A look at the Market Culture in Belize City
On tonight’s edition of Kolcha Tuesday we take you to the Michael Finnegan Market in Belize City. If you have ever set out to purchase fresh produce in Belize City, there is a great chance that you have visited the Michael Finnegan Market. We know the market as a place where consumers go to check those items off the grocery list. There is also the likelihood that you might catch up with a friend you have not seen or heard from in a while. But, what about the people whose businesses are at the heart of the local consumer experience at the Michael Finnegan Market, and the business owners who set up shop on a weekly basis to provide the goods customers seek? News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The Michael Finnegan Market was officially opened back in November 2010. Since then the space has provided a sociable environment for commerce in the Old Capital. Consuelo Estrada has been a butcher for the past three decades. She has a meat shop inside the market where she is training her children in the trade.
Consuelo Estrada
Consuelo Estrada, Butcher
“I started the business with my husband in 1994 in Water Lane, but then we separate and I open my little business in the market from 2004. Well, to now. Now, my kids done big they help me with work yes. I think I have in my blood that because my dad, the family from my dad’s side did the same work in Guatemala.”
Paul Lopez
“So you learnt, you saw?”
Consuelo Estrada
“I do different businesses but I never liked it like this one, like sell meat.”
Consuelo’s son, Jorge Castillo, is among the employees in the shop who interact with customers daily. He grew up watching his mother provide for him and his siblings through her work as a butcher. He now understands the business well enough to take the lead.
Jorge Castillo
Jorge Castillo, Butcher
“We sell here, beef, pork, lamb and we also make some of the best sausages in the country right. I believe so because I hear a lot of people comment and say wow. Not even in other countries like Guatemala and Salvador. People say deh yah bways the come. We mih the yah from the last market that was here before it got renovated. I think that’s since 2-2004. My mother started the business. It is just one lee stall and it come up a long way and we are where we are today right.
She is a successful woman and I then try ketch some of the advice and some of the values she has nuh.”
It is common for market vendors to choose their successors from among their children. In some cases, only one child will gravitate towards the business. In other instances, the entire family plays a role. Twelve-year-old Lipney Chavez is out sick from school today. But, in her family, no free time is wasted. She spent the morning babysitting her little brother at the market while her father sold his fresh produce. Lipney and her family migrated from Salvador to seek better opportunities in Belize.
Paul Lopez
“How long have you been doing this with your dad?”
Lipney Chavez
Lipney Chavez, Entrepreneur
“Like six years, and this year that comes will make seven years. Now, I have seven years.”
Paul Lopez
“And where are you guys from?”
Lipney Chavez
“We are from Salvador, all ah we born dah Salvador, but we came to Belize.”
Paul Lopez
“What do you enjoy about doing this with your father?”
Lipney Chavez
“I don’t know. It feels kinda fun when I am helping my dad and mom. Well sometimes I watch my lee breda and I stay at home and then I go to school. I had an aunt but she done gone. She mih the watch my lee breda but she done gone to her country.”
For the past seven years, her father, Nerry Chavez, has been setting up shop on market days, every Tuesday and Saturday. On those days, vendors without a permanent location inside the facility are allowed to sell outside of the market. Chavez vends an assortment of items, from fresh onions, to beans, potatoes, watermelon, cilantro, sweet pepper, and the list continues. We met him packing up his goods to leave the area, because market day on Tuesday ends at ten a.m. After that time, the street must be cleared for motorists.
Lipney Chavez
“I just want my dad to get a lee rest and mek I help he more with the work, mek he tek a lee break. I have a lot of friends. I have friends at publics because I go to publics sometimes to sell donuts.”
Paul Lopez
“So you are a little entrepreneur yourself. Tell me a bit about your business.”
Lipney Chavez
“Well, sometimes when my aunt was here I always went to public with her to sell donuts. But she done gone so I don’t go a lot of times. I don’t know if I will go today, I don’t know.”
And, while Lipney decided whether or not she wants to sell her donuts at Publics later today, we spoke to a husband and wife couple from Valley of Peace. Norman Tzuy and his wife sell freshly squeezed orange juice. Since they began five years ago, the couple has added a number of other products to their inventory. But, their primary sales come from bottled orange juice and coconut water.
Norman Tzuy
Norman Tzuy, Market Vendor
“Well for me it is better right here. They have a market in Belmopan but it is kind of slow but they don’t have much people there. So, sometimes you sell and sometimes you don’t sell. That is why I rather come all the way here in belize City.”
Paul Lopez
“What do you like about being out here? Is there any joy to this?”
Norman Tzuy
“Well I love Belize City. A lot of people, we have fun with people, talk funny things, talk about our business and knowing people.”
So, whether it is selling fresh produce, juice, or meat, all these vendors play a role in ensuring that the Michael Finnegan Market functions. Many of them are friends who share stories and laughter with each other. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez
