Spanish views from a small town

This morning I went to the Wednesday market in our town. If the festival of Guadalupe hadn't been cancelled, today's market wouldn't have been held. That was the first thing out of kilter. The second thing was that everyone was wearing masks. I haven't been to market since last winter, I think. It now seems smaller, with fewer people, and some are a bit unrecognizable until they recognize you and say hello.  The third thing was what almost every vendor was selling. Masks. Normally, on market day you can see the fashion most people will be wearing this or the coming season. And, now, the fashion most will be wearing is masks. There were all kinds of designs, colors, and even sizes. A woman was asking if a mask was a large size. Right now, masks are the fashion accessory everyone is buying to match their outfits. So much for bags, shoes, belts, brooches, or necklaces.  Once upon a time, I used to haunt markets. I knew that on Monday there were none nearby, on Tuesdays in ...

This morning my brother-in-law came by, asked me on a whim to come with him to Noia, and I said, fine. I had things to do, and going to Noia on market day had not been in my plans for months (if not for over a year), but I decided to do so, after my husband said he would start lunch himself.  I haven't been to Noia in a very long time. Some stores had changed as if from night to day, others were as if I had been there yesterday. There were plenty of people out and about, though not as many as on a regular Sunday. Most of them wore masks, though not all. I wore mine around my neck unless someone got too close, when I would pull it up. The market stalls tend to be set up down one street on the near side of the river, and on streets surrounding the marketplace on the other side, in the old section of town. Normally, it's very crowded, more crowded on the Sunday than on the Thursday, which is also market day in Noia.  Very few stalls were set up. In fact, they were only food...

Produce markets here are commonplace. I remember in Boston when I was a little girl that Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market still sold some produce and meats. After it was gentrified, though, the only market was the Haymarket on Fridays and Saturdays. Now I believe there's another new, indoor, market, but from what little I've read or seen about it, it's much too upscale and rich for the general public looking for daily or weekly fresh produce at a price that won't break the bank.  Here, there's the weekly market with local, national, and imported produce (along with everything else under the sun sometimes). And there are the indoor markets where every morning except Sundays and Mondays for fish, you can buy fresh food. Almost every town has one, bigger or smaller. But they've run into tough times. There are lots of closed stalls, especially in cities like Santiago. While you can buy generally good food at the market, it can be slightly more expensive than at...