Markets and Vendors in Spain

by Madeleine Jones, Agricultural and Applied Economics Undergraduate Student at University of Wisconsin-Madison

Over the past eleven days, I had the chance to visit Spain with my family. In between enjoying tapas, museums, and touring, I explored some of the informal marketplaces in the different regions I toured. Over the course of my trip, I encountered an astounding array of markets—from farmers’ markets and fruit vendors, to gourmet food markets offering sushi and cocktails, to emigrant manteros selling their wares off bedsheets. In the following post, I will try to give you a small taste of the thriving vendor culture that I experienced while in Spain.

First, some quick background on marketplaces and vendors in Spain. It is estimated that there are between 3,500 and 4,000 street markets in Spain, creating some 50,000 jobs. These markets are located mainly in Andalucía, Valenciana, and Cataluña, and are dominated by a few main sectors: textiles, food, footwear, crafts and home equipment. Street vending has long served as a gateway into the labor market for people with little education or training. The lack of street vending regulation in Spain has contributed to the popular belief that the government allowed the activity as a social service to the vendors. However, studies have shown that it is in fact the street vendors who benefit society by providing goods to less-populated areas of Spain and enhancing rural development.

Now, back to the action! My family and I flew into Madrid Barajas International Airport, and spent the first part of our trip in Mijas, a town in Málaga, Andalusia. Located on the southeastern coast of Spain, Mijas offers stunning sea views and an easy trip into Fuengirola, a beach town on the Costa del Sol Málaga. In Fuengirola, there were many vendors selling trinkets, clothing items, and counterfeit goods, on a bedsheet—a practice called top manta. I saw this trend replicated in Granada later in the trip, and I read about the practice in a Fortune.com article titled “Counterfeit sidewalk vendors in Spain try to go legit”. The article chronicles a Senegalese-Spanish emigrant’s quest to form a worker’s union, establishing the validity of his trade. However, at least in Fuengirola, the police force is cracking down.

The sea view from our house in Mijas on the southeast coast of Spain.

A celebrated example of the market culture in Fuengirola is La Galería Gastromarcado, which opened in early February last year and is located in the heart of the city. This upscale market boasts twelve booths and a bar, and many of the vendors are clearly aimed at capturing the tourist market with hip offerings like sushi and cocktails. However, others, like Tierra Mía, strive to retain an authentic character in their dishes. They offer traditional Spanish fare with a creative twist. For example, their menu selections include fabada, a hearty stew from the mountains of Asturias in northern Spain, rabo de toro, a traditional Cordoban stew made with the tail of a cow or bull, and paella, Valencian rice dish. This past April, La Galería proudly attended the First Meeting of Markets of Spain (el I Encuentro de Mercados de España) in Cordoba, which brought together representatives from 24 gourmet markets throughout the country.

Fuengirola, a beach town on the Costa del Sol Málaga.