Amanda goes to the market every week, as she lives on the same street. She explained that "there used to be more stalls, but every year there are fewer." She regrets that the clothes are disposable, although she tries to make the most of them. She usually buys plants, underwear, or household items.
The stories hidden in the Sant Cosme market
The participating children of the ARA Journalism Campus write a report accompanied by professionals from the newspaper.
BarcelonaThe boys and girls from the ARA Journalism Campus went out, accompanied by the ARA photojournalist and photography professor at the IEFC Peter Virgil, to report on the El Prat de Llobregat Weekly Market. Located in the Sant Cosme neighborhood, next to the Fundesplai headquarters and hostel, the young photojournalists documented the activities and the people who bring this market to life every Thursday. With their photographs and texts, they bring us closer to the reality of a tough and traditional profession in our country.
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Amanda
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The handle
Sergio Pradillo goes to the El Prat de Llobregat market every Thursday. He and his wife own a fish market, which they set up in 2020 with a friend from Tarragona, two weeks before the lockdown began.
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The handyman
Ferran, a curtain salesman, inherited his father's business several years ago. With the rise of online sales and large department stores, Ferran supplements his income at the stand by doing handyman work.
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A market veteran
Pedro is one of the oldest merchants in Sant Cosme, where he has been selling all kinds of objects and clothing since 1974. This veteran, with more than 50 years of experience in the market, has lived through the market's golden age and the recent decline of one of the most important markets in Baix Llobregat.
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Add-ons
Products from Mohamed's stall, which has been in the market world since 1979. Every week, he visits several markets in Barcelona and Maresme with his bags and other women's accessories.
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El Prat
Overview of the market, located very close to the Fundesplai facilities and hostel, where the students from the ARA campus stay during the event.
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Six days a week
Javier is a vendor at the Sant Cosme market who comes every Thursday. He works at the weekly market out of family tradition. His job is Monday through Saturday, and he always has Sundays off.
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The saleswomen
Two vendors have been traveling from town to town to visit different markets for 22 years.
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A business on the decline
Low market turnout. Many stallholders comment that people are no longer shopping at local markets as they used to, but are instead shopping online more often.
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Make the most of your time
Three bus drivers stroll through the Sant Cosme market during their break.
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A not very suitable location
Rafa working at his son's stall, where he comes to lend a hand. A curious man of Andalusian origin, but deeply in love with Catalonia, he says he's Catalan. Now the business is run by his son José, who takes advantage of this space to complain that in this remote, open location, it's very hot in the summer, and customers are reluctant to go to the market.
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The assistant
Jose, 63, is one of the vendors at the Sant Cosme market in El Prat de Llobregat. Now retired, he helps out his wife, who has worked at the market all her life.
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Maria and Maria
Maria Rosa Tejedor Hernández and Maria Tejedor (mother and daughter) are paradistas from El Prat de Llobregat, Gavà, Viladecans, Sant Adrià and Sant Boi.
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Churros
Diana and César, two siblings who have been working together for eighteen years at Xurreria Manolo, in different cities, at fairs, markets, and festivals, among others.
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The clients
Portrait of a couple of customers at the weekly market in El Prat de Llobregat.
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Friends
Carlos Pozo working on a Thursday at the Sant Cosme market in El Prat de Llobregat. He's been working at the market since he was a child, helping his father with the stall. Now, at 52, he's met many people from other stalls and made friends.
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What is not seen
The back of one of the stalls at the Sant Cosme market with the van and some of the products that come with it.
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The nomadic life
A stall at the Sant Cosme market with the trailer they use to transport the merchandise.
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A hard job
A children's and baby clothing store, a family business since 1970. At that time, the El Prat de Llobregat area was quite troubled and shoplifting occurred, Ana María tells us. She also talks about the bureaucratic difficulties of doing her job and the physical demands that come with it as you get older.
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Choose
Josep has been working in the market since he was 21, even though he attended university. He started working at SEAT, but eventually decided to continue running the family stall. He says he loves it and wouldn't change it for anything.