Feria Libre Tours 'Unsettling' in Cuenca Ecuador

Feria Libre, the largest outdoor market in Cuenca Ecuador. Is it a “tourist” haunt?  Not exactly.   A lot of poor people shop there.  It is where you would shop if you’re poor or on a budget.  It is where the poor shop.  No way around it, if you can afford more you don’t shop at Feria Libre.  Why would you?  If you have to pay someone to take you to Feria Libre, and your comparison is Supermaxi, you’re out of your league. 

Feria Libre outdoor vendors

Why do we say this?  Well first off, Supermaxi is not THE comparison for the rest of the shopping in the city.  If you’re not already shopping around at all the other markets in town, then how are you going to know if you’re actually saving any money?  Honestly anyone that has to pay someone to take them to Cuenca’s Feria Libre outdoor Mercado should not be shopping there.  The locals don’t pay anyone to take them there, and we’ve never ever paid anyone to take us there.  And we never would.



Poor people don't shop at Supermaxi, and don't use it as their comparison either.
 

Vendors weren’t born yesterday.  They’re going to see that you don’t speak a lick of Spanish, and they will take advantage of that.  And if you have to pay someone to go with you every single time, then you surely won’t ever be even near saving any money.  We shop there because we’re a family of five adults and our household lives on $1000 per month total.
 

This smacks of inappropriate tourism profiteering in a place that it does not belong.  People that are spending money just to be taken there, to Feria Libre outdoor Mercado, are not going to have a clue as to what prices they should be paying and more importantly, not paying.
 

On top of that, the selling is volume based, meaning that the savings are on large amounts of food, i.e. five or ten pounds of tomatoes at a time, etc.  Is a retired couple really going to need that much food? Smaller packages just don’t provide enough savings worth paying anyone to take you there.  See?
 

We are a frugal family.  We live well on small means.  Part of that is being diligent shoppers, which means actually knowing what everything is supposed to sell for on a local price.  And that includes all stores all over town.  Supermaxi is not our benchmark.  The whole city is.  Every store in town is a potential place to save money, and we’re well aware where all the best bargains are.
 

There is a certain vegetable that we won’t mention, gringos are putting on forums where to go at Feria Libre to buy it, because there aren’t many places to buy this particular vegetable.  Well guess what, I went to that lady to buy and she’s selling for a 100% markup to the local price.  I asked the lady to sell to me for less but she said she didn’t have to because the gringos are paying her price.  I later found that same vegetable in another stall that is not known on the forums, and I paid half of the gringo price. And that’s the way we do things.  Gringo prices are for tourists, not residents, i.e. locals.
 

Once  a new Mercado in Cuenca Ecuador was advertised in the Gringo press.  We went there just because we’re diligent and want to know everything that’s going on around town.  Well guess what, the prices were gringo prices, the highest in town on almost everything for sale.  Needless to say we never went back to that Mercado.
 

Will this happen to Feria Libre? Now that people are taking “tours”?  We hope not.  We sincerely hope that people on a budget and the local people will at least have some places in town left, where they can go shop for their large families, and not have to pay u.s. prices.  Please people.  Use some thought and consideration.  Thank you.
 

Peace
Frank, Angie and sons 



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 We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Is it Machismo (Macho) Or Is It Just Plain Disrespect?

When you think about it, there is really no such thing as machismo in a culture.  Well, there is but it’s not what people are labeling it to be.  “Macho” means “male” in Spanish.  And “machismo means “maleness” in Spanish.  So then knowing this, what’s the problem?  Are people saying that men can’t behave like men?


What you are seeing, and what is diagnosed as machismo, is disrespectful behavior from some of the Latin men, nothing else.  We would hope that a male would behave like a man no matter where in the world he lives. 


For those who take biblical history as an important part of creation: Male is created; male is strong, wise, hunter, protector, provider.  Female is created from the bone of male and( s)he is feminine, beautiful, care-giver, nurturer, and they get married, copulate and make a family, who start another family, who start another family and a culture is formed. Male is male and female is female.  Was there the term “machismo” 5000 years ago? Of course not!
 

Over the years many words take on a different meaning than the original.  One has to only read the same subject out of older encyclopedias to notice the changes cultures put on words and meanings, and popular dictionaries don’t even know how to define a word with full historical context.
 

This is why all over the Internet, websites and dictionaries reflect the current politically correct whirlwind, that historically passes and doesn't last.  And one of those things is how they have literally turned being male into a mockery!  This is just another politically correct ridicule; out of many.
 

Here's what we mean:  In Spanish history the term macho derives from the man being a masculine and strong male and is what behaving like a gentleman towards a woman is all about. 
 

All one needs to do is look at the history of the term “macho” (that’s what we did) to see that even most of the dictionaries have the definition wrong as they depict the word macho as a form of aggression from a man, when clearly what you are seeing is "in your face disrespect".
 

As an example: When a man disrespects a woman walking down the street, which is a problem also in North America not just Latin America, that’s not macho or manly behavior; that’s aggression, that’s abuse, that’s behaving as a coward; it has nothing to do with manliness or macho or being a male; in fact, exactly the opposite. 


And when a man eyes out women walking down the street and whistles, leers or cat calls that’s just plain disrespect and has nothing to do with being a “real” man. Real men don’t act like that!
 

History of Macho and How It Got Started
 

The word macho has a long history in both Spain and Portugal as well as in Spanish and Portuguese languages. It was originally associated with the ideal societal role men were expected to play in their communities.
 

Macho in Portuguese and Spanish is a strictly masculine term, derived from the Latin masculus meaning male (today hombre or varón, c.f. Portuguese homem.
 

This part is very important: "Machos" (males) in Iberian-descended cultures are expected to possess and display bravery, courage and strength as well as wisdom and leadership, and ser macho (literally, "to be a macho") was an aspiration for all boys.  



Again, how is a guy who verbally abuses and intimidates women behaving with bravery, courage, strength, leadership and wisdom? all the adjectives described above? There's macho and there is disrespect, two very different aspects of a man's character. 
 

Clearly our research shows that "macho" means something all together apart and different than what is commonly understood today, and has nothing to do with verbal abuse, disrespect, intimidation and violence of women!!

Here’s Where Things Began to Change and Become Negative
 

During the women's "liberation" movement of the 1960s and 70s, the term began to be used by Latin American feminists to describe male aggression and violence. The term was used by Latina feminists and scholars to criticize the patriarchal structure of gendered relations in Latino communities. Their goal was to describe a particular Latin American brand of patriarchy.[5][6]
 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machismo



What we're seeing today and calling machismo is bad societies that have literally twisted what being a man/male (macho) really is and turned it into something bad and to fear because of some of the Latin men who don’t know how to behave as a GENTLEman.  Period!
 

According to this line of thought then, just because some Latin men are disrespectful/verbally abusive toward women, certainly does not make them macho, and it follows that we should quit enabling the behavior by labeling it as such, because it does not make a whole country any more machismo than say, North America or Europe because some of their men are disrespectful as well. We have witnessed disrespectful men in countries that are not Latin and are not normally understood to be a machismo country.

Something to think about:  it would be VERY detrimental to the males that live in these societies as they are being told that being macho (manly) is wrong and so they should not behave as a strong leader or protector, or well, basically like a man in his marriage or of his family…this would be confusing at best, and this could be the cause of some of the aggression, violence and abuse on the women that Latin America is seeing, and in other parts of the world for that matter. 



Bottom line is the best way to curb disrespectful behavior is to stop enabling it.



- We should stop calling disrespectful/abusive behavior (insolence towards women) macho or machismo



 - Gringas who come to Latin America and dress in short-shorts and tank tops are not helping matters. Dress conservatively while on the streets. This is not the beach. Don't tempt them.



- Women walking alone are more apt to be whistled at, talked with and approached by these men who have nothing else better to do with their time, obviously. 



- Women should walk in groups or take taxis



- Don’t act intimidated or fearful, keep right on walking, pretend like you didn’t hear anything. Completely ignore it.



- Women who are disrespectful themselves and bring an "attitude" with them, are not going to get very far in a Latin American country. Feminist who move to a Latin culture will sooner or later, run into disturbing situations. What we put out comes back to us, good or bad.  It's the way the world turns. 
 

 - And finally it is always best to completely ignore this behavior rather than make a big deal out of it, by writing about it, labeling it incorrectly, and putting the cowards on pedestals. 



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We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!