There are totally unconfirmed rumours, as there always are, that there will be a market in Nerja next Tuesday, the first time for thirteen weeks. Not only that, but another rumour says that it will be market traders from Sevilla, and not Vélez-Málaga, who will occupy the Almijara site.
There have been various meetings this past week aimed at trying to resolve the long running dispute between the Market Traders Association (AVAM) and the Nerja Council.
The mayor of Vélez-Málaga, Francisco Delgado Bonilla, has recently become involved, not he says to meddle in Nerja’s internal affairs, but to safeguard the interests of the traders, most of whom are from Vélez-Málaga!
Also, the mayor of Nerja, José Alberto Armijo, is meeting once again with the owner of the calle Carabeo/los Huertos land to try and arrange a deal whereby the area can be used as a ‘temporary’ market site until such time as the owner starts to build on the plot.
Thye mayor of Vélez-Málaga stated that he wanted to see the dispute settled this week, which could possibly mean a market next Tuesday. As for the rumour that it will be manned by traders from Sevilla, although not entirely impossible, it would seem a little strange on two counts.
Firstly, with negotiations still continuing, intervention by the mayor of Vélez-Málaga, statements about resolving the dispute this week and new approaches to private landowners, it would seem a little ‘inappropriate’. However, we are talking politics here..
Secondly, it’s rather a long way from Sevilla for a convoy of vans. Would it be financially viable?
Cynics amongst us would possibly argue that the whole market dispute is not quite as it has been portrayed.
The principal ‘public’ objections to the new site in Almijara have been on the grounds of safety, security and the size of the site. Various organisations, including the police, Guardia Civil and Fire Brigade, have approved the site as far as safety and security are concerned.
The new site, built at a cost of over €700,000, is larger than the former site in El Chaparil and the market traders have never yet set up their stalls, so how would it be known that it was ‘too small’?
Weekly protest meetings outside the Nerja Town Hall have seen placards and t-shirts saying ‘Nerja deserves a decent market’. This gives the impression of concern for the local population. Again, a cynic might say that, if this was the case, why not at least give the new site a go? Yes, it is rather a bit out of the way, but if the products are worth buying then many people are quite likely to go out of their way and shop there. After all, people drive all the way to the El Ingenio centre to shop!
A true cynic might argue that the whole thing boils down to money, not concern for anyone or anything else. The market is being forced out of its ‘comfort zone’ where the audience was ‘captive’. The new site means that many people who just wandered round the market ‘because it was there’, ‘on the doorstep’ or ‘on their normal route and unavoidable’, will now have to be ‘attracted’ to visit the market, preferably by a worthwhile combination of ‘price and quality’!
the market trader says:
Dear cynic. With all my respect, I dont think your cynism is far cynic enough, and I’d like to give you answers of your questions. Firstly, it is over and over again said, that the traders havent given Almijara a chance, and this is not true. The first two tuesdays, the area was collapsed, when the first 50-60 vans had driven in, and the local police prohibited the entrance of more vehicles. AVAM asked Jose Miguel Jimena, or any other responsible, to show up and tell the traders how to do it. Any person with a minimum of knowledge of how a market works, can see that this is impossible, so of course no one from the townhall turned up, exept for the police to tell us not to drive in, and by the way, which is another fact, no one seems to know, make authentic “razzias”, giving all the fines they possibly could (I was personally stopped three times, retained one and a half hour, and told I would receive three fines for different offenses,- I never received them, course they were ridiculous, one was to have more than one sticker from the ITV) Twice market traders were attacked physically, and just about 20 have been given fines of 3000 euros for illegal demonstration. The last day in El Chaparil, when we were notified we would be moved, we parked our vans in our places, and got together to talk about what to do. Meanwhile the police would fine all the vans (and only the vans!!)By the way we are still paying the licences, of course, and our taxes as “autonomos” Jm Jimena (who has been curiously silenced lately, dont you think, cynic?) said we were most illegals, just being stubborn, and that if we did not obey, they would just take our licences. Many traders are so old, we remember the times of Franco, and we are quite surprised to see certain behaviours we thougt long forgotten… Well, and yes, dear fellow cynic, of course its all about money!!! This is not just a move of the market, this is a deportation. The big fish who pushes the small fish out of the bowl (as they still want to seem like democrats, they not just eat us). A well considered stategy to get rid of us, knowing exactly that this place will mean the certain death of the market. They did it in the middle of the 90es with the evening handycraftmarket in C Diputacion, and the result was fabulous; after one summerseason “deported”, next year only 8 out of 32 were left,-starved out or thrown out the rest, having their licence taken, if they did not set up. So the plan works!! The politicians are commerciants, or owners of comerces. The ampliance of “el centro comercial abierto” is ready, and I guess thats what you mean by politics: “don’t you worry, against the crisis, first step is to throw out this scum of marketsellers” The Mayor of Velez-Malaga has tried to talk to his party fellow Armijo, exactly as you say, course many of the traders are residents there!! (Read voters) And then he can boast of having wellorganized markets in the streets, in the center of Velez, Torre del Mar y Caleta, where real estates sell appartments with the title “zona mercadillo”… But back to politics, then shouts out Ramirez, leader of PSOE, who in private meeting has promised us all his support, that Armijo has “taken down his pants” to Delgado Bonilla. What I would like to know, is what gossip says is behind the fact, that the owners of Carabeo said to Delgado Bonilla that they had nothing against the market (as they dont have anything against the feria or the everyday parking) as long as there was political consensus in the townhall, and THIS is what apparently cant be found, course the plan of starving us out would be spoiled. Ah, and then to safety. As you say, there are several informs from local police (paid by the townhall) Guardia Civil, firecorps, and I even saw one from the engineer from the building company,assyring that for 500 years, the place would be perfectly safe. But the fact is, that exactly one year ago, the whole place was almost washed away as the tube underneath the whole platform got stuck, and the asphalt had big wholes, and the concrete pieces of several square meters were scattered around, and it took several months to repair the place…AVAM actually has another inform made by a small independant architect, questioning the safety, but despite theese facts, its not taken in account… But lets not forget that the whole place is set on the top of the main affluent of Rio Chillar. The old name of Nerja was Narixa, arabic word meening something like “abundancy of waters” As the old people say,”here it never rains, but when it rains, it really rains”. The threat of throwing us out and give the licenses to others, has been made all the way, and who knows if maybe Armijo could get some sort of subvention for taking in some poor gypsies from Sevilla… you never know, at least they would be voters… Your comment about the “comfort zone” sounds more absurd than cynic. Worldwide, at all times, cities have been built around the marketplaces, not the other way round. The market is a social event, lets not forget, or even a socio- cultural event. To pretend that people should spend 6 euros to take a taxi to go to “el baratillo” is absurd, and you cant expect people to wallk uphill 40 minutes, to a place without any infrastructure, not even a shade, to buy the potatoes 50 cents cheaper, can you?
the market trader says:
Dear cynic. With all my respect, I dont think your cynism is far cynic enough, and I’d like to give you answers of your questions. Firstly, it is over and over again said, that the traders havent given Almijara a chance, and this is not true. The first two tuesdays, the area was collapsed, when the first 50-60 vans had driven in, and the local police prohibited the entrance of more vehicles. AVAM asked Jose Miguel Jimena, or any other responsible, to show up and tell the traders how to do it. Any person with a minimum of knowledge of how a market works, can see that this is impossible, so of course no one from the townhall turned up, exept for the police to tell us not to drive in, and by the way, which is another fact, no one seems to know, make authentic “razzias”, giving all the fines they possibly could (I was personally stopped three times, retained one and a half hour, and told I would receive three fines for different offenses,- I never received them, course they were ridiculous, one was to have more than one sticker from the ITV) Twice market traders were attacked physically, and just about 20 have been given fines of 3000 euros for illegal demonstration. The last day in El Chaparil, when we were notified we would be moved, we parked our vans in our places, and got together to talk about what to do. Meanwhile the police would fine all the vans (and only the vans!!)By the way we are still paying the licences, of course, and our taxes as “autonomos” Jm Jimena (who has been curiously silenced lately, dont you think, cynic?) said we were most illegals, just being stubborn, and that if we did not obey, they would just take our licences. Many traders are so old, we remember the times of Franco, and we are quite surprised to see certain behaviours we thougt long forgotten… Well, and yes, dear fellow cynic, of course its all about money!!! This is not just a move of the market, this is a deportation. The big fish who pushes the small fish out of the bowl (as they still want to seem like democrats, they not just eat us). A well considered stategy to get rid of us, knowing exactly that this place will mean the certain death of the market. They did it in the middle of the 90es with the evening handycraftmarket in C Diputacion, and the result was fabulous; after one summerseason “deported”, next year only 8 out of 32 were left,-starved out or thrown out the rest, having their licence taken, if they did not set up. So the plan works!! The politicians are commerciants, or owners of comerces. The ampliance of “el centro comercial abierto” is ready, and I guess thats what you mean by politics: “don’t you worry, against the crisis, first step is to throw out this scum of marketsellers” The Mayor of Velez-Malaga has tried to talk to his party fellow Armijo, exactly as you say, course many of the traders are residents there!! (Read voters) And then he can boast of having wellorganized markets in the streets, in the center of Velez, Torre del Mar y Caleta, where real estates sell appartments with the title “zona mercadillo”… But back to politics, then shouts out Ramirez, leader of PSOE, who in private meeting has promised us all his support, that Armijo has “taken down his pants” to Delgado Bonilla. What I would like to know, is what gossip says is behind the fact, that the owners of Carabeo said to Delgado Bonilla that they had nothing against the market (as they dont have anything against the feria or the everyday parking) as long as there was political consensus in the townhall, and THIS is what apparently cant be found, course the plan of starving us out would be spoiled. Ah, and then to safety. As you say, there are several informs from local police (paid by the townhall) Guardia Civil, firecorps, and I even saw one from the engineer from the building company,assyring that for 500 years, the place would be perfectly safe. But the fact is, that exactly one year ago, the whole place was almost washed away as the tube underneath the whole platform got stuck, and the asphalt had big wholes, and the concrete pieces of several square meters were scattered around, and it took several months to repair the place…AVAM actually has another inform made by a small independant architect, questioning the safety, but despite theese facts, its not taken in account… But lets not forget that the whole place is set on the top of the main affluent of Rio Chillar. The old name of Nerja was Narixa, arabic word meening something like “abundancy of waters” As the old people say,”here it never rains, but when it rains, it really rains”. The threat of throwing us out and give the licenses to others, has been made all the way, and who knows if maybe Armijo could get some sort of subvention for taking in some poor gypsies from Sevilla… you never know, at least they would be voters… Your comment about the “comfort zone” sounds more absurd than cynic. Worldwide, at all times, cities have been built around the marketplaces, not the other way round. The market is a social event, lets not forget, or even a socio- cultural event. To pretend that people should spend 6 euros to take a taxi to go to “el baratillo” is absurd, and you cant expect people to wallk uphill 40 minutes, to a place without any infrastructure, not even a shade, to buy the potatoes 50 cents cheaper, can you?
The Captain says:
An excellent comment. I think it has been fairly obvious for some long time that the local authorities have little interest in certain things, the market being one of them.
The Almijara site is certainly far too far from the centre, especially for the elderly or those with mobility problems, and as you say, who is going to pay €6 for a taxi? Not many.
In some ways it seems similar to the latest proposal to offer the Giner del Rios Centre for use as a Health Centre. How on earth would ambulances access the site in cases of emergency, especially in the summer? It is an offer that is expected to be rejected.
There is a lot of party political bickering at the moment, with tit for tat reprisals and denuncias at every turn, so I would doubt there could be any political concensus on any subject!
One would ask why, if the Carabeo/Huertos site is OK for everyday parking and annual ferias, why isn’t it OK for a market site, either temporary or permanent. There are, of course, rumours, as there always are, that we may eventually see a new Town Hall on that site! That would bring in the tourists!!!
As you quite rightly say, markets have always been an integral part of community life, a social event and they do attract visitors to the town as well as local residents, and I thought that was what the Council wanted! Now, if you asked for the Carabeo site and said you’d add a little golf course to the side then you’d probably be chauffeur driven to the site!
The Captain says:
An excellent comment. I think it has been fairly obvious for some long time that the local authorities have little interest in certain things, the market being one of them.
The Almijara site is certainly far too far from the centre, especially for the elderly or those with mobility problems, and as you say, who is going to pay €6 for a taxi? Not many.
In some ways it seems similar to the latest proposal to offer the Giner del Rios Centre for use as a Health Centre. How on earth would ambulances access the site in cases of emergency, especially in the summer? It is an offer that is expected to be rejected.
There is a lot of party political bickering at the moment, with tit for tat reprisals and denuncias at every turn, so I would doubt there could be any political concensus on any subject!
One would ask why, if the Carabeo/Huertos site is OK for everyday parking and annual ferias, why isn’t it OK for a market site, either temporary or permanent. There are, of course, rumours, as there always are, that we may eventually see a new Town Hall on that site! That would bring in the tourists!!!
As you quite rightly say, markets have always been an integral part of community life, a social event and they do attract visitors to the town as well as local residents, and I thought that was what the Council wanted! Now, if you asked for the Carabeo site and said you’d add a little golf course to the side then you’d probably be chauffeur driven to the site!
the market trader says:
In all papars, incluided this, there is another upstraight lie, which shows that anything Jimena or the townhall says is taken for good. There has been NO decision of the court, givingthe reason to the townhall. The only thing that has been desestimated are the “medidas cautelares” which would have been the momentaneous reject of the court to the new site. But the trial is still to be held, and the traders have not lost anything yet
the market trader says:
In all papars, incluided this, there is another upstraight lie, which shows that anything Jimena or the townhall says is taken for good. There has been NO decision of the court, givingthe reason to the townhall. The only thing that has been desestimated are the “medidas cautelares” which would have been the momentaneous reject of the court to the new site. But the trial is still to be held, and the traders have not lost anything yet
Maria says:
Well, theese markets are called “street markets” right? I.e they belong to the streets, don’t they??
Maria says:
Well, theese markets are called “street markets” right? I.e they belong to the streets, don’t they??
Gareth says:
As regular visitors to Nerja, my wife and I looked forward to going to the weekly “Street” market. Buying food; items for my brother-in-laws house in Spain and for our own home in Britain. When visiting the market we made use of the local bars for refreshments; the local shops for additional items and generally spent the day in town. Now let see what would happen if we visited the new site; 1st find some where to park (because we would have to go by car); 2nd visit local shops (no); 3rd visit local bars (no); 4th spend the day in town (no), oh well there is always the market in Torre del Mar. By the way has anyone asking the local shops and bars in El Chaparil how their sales have been affected by the market not being there, or is their well fare not important. I look forward to returning to Nerja soon by will miss the “street” market and will think twice about visiting the new site.
Gareth says:
As regular visitors to Nerja, my wife and I looked forward to going to the weekly “Street” market. Buying food; items for my brother-in-laws house in Spain and for our own home in Britain. When visiting the market we made use of the local bars for refreshments; the local shops for additional items and generally spent the day in town. Now let see what would happen if we visited the new site; 1st find some where to park (because we would have to go by car); 2nd visit local shops (no); 3rd visit local bars (no); 4th spend the day in town (no), oh well there is always the market in Torre del Mar. By the way has anyone asking the local shops and bars in El Chaparil how their sales have been affected by the market not being there, or is their well fare not important. I look forward to returning to Nerja soon by will miss the “street” market and will think twice about visiting the new site.
The Captain says:
A few years ago the ‘street’ market was in calle Ruperto Anduez – one if it’s many locations! – and the local bars and cafes were always packed on market day, as one might expect.
The market moved and many of the businesses, and the area, basically died a death.
In the El Chaparil area, once again, the little bars and cafes did a roaring trade on market day. Now, although the area in general has not actually become deserted, many of these bars are certainly suffering financially.
A good market day would often ‘cover them’ for at least the rest of the week, now they’re having to struggle along and try and attract regular customers.
So yes, they are suffering, which is hardly surprising. There is, of course, one bar near the new site, but it’s not quite the same as sitting ‘in the thick of things’.
Ideally, a street market should be ‘on the street’, but failing this, it should be in a fairly central location in any town, as it generally has been throughout history.
The Captain says:
A few years ago the ‘street’ market was in calle Ruperto Anduez – one if it’s many locations! – and the local bars and cafes were always packed on market day, as one might expect.
The market moved and many of the businesses, and the area, basically died a death.
In the El Chaparil area, once again, the little bars and cafes did a roaring trade on market day. Now, although the area in general has not actually become deserted, many of these bars are certainly suffering financially.
A good market day would often ‘cover them’ for at least the rest of the week, now they’re having to struggle along and try and attract regular customers.
So yes, they are suffering, which is hardly surprising. There is, of course, one bar near the new site, but it’s not quite the same as sitting ‘in the thick of things’.
Ideally, a street market should be ‘on the street’, but failing this, it should be in a fairly central location in any town, as it generally has been throughout history.