The interesting market

How do you like our market?” I asked an old friend who dropped by my booth at the Legazpi Market last Sunday. “I think it’s very interesting,” she said with a broad smile. Seeing the puzzled look on my face, she continued, “You have all sorts of things here, from jewelry to clothes to lamps to soaps. All sorts of things. Look here. You have paintings, from oil to acrylic to pen-and-ink to watercolors. You have frames. What do you sell? Your books, your postcards, anting-anting jewelry that you have made. All these little things in one place. That’s what I mean by interesting.”

That was very complimentary. I sat at my booth on a really hot Sunday and thought about what she said. Then it hit me. I don’t think I’ve ever written about the other side of the Legazpi Market, the side to which I belong, the dry goods section. I have always written mostly about the food. By the way, the food section gets finished early, meaning sales at our market are possibly on the rise.

Why possibly? Because the goods in our booth sell slowly. Who goes to market to buy paintings? Paintings are expensive. But nevertheless, we have the occasional buyer who strays in and gets struck between the eyes, goes to the nearest bank to get cash to pay us. So we vary our goods. I am one of the slowest sellers in that market, so I decided to add my books and my anting-antings. Still, I don’t sell as much as my friends Juana and Mylene do. They also sell mostly jewelry and other doodads. Come to think of it, there is more jewelry than just those two. The people who sell crochet tops also have crocheted earrings, the folks who sell Carica also sell jewelry and second-hand books. My next-door neighbor sells clothes, bags, and trinkets from Mindanao.

There are baskets, all sorts of baskets, from small ones to large ones, for use as hampers or for desk items. There are wonderful bamboo breakfast trays. There are enough clothes to keep my eyes captive when people are trying them on. When I see something I like, I run over to buy it, if it isn’t bought. Lovely short blouses that are very flattering and very cool and comfortable to wear on these stifling summer days.

There is also soap, everything from laundry to facial, every conceivable formula except the ones you would buy at the supermarket, in every fragrance. There also are very fragrant colognes. I buy the sampaguita scent and carry it in my bag wherever I go to give me a good cooling splash whenever I need it. There are things for your home — hand towels, smocks that I have been dying to buy but I am out of space at my small home. There are even photographs for sale now.

There are thingies for your garden. I don’t know what you call them but big bumblebees with things around them that whirl in the breeze. There are French candies that I am told are delicious, Japanese slippers that are therapeutic or just comfortable for you to wear. Somebody sells organic disposable diapers. Another person sells quilts. Another sells china. Another sells T-shirts he silkscreens himself. Somebody sells hand-woven bedcovers and placemats. Somebody sells children’s clothes and grown-up pants, export overruns. Someone sells the loveliest cut flowers and across the food section there are three people who sell plants now. It’s a very creative market. Something like the London street markets but messier.

The products range from standard to organic. What do I call standard? Products that we’re used to, made the way they have been made all these years, like the thingies for the garden, the hand towels, note papers. The organic are the green products so much desired and in fashion these days. The front of the market is dedicated to organic products, including vegetables and fruits, and food. The bigger back of the market is dedicated to standard products. Both have their tables and eating areas.

I wish the back part of the market where our gallery is would be rearranged. One whole row of dry goods unrelated to food followed by a row of eating tables followed by two back-to-back rows of food products, then another row of eating tables, and finally another row of food products. I have said this a few times but no one wants to listen so the market continues to be a bit chaotic. But never mind, people like to bring their dogs and walk them around on leashes or even on strollers. People like to bring their babies around to shop. I think they enjoy coming to our market. That’s why we have a growing number of shoppers who come around on Sunday mornings to examine our wares.

Come over tomorrow. We have a lot of parking space. The market is at the parking lot at the corner of Rufino/Herrera and Salcedo Streets. There are signs so if you get there, you won’t miss it. Bring lots of cash, though it is not all that pricey, but you might want to buy one of our paintings. Come, enjoy a Sunday morning at a very interesting market and please come and say hello to me. I love meeting new, interesting people.

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