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| Shopping with Aida at Cañotal Market |
I was impressed by the selection of produce, fresh meats, and other services such as shoe repairs available in the open-air market.
While out walking recently, I was surprised to discover a newer structure had been built around the outside of the old building, blocking off the natural light for the original arcade.
The new building seemed to offer brighter stalls with tiled walls, a sink with running water, and better lighting. And they were empty! Every last one.
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| New and empty building at Cañotal Market |
Curious, we poked our
heads into the darker, older section to see which stores still remained.
A number of the fruit and vegetable kiosks are closed, no longer in business. One butcher store, a leather repair stall and a shoe store appeared to still be operating.
At the shoe store, we stopped to admire a
selection of stilettos shoes, much too tall and precarious for our untrained
feet, but beautifully made in a variety of colours.
A number of the fruit and vegetable kiosks are closed, no longer in business. One butcher store, a leather repair stall and a shoe store appeared to still be operating.
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| Carlos - with a sample of his sandals |
The store proprietor
introduced himself as Carlos and told us a little about his products.
He
said he had worked for four years in Boston, Massachusetts, in the Birkenstock
factory, learning how to construct well-made shoes.
Then, Carlos decided
to return to Mexico to be closer to family and friends.
He now has a shoe factory in the small city
of Ticul near Merida. The city is well-known
for a variety of shoe factories making excellent quality footwear.
He
showed us how durable his sandals were, asking me to pull strongly against his
weight, trying to rip the toe piece away from the sandal sole. No
luck.
He also mentioned that his shoes sold for considerably higher prices in stores in the hotel zone of Cancun. Carlos was very proud of his products, but sadly admitted that footwear made in Mexico is losing market share to shoes made in other countries such as China or India.
Carlos’s English is quite good, so I asked more
questions: “Why is the new building empty?”
He also mentioned that his shoes sold for considerably higher prices in stores in the hotel zone of Cancun. Carlos was very proud of his products, but sadly admitted that footwear made in Mexico is losing market share to shoes made in other countries such as China or India.
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| Cañotal Market in better times |
He said the three bigger
grocery stores, two Super X-Press stores and Chedraui Super Store, made the
small kiosks unprofitable.
People have changed their buying habits,
preferring to do more shopping in one location, rather than visit individual
stalls for various items.
He said the government money had already been
committed to the project by the time the grocery stores made their plans to
build on Isla public. So, the project went ahead as planned.
Asking other islanders the same question, I was given two more possible reasons the new building is empty: the monthly rental on the new stalls is apparently prohibitively expensive, and there seems to be problems with the electrical service to the new building.
Whatever the problems it is sad to see a new building empty and graffiti-covered. It’s a forlorn sight.
Fortunately, I have a few photos of when it was a busy, thriving enterprise used by many islanders for their daily shopping.
Hasta luego
Asking other islanders the same question, I was given two more possible reasons the new building is empty: the monthly rental on the new stalls is apparently prohibitively expensive, and there seems to be problems with the electrical service to the new building.
Whatever the problems it is sad to see a new building empty and graffiti-covered. It’s a forlorn sight.
Fortunately, I have a few photos of when it was a busy, thriving enterprise used by many islanders for their daily shopping.
Hasta luego
Lynda and Lawrie
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