The Markets

One of the most memorable things about my first visit to Guatemala was the shopping.  Almost in every town you can peruse tiendas with brightly colored textiles, hand-made, exquisite, and CHEAP!  You can also find charming ceramics, clothing, jewelry, and any kind of accessory you can imagine.  It’s also fun to bargain with the store owners, which is much more than just accepted, it’s expected.  If you pay the first price they tell you, you are paying the “gringo” price, which can often be an acceptable price to you depending on your own economic situation and how much you want it.  I had a blast, and I still adore the lovely scarves and wraps I purchased.

I will never forget the first time I walked down 3a Calle from my hotel in Antigua and noticed the outdoor market right outside of a ruin with merchant after merchant of their hand-made goods for sale.  I felt like I was in a movie in some exotic place.  I later learned that Antigua is a destination for both locals and tourists to come and enjoy the quaintness and beauty that this town offers.  There are jewelry makers, artisans of every type, painters, sculptors, and all sorts of “cultural” creations gathered in this outdoor market every weekend.  In fact, I still adore this little tradition so much that if you visit me, chances are this will be one of our definite activities.  Parents and children come to Antigua dressed in their town’s typical attire to play music for the people, you can easily find a lady to braid your hair with string in the park, and I’ve often stumbled upon impromptu street theater from time to time. 

During my second visit to Antigua, I heard about the “market” where the locals shop.  Of course there are regular clothing stores, grocery stores, stores with home goods, trinkets, collectables, and truly all types of things for sale.  But, “el mercado” was this elusive beast where you supposedly find anything for the BEST prices…as long as you know what a local would be charged and your bargaining skills.  You can truly find anything here.  At first glance, it’s a lot of pirated movies and music, a circus of men walking around with fake watches, and some really tacky clothes (think Eminem’s ex-wife Kim Mathers, and you’ll know what I mean).  When you make it further to the back, there’s farmers from everywhere selling their produce that they probably grew in their back yard.  If someone has a lime tree, they sell limes.  If someone has an avocado tree, they sell avocadoes.  I’ve already given you some idea on the new fruits I’ve been able to try, but it doesn’t really stop there either.  You can find underwear, dishes, candles, wrapping paper, cell phones, belts, jewelry, umbrellas, meat!  In fact I have not had a need yet that hasn’t been met after a trip to “el mercado.”  If the selection of products doesn’t overwhelm you, the people will.  People are yelling at you as you walk by to entice you to buy from them.  Children, women, and men are walking around shoving things in your face to pique your interest.  Cars, yes cars, are driven through the center honking at all the people to get out of their way (seriously…it’s a market, not a street).  If you look like an easy target, I imagine it would be very easy to get away with pick-pocketing someone here too.  Children are helping their parents by carrying huge bags of corn meal or rice with a rope strapped around their forehead to hold the weight.  People run into you without so much as an apology or a glance.  The locals don’t know that it’s not clean to put their hands in the corn, rice, beans, or whatever and throw it around in their hand like it’s pocket change as they negotiate the price.  In some parts, you will see hanging meat for sale with flies everywhere or barrels of dead fish not in ice.  It truly is an experience, and I learn more about it each time I go.  It’s difficult to impart the attraction.  It’s like going to the movies to watch a scary movie.  I like the adrenaline of it.

As I continue to learn about how things here in Guatemala work, I’ve begun to ask myself if these charming markets or adrenaline pumping centers of commerce are part of the problem.  You see, the reasons why the items in these markets are so inexpensive is because nobody pays taxes on them.  I’ll go into this in greater detail in the government piece, but from what I understand there is a 12% flat sales tax only here (meaning no income tax for the general public).  That really only applies to legitimate stores who pay rent and so forth.  In each town I have visited in Guatemala, you can find people selling anything and everything on the streets, and there is no way to document these transactions, and the enforcement of any kind of law here is laughable.  In fact, that’s exactly what happened when I decided to test this theory when I asked someone selling me some fruits for a receipt.  Again, I will go into this more in the next piece, but if you own a business you are allowed to deduct your purchases from the taxes you owe on the products you sell.  This is documented with a number called a NIT (pronounced NEET).  It’s somewhat similar to our social security numbers, and while I don’t own a business, my boyfriend does.  It’s easy for me to remember numbers, so I’ve been giving his when I make purchases.  When I told this particular lady that I had a NIT, she told me quite frankly that I should be shopping somewhere else then.

I’m torn for various reasons.  First, I don’t want to pay more money for the same product when it’s cheaper and easily available somewhere else.  I do enjoy well-made clothing and shoes, and I probably will never buy clothing there, but I have bought lots of fruits and vegetables, and one time I needed to wrap a present.  And yes, I did buy 2 pirate movies Just Go With It and No Strings Attached for Q25, which is mas o menos $3.  I’m not an angel.  On the other hand, I don’t want to contribute to what I see as a potential problem.  The other thing about which I’m torn is that the produce I buy in “el mercado” is produced locally without chemicals.  These people seriously are selling fruits and vegetables grown in their own back yard, and they don’t even know about or have the economical means to purchase fertilizers or pesticides nor do they have vehicles to transport their goods to market.  The fruits and vegetables, and I’ll even go so far as to say the meat (although I haven’t been brave enough to buy any) is as “green” as you can get.  The soil here is extremely fertile, and the weather is totally ideal for farming.  There is a reason why Guatemala is known as the “Land of Eternal Spring.”  I am tired of all the big companies and government-entities (supported by lobbyists working for big companies) lying to us that our chemical-ridden food supply is safe.  Unfortunately, we have exported our obesity (more on this later) and these lies to other countries, and you cannot find an organic food section in the regular super markets here.  Thus I’m conflicted.  Thoughts anyone?