The street trade of Córdoba claims institutional collaboration and night markets as assets of the sectorVictor Castro
He street tradecelebrated this Monday the first day of coexistence of the yearwhich have had dozens of sellersas well as several institutional representativesamong whom the first deputy mayor of the Córdoba City Council stands out, Blanca Torrent and the delegate of Social and Senior Services, Eva Contador. In this quote, which has sought strengthen the “sector union”, It has been precisely claimed the collaboration of the institutions and valued the importance of night marketsas pointed out by the president of the Autonomous Traveling Traders of Córdoba (Comacor), Antonio Torcuato.
Night markets, a great hope
The meeting, which took place in one of the parks of the Guadalquivir Industrial Estate, brought together dozens of self-employed workers, since “many times we are so in our position and day to day that we don’t even see each other“, Torcuato recalled. This is why the event has been used to honor and award a plaque to four recently retired merchants. At the meeting there was also debated on the situation of the sector that, as the president of Comacor has confessed, “struggles to recover after a very bad January and a somewhat better spring“. To do this, set your hopes in the night markets this summer, which is expected to attract a greater number of customers. Another of the sellers present points along the same lines, Fernando Manzanowho awaits the arrival of these “like May water“and stressed that they are “the only hope.”
In the meeting, Torquatus has highlighted the need for close collaboration with institutions, for which he thanked the aforementioned representatives of the Consistory for their assistance, in addition to the socialist deputy Rafi Crespín and the councilor of Hacemos Córdoba, José Carlos Ruiz. “A good relationship with the City Council is fundamental to develop our projects“, Torcuato has stressed, who has taken the opportunity to set the objectives of the sector: “night markets are a great hope, and we want to do some extraordinary on dates like San Juan”, in addition to turning them into recreational spaces. He has also claimed the social role of the markets, and noted that Córdoba “has a very deep-rooted tradition in this sense.” “Few events in the city bring together more people outdoors on a continuous basis,” he said.
The event took place in one of the Guadalquivir parks.
The modernization and generational change of the sector
He future of the city and the role that street commerce should play has been another of the issues addressed. Torquatus has defended the usefulness of it, by “promote the circular economy and local commerce.” Although if we talk about medium-long term challenges in the sector, it is worth mentioning the generational relief. Regarding this, the highest representative of Cordoba street commerce firmly believes that it is more than insured. “Obviously, there are young people who don’t want to follow their parents’ business, but There are many others who are very involved.“, he has maintained. “Furthermore, many contribute new ideasas their own identity or presence on the Internet”, recalls Torcuato, who also recalled that “they have become digitization and basic English courses” to adapt more adult merchants to current circumstances.
The day has also served to prepare the first ‘Street vending forum in Córdoba’which will be held in September and will feature presentations to address the situation in the sector.
Image of the El Arenal night market last year.
