By Jan Yatsko, Atenas Today, January 23, 2013
 |
| La feria in Atenas, Costa Rica |
One of the best tourist spots in Costa Rica can be found in your “backyard”
and at 81 other locations. It is a true cultural and social experience where
Costa Ricans of all social classes come to hear the latest local news. It is a
visual delight, an inspiration for artists and writers, held outdoors and it is
free to the public. You can practice your Spanish, learn new words and sample
something exotic. It constitutes one of the most important retail markets in
Costa Rica where the majority of the products are made nationally. It is the
feria de agricultor or nicknamed “la feria” and they are held on a Friday,
Saturday or Sunday throughout Costa Rica.
The first feria began in 1979 in Zapote, a suburb of San Jose, to
give small producers the opportunity to sell fresh quality products directly to
the consumer. At a feria one can purchase not only fruits and vegetables, meat
and cheese, but flowers and plants, clothing, shoes, homemade tortilla chips
and fruit jellies, local artisan coffee, shopping bags made from recycled rice
sacks, handmade baskets and a variety of prepared foods from bakery items and
pupusas to a complete gallo pinto breakfast, all at prices less than those
offered anywhere else. As you walk through the feria, listen to the words that
the stand holders shout to get a customer’s attention. “Lleva mango, lleva
cebolla (onion), lleva flores (flowers)” as they tell you to take home their
particular product. “Solo bueno” means that only the best products are sold to
you. When a customer says “regaleme una ...” (give me a...) you are in
business, but when a customer says “ahora pasamos” (we’ll come by later) that
is a polite way of saying “no, thanks”.
The feria has something that the supermarkets cannot offer to its
customers. It is very often one of the aspects that visitors to Costa Rica
comment on and what we are losing in the US and Canada. The feria provides the
homey atmosphere where people connect with each other and form relationships,
not only with their friends, but with the merchants who produced the product.
Familial type relationships are formed between the producer and the customer
and frequently an extra product is placed in your shopping bag or a special
order is no problem.
The ferias employ over 7,000 vendors (2010 census) which economically
support even more people. A phenomenon is occurring right now in Costa Rica
that happened 20 years ago in the US. Consumers are being lured to Pricesmart,
Walmart and other big stores with the false idea that all prices are lower.
Local small businesses suffer. However, the “Buy Local” campaign has raised the
consciousness of the consumers up north and it is now ecological, healthy for
the local economy and good for your health to purchase products close to home.
Continue the “Buy Local” practice in Costa Rica and purchase as many products
as you can in your home area. Support the ferias for they not only provide a
vital retail market for the local economy, but they continue a social and
cultural tradition.
There are three local ferias for you to choose from: Atenas on
Friday morning; Grecia on Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday morning and
Alajuela on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. If you are traveling through
Costa Rica and would like to know if a feria exists in a certain area, please contact
me at janyatsko@gmail.com
I thank Ronald Morales at Consejo Nacional de Producción for
providing statistical information about the ferias.
No comments:
Post a Comment