El Residente
10 Out and About by Mitzi Stark
Mercaditos – Little Markets
T
he idea of buying over the internet is not so new, as those of us who remember the JC Penney and Sears Roebuck catalogs can attest. With over 2,000 pages of items, you could call or mail in an order, not just for clothes, hats, and shoes, but also for car tires, kitchen faucets, hardware, carpets, and everything else, all at the same time. (At one time early in the 20th century you could even buy a house from the Sears catalog!) You’d telephone the service center and place your order, put it on your charge account, and have it delivered the next day. The old catalogs were also good for other things; school projects, paper maché work, and even toilet paper. There are no more catalogs from those giant retailers, and with the pandemic making trips to the malls and shopping centers risky, internet shopping has been a boon for both buyers and sellers. But, as one store-owner
lamented, “We need the walk-in trade, the people who see something in the window or showcase, and buy it.” So how do you combine attracting customers with safety measures and help the economy survive? One way is with Mercaditos or Little Markets.
One of those is Mercadito Ruta 111 in Belén. It is a permanent collection of twenty small stores under one roof, right in the heart of downtown (half a block north of the church on the main road, Ruta 111). The building itself is happily decorated with local art, and the wideopen doorways invite you to come in to browse and buy. Many of the products are traditional, such as old style candy, baskets, aprons, wooden bowls and spoons, plants and planters, sauces saucy hot or for normal palettes, and bowls in which to serve them. There are bright-faced rag dolls and trendy beachwear, key chains, soaps and creams made with pure organic ingredients,
