Despues de Dios esta La Vega

There are few things that are more comforting and provide a greater relief from stress for me than going to the street market, or La Vega Central in Santiago. I am not talking about a little corner produce store, nor are these anything like the typical farmer’s market in the US where a couple city blocks are set aside for the wealthy and/or crunchy to congregate and buy organic produce and protest war or offshore drilling (ok, I like those too, but they’re a different atmosphere). This is “La Feria.” A quilt of stalls and venders that extend over multiple square blocks, each local’s goods flowing onto those of their neighbors, so much so that one is unable to tell where one vender ends and the next begins. Any and every essential is found in the market. Produce, bathroom supplies, pet food, meat, Peruvian products, you name it, it’s there. La Vega is the definition of chaos. But it has a distinct feel than the rest of Santiago, to be immersed in a busy world of consumers, produce stacked sky high, stray cats, slabs of meat or pigheads on display, and unique Santiaguinos working their trade.  

Walking through La Vega one may wonder what happens when the mounds of produce is no longer sellable or goes bad. A big mural on one side of the wall partly answers that question, which reads, “Despues de Dios esta La Vega” or, “After God, there is La Vega.” Ask nearly anybody who works there what it refers to and they’ll tell you that it is because La Vega does not let people (or animals) go hungry. The venders are generous with their produce, giving or donating to the needy whatever extras they have. During student protests produce was donated to help feed students occupying the schools. If an elderly person looks hungry and without resources, they will be cared to. The market is the heart of the city in the heart of the country.

Even paying full price the goods are among the least expensive you will find in Santiago, with the produce often costing one third or less of the price of what you would pay in a supermarket. One of the main supermarket chains in Chile is Líder, which is now owned by Wal-Mart. When in Santiago one is faced with the option of shopping at a convenient supermarket chain such as Líder, Líder Express, or La Vega. At least at La Vega you know you will be supporting local, working families and a system that donates waste to the needy.