Braving 90+º F temperatures this afternoon, I headed down to the, you-can-buy-anything-you-want, Mercado Benito Juárez. This is my “go to” market for nueces (pecans), arándanos (dried cranberries), coffee beans, chapulines (grasshoppers), fruits, and vegetables. There is also mole, meats, fish, textiles, flowers, souvenirs, piñatas, costumes, lucha libre masks, baskets, leather goods, hats, hair-care products, jewelry, and much more — the original “mall.”
Today, all I needed was my favorite tiny Dominico bananas and a couple of avocados. However, suspicion set in when I noticed NO double-parked vehicles or even much traffic on Las Casas. A bloqueo (blockade)? No. Muy extraño (very strange). I crossed the street and walked down to my regular entrance into the market and noticed the corrugated metal doors of the vendor stalls along the street were tightly shut and then saw a sign at the gate to the market that read…
Closed for maintenance work!!! No reason why, no re-opening date, and no relocation site for the vendors was given. I flashed on visions of the six-month renovation of my neighborhood, Mercado IV Centenario. Hmmm… does it have something to do with the aguas negras (sewage), due to a short-circuit underground that was reported last week? I’m guessing, yes. According to today’s report in NSS Oaxaca, there is dredging going on (Oaxaca’s version of Roto Rooter?), vendors will then clean up (disinfect?) their stalls, and the mercado will reopen tomorrow. Por favor, keep your fingers crossed.
Update: Mercado Benito Juárez re-opened yesterday, as promised. According to my favorite fruit and vegetable vendor, it was closed on Wednesday due to the aguas negras problem.
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No, say it isn’t so! 🙂 Looks like it’s just today–the whole day–from what the sign says. I hope I’m right.
We know how “fuzzy” signs here can be… I’m hoping the article has it right and Benny J’s (as a friend named it) will reopen mañana… just not holding my breath, though given the sewage, maybe I should. 😉
Gracias for the heads up.
I’ll keep you posted.
On Monday there was a short piece in Imparcial en Línea saying major comerciantes would not work on Wednesday as a response to the commercial disruptions caused by the recent violent demonstrations by the normalistas, in an attempt to prompt the government to act.
Thanks, Peter. Before writing the post, I searched local newspapers online to find out what was going on and El Imparcial’s (less than stellar) search engine didn’t bring up anything — not even an article about the aguas negras problem. I’ll stop by today and, if open, ask a couple of my favorite vendors. Will post an update.
Interesting comment above. We’ll see how long it really lasts!
If they were protesting, one would think they would have posted banners at the building entrances. I wonder if we will ever know the real story…
Benny J’s. You’re killin’ me!! 🙂 Love it.
¡Jajajaja!
Thanks to Sesame Street, I understand cerrado. (Also abierto.) I’m glad it reopened. 😎