Many of the traders have been allowed to set up open-air stalls in the plaza facing the Preparatoria Jalisco in the Plaza Agustín Rivera, a few blocks from their old home. They include around 150 merchants who sell crafts, herbs, natural medicinal cures, organic foods and other “life enhancing” products.
Unfortunately for some, the new space is not ideal. As yet, they have no electricity, while many complain that business is sluggish – “about ten percent of the sales we are used to,” one merchant told El Informador newspaper this week.
Taking note of their plight, Guadalajara city hall this week agreed to exempt Corona Market traders from municipal taxes dating from the May 4 fire.
As progress moves forward on plans for rebuilding the market, Mayor Ramiro Hernandez said he did not rule out including offices and apartments in the design of the new structure. He said an underground parking lot and, perhaps, government offices, could “breathe life” into the building.
Architects from the Universidad de Guadalajara have already submitted a design for a new market and others are working on plans.
Luis Manuel Ochoa of JAPI Arquitectos said the new Corona Market needs “a first world architect” to create a space that is “modernistic and contrasts with the city center but that adapts to its surroundings, like the glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris.”
Architect Fernando Gonzalez Gortazar said city hall must not be rushed into approving a project and should consult with a wide section of the public before choosing an appropriate design.