Market Day
Xela´s Democracia
Guatemala’s highlands abound with thriving marketplaces. However, here I present a group of photos solely of Xela´s market, La Democracia. Xela is Guatenala´s third largest city and therefore its market bustles every day of the week. Likewise, I know most of the vendors.They come from the Boca Costa of Quetzaltenango with their bananas, plantains, pacaya, and papaya. Also, others bring fruit from towns of the Southern Coast.
Women from Zunil and Almolonga (the mecca of the vegetable) travel the short distance to Xela to sell vegetables of amazing proportion. Others from small communities within Xela bring vegetables of smaller size but of fresher quality. Flower women from Las Majadas travel early. Meanwhile, fish mongers are en route from Champerico. Despite the fact that the buses they board are woefully over-crowded, they mostly arrive in good spirits.
Most present speak k’iche’. However, the group is diverse. For instance, the butchers are mam speakers from San Juan Ostuncalaco. So too are the ladies selling potatoes from Concepción Chiquirichapa. Also, wandering saleswomen from Chichicastenango and Alta Verapaz arrive to sell used blouses from their regions. Likewise, from El Quiché come candy vendors from Sacapulas and peanut vendors from San Pedro Jocopilas.
This photo of a vegetable vendor in La Democracia, Xela may be a bit off-color, but its funny as hell. The women of Almolonga and Zunil sell vegetables larger and more beautifull than does this lady from El Llano del Pinal, but aided by chemical fertilizers and pesticides. For freshness, however, buy from her.
The market is in Xela, but these fruit vemdors are from San Sebastián Retalhuleu.
Julia, vendor of lingerie, breast-feeds her baby boy while her other son sleeps.
Although she lives in Retalhuleu, she travels each day to sell in Xela.
Eddy is big now, but here he is on the back of his mother, a vegetable vendor from Xecaracoj, an aldea of Xela.
This woman from Almolonga has her own sales stall but mostly walks through the market offering her products.
Normally in La Democracia all of the sales are on the side of the street to allow passage to vehicles. However, in the weeks before Christmas, Gloria and others crowd the street with their products.
Despite the wide variety of food products in the Demo, chicken is Guatemala´s overall favorite.
She’s not selling but buying., or rather I am. She’s one of many rural poor, who therefore come to Xela, to work for far less than minimum salary.
Although American football is not at all popular in Guatemala, this woman from San Sebastián displays the form of Joe Namath.
This corn saleswoman from Olintepeque knows exactly what I’m photographing, but also sees the humor in the shot.
This vegetable vendor is from Chuicavioc, a part of El Llano del Pinal but a bit remote. Nevertheless, when her daughter Dora gave up her crown as indigenous queen there a few years ago, 111 fellow queens traveled the dirt road to be with her. This had never happened before, nor will it happen again.
This flower girl from Las Majadas is desperately poor but always smiling and adorable.
This family selling flowers is also from Las Majadas.
Norma from San Sebastián sells fruit in Xela. Meanwhile, her sister Noemi sells in San Pedro la Laguna..
It appears the child is eating strawberries, but they are rambutan, a fruit similar to lichees.
The daughter of this fruit saleswoman was also indigenous queen of her town,San Lorenzo Suchitepéquez.
The best fruit, however, comes from the Coast, like this produce from San Sebastián
For the best vegetables, however, Almolonga, the mecca of the vegetable
This woman is from Almolonga and therefore sells vegetables
