Visitors to Costa del Sol town leave empty-handed as new craft market fails to materialise

Residents, visitors and even the tourist information office in Vélez-Málaga on the eastern stretch of the Costa del Sol were left bemused after the town hall failed to announce that a new market was not going to go ahead as promised on Sunday 17 March.

The ‘Portovelis’ second-hand and craft market, which was announced by councillors on 9 February to help boost trade in the town centre, was due to take place on Plaza de las Carmelitas, Plaza de la Constitución and the San Francisco market between 10am and 3pm. However, as the morning went on, a steady stream of people went to the tourist information office to ask about the market, which was visibly not taking place on Plaza de las Carmelitas, the home of the tourist office and indeed the town hall.

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Staff at the tourist information office told SUR in English that they had been “sending people to Plaza de la Constitución and San Francisco market” as they “had not been informed by the town hall that the market was not taking place”. It was only later, when the people returned to the tourist information office to say they had not found the market that the staff made enquiries, only to be told then that it had been cancelled and that they are looking to start it on 21 April.

The confusion reached social media with people from the Spanish and foreign communities posting that they had gone to look for the market and not found anything. One resident, María Rosario Gomez, posted that “more than 15 neighbours have called me so far this morning to complain that this activity is not happening, including people who have come from outside to enjoy it.” She went on to say, “Is it too much work to let people know that it’s been cancelled?”

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Plaza de las Carmelitas is being prepared for the town’s Holy Week processions and Plaza de la Constitución is currently closed off due to the ongoing pedestrianisation project taking place throughout the town. Waiters at La Sastrería restaurant on the plaza said that they “had heard nothing” about the planned market. San Francisco market, which has not reopened since the short-lived attempt to turn it into a foodie market before the pandemic, remained closed on Sunday.

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SUR in English has not yet had a reply from Vélez-Málaga town hall to its request for information about why the market did not go ahead and why there was no announcement to that effect.