two years. He looks at the empty parking space with only three more stops: "He knows I'm the best chicken in the square." He adds: "All commerce has evolved, but village markets have been the same for fifty years. And I don't know if it's better or worse." Inflation, in addition to the heat, has just raised the price of chickens to €12.60 because raw materials are increasingly expensive.

Crime is what hurts the markets

Josep Maria Vergés, president of the Association of Merchants of the Girona Region, is convinced that small markets have "a lot of life and a great future," although they need more diversity, such as "having stalls selling meat, fish, flowers, and other products, following the successful model of France." He asserts that markets are never a competition for shops, but rather an element that contributes. "What hurts is crime, which proliferates in many Girona markets without the city councils doing anything," says Vergés, referring to counterfeiting and theft. blanket topHe cites the cases of Roses, Sant Pere Pescador, Playa de Aro, and Tossa de Mar and concludes that "many politicians have lacked the courage to implement their own regulations and ordinances." He believes that large supermarkets cannot compete with the quality and proximity model of small markets. "It's becoming increasingly inconvenient for people to take the car to a large supermarket where they'll find low-quality products from abroad instead of good local products," he believes. Returning to the French example, he asserts that many municipalities are spending a lot of money to bring commerce and the life that markets provide back into cities and towns. Vergés believes that a network of small markets should be set up and things should be reinvented, with the conviction that small markets are where "authentic and trustworthy sellers" can be found.

The example of Playa de Aro

Starting this fall, the Platja d'Aro market will have 35% fewer stalls. The City Council approved the new regulations at the end of May amid strong protests from market vendors, who demonstrated outside the town hall with signs reading "Traders in danger of extinction!" In practice, the number of stalls has decreased from 137 to 87, which for some market vendors could mean the "disappearance" of the market.

The case of Platja d'Aro anticipates a series of reforms that could be the final blow to many itinerant markets. The fifteen-year market concessions expire in 2025, and the Generalitat (Catalan regional government) has offered towns three options to implement a new model for weekly markets: they can choose between ceasing to operate them, automatically renewing their licenses for another fifteen years, or implementing a new model.

If fifteen years ago there were 153 stallholders in Platja d'Aro, there are currently 137, and from October 7th the number will increase to 87. According to the council, the goal is for the market to feature mainly local products (after the increase in the number of larger products in recent years). The sales space will also be reduced by half: the parking lot where the market is currently held, next to Masia Bes, will be subdivided, and parking spaces will remain where there are no stalls.

A market that avoids curves

In winter, Colera barely reaches 500 inhabitants, and in summer it increases to around 800. Monday is market day, and whether due to the curves on the way to Llançà or the distance to Figueres, despite the small population, it's a market worth visiting for stallholders, especially during the summer months. It has four stalls year-round: one for meats, one for cured meats and cheeses, one for clothing, and one for fruit and vegetables. The latter is run by Jordi Jué, the market's most veteran, with twenty-five years of experience as a street vendor. Jué is also a farmer, and at this time of year, 70% of what he sells is homegrown. By midday, the stallholders aren't dissatisfied with their morning's progress. "You can tell people have gotten paid and there are more people in the town," says Jué.

However, he's rather pessimistic about the future of the markets. "Since Covid, the decline has been brutal. With the pandemic, people got used to going to supermarkets more, and you can see they're coming less. Plus, grandmothers are dying, and fewer people are coming to the market every day because those who are retiring now aren't in the habit of going to the market," he explains. He's with his wife, Montse Ayats, a draftsman, and on Monday, his 17-year-old son, Pere, was there. Ayats has worked in this profession for ten years and enjoys organizing markets as much as he does designing kitchens: "I love the market. You go up and down, there's the contact with people, you see the grandmothers, who then come with their grandchildren, and that's great, because it had been somewhat lost." I ask his son if he'd like to continue organizing markets, and he immediately answers yes. His father, who was sorting boxes in the van, says no. "I think the market has a future, but we need to rethink it. We'll have to have an online store and also be on platforms and social media. If young people are there, we have to go find them, and only the younger generations can do that," Ayats believes. "But, of course, if they don't come to the market, you can't make a pool taste good."

Hondurans behind the bus stop

Antonio Luque, from Honduras, sells ham, cured meats, cheese, and oil. He used to work at the Roses covered market and has been self-employed for three years. "In the shed, I had a set time to come in and out, and here everything depends on me," he says in good Catalan. He also goes to Palafrugell and Girona, but his best option is Portbou, a town even further from Figueres and, probably for that reason, with a larger clientele. "The people there are very supportive of the market," he adds.

Suseth Flores is also Honduran, and she's worked at a street vendor since arriving at the age of 15. She's had her own restaurant for a year and a half, with occasional help from her sister-in-law. "So far, it's going well, but it's just the beginning, and I'll see how it goes."

"Now there's some movement because it's a hill and people come. But in winter there are few people. They're loyal, though, I can't complain; they've behaved well," explains this energetic 35-year-old.