Mérida, Yucatán — Its facade already patched and painted, the iconic Lucas de Gálvez market is about to be given 2 million pesos worth of maintenance.
Guibaldo Vargas Madrazo, director of the Interior of the City of Mérida, announced that the Subdirectorate of Markets will shortly begin the improvements.
The official said that the works to be carried out are in the areas of Tianguis 1 and Tianguis 2, and consist of deep cleaning with specialized machinery of all the walls and roofs, and repair of 2,500 square meters of floor.
In addition, freshly painted walls will offer a better impression for the tenants and citizens who visit the site daily. About 3 million pesos is budgeted for the project.
Vargas Madrazo stressed that work will be carried out at night, and in sections, to minimize disruption of sales.
More than 2,000 tenants work in the city-owned market, selling everything from fruits and vegetables to jewelry, handicrafts and live animals.
In 2015, a 55-million-peso restoration took place at Lucas de Gálvez, which was built at Calle 67 and 54 in 1948.
But the complex takes a beating from considerable foot traffic. Every day, an estimated 100,000 shoppers visit the market, as well as neighboring San Benito market, built in 2004.
The Lucas de Gálvez market had its 15 minutes of fame when Martha Stewart took her TV cameras there, led by local chef David Sterling in 2010. While featured in magazines and television programs aimed at tourists, the market itself is aimed at local shoppers.
