The main avenues and streets of the city of Mérida have collapsed due to the large number of informal vendors selling a variety of products just before Christmas Eve.
By Jesús Quintero / Correspondent lapatilla.com
A wide variety of clothes, shoes, toys, hardware, household appliances and even fireworks are available in these informal street stands.
Some families focus their budget on purchasing the ingredients to make the traditional Andean ‘hallacas’ (Traditional Venezuelan dish vaguely similar to a tamale. It is a complex pork/beef ‘guiso’ (filling) wrapped in corn dough and banana leaves but much more complex and rich), others look for new clothes and also Christmas gifts for the little ones in the house.
Peddlers take advantage of the date to offer merchandise, while buyers go one by one to these informal stands and stalls located on the streets looking for a bigger bang for their money.
In the Andes, an important tradition is the assembly of “Nativity Scene”, which is a deep set tradition and part of the culture of this holiday season.