FEMA FUNDS TO UPHOLD THE LEGACY OF MARKETPLACES
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20240311/fema-funds-uphold-legacy-marketplaces]


Release Date: 
March 10, 2024 

GUAYNABO, PUERTO RICO – Four marketplaces located in Las Piedras,
San Juan and Vega Baja will have their facilities repaired with nearly
$2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The
allocations seek to foster and promote these plazas, which are of
great significance to the municipalities and their communities. 

In general, the plazas will undergo repairs to lighting, security and
roof membranes, in addition to replacing doors, air conditioners,
signs and windows.

“The personal service and the variety of products and services, in
addition to the sense of tradition and familiarity of the people, are
part of what makes Puerto Rico's marketplaces unique. For FEMA it is
important to be part of their revitalization, as they promote the
economy of the municipalities through small merchants and are meeting
points for locals and tourists,” said FEMA’s Federal Disaster
Recovery Coordinator in Puerto Rico José G. Baquero.

One of the projects in this allocation is the Vega Baja Héctor A. Joy
Sandín Marketplace, with over $876,400 to repair three of its
facilities: the Market Plaza, an annex and the Public Car Terminal.
Hazard mitigation measures such as the replacement of roof panels with
water-resistant ones are considered with an allocation of over
$39,000.

The repairs will help root vegetable vendors like Osvaldo Camacho
Alicea receive their customers in a safer and more comfortable area. 

Camacho Alicea spent part of his childhood working in the former
Marketplace with his father, Marcelo Camacho Martínez, who had a root
vegetable stand. “In 1967 my dad brought me to work with him and I
stayed until 1975. I had no vacations or holidays; I had to be with
him working. I didn't like the work, but he said to me, 'If you don't
study, I'm going to give you a college that you won't have to pay
for.' I graduated from high school, went to Chicago and in 1983 I
returned to Puerto Rico, to this day,” he recalled.

For him, marketplaces are important and, although he confessed that
the number of customers has decreased over the years, he thinks that
this tradition should continue. In fact, he still keeps in his stall
the bus horn which he used to sell root vegetables around the
neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, the executive assistant in charge of the Office of
Protocol, Calendar and Communications for the municipality of Vega
Baja, Luis R. Pérez Santos, pointed out that people still visit the
marketplace, because it has everything they could need. “The
people’s hospitality and the type of business here, which no longer
exist in the urban centers, such as greengrocers, lottery salespeople,
the hair salon, the flower shop; all that and obviously a cafeteria
that is legendary. You will find the best stuffed potatoes there”,
he indicated.

In the municipality of San Juan, two plazas received a total of over
$718,500 for repairs. These are the Río Piedras Rafael Hernández
Marketplace, built in 1956, which has been awarded $672,000; and the
Santurce Marketplace, built in 1912, with over $46,000. 

According to the executive officer in charge of the Santurce
Marketplace, Miguel Ángel Orta Vélez, the marketplace tradition is
still alive. In his opinion, the plaza has evolved and has become a
place recognized worldwide for its artistic and cultural events, and
receives nearly 400,000 visitors each year. 

“The Plaza has survived despite the proliferation of other spaces
that sell food. The tradition of people coming to the square to eat
prepared foods and search for their root vegetables, fruits and
vegetables, it remains here,” he said. He also emphasized that for
the merchants this is their way of life. “Some of them have been
here for 30 or 40 years and many of them are the children of those who
were originally here in the plaza,” he added. 

One of these second-generation merchants is Jorge Luis Otero. For
nearly 60 years, his father was in charge of the stall that he now
manages. For Otero, it’s not only about the importance of cultural
heritage, but also about offering good prices and a pleasant
experience to the visitor, “so that they are satisfied and come
back.”

Perhaps a good example of this is Arsenio Quiles from Lares, who has
lived in Santurce since 1967 and has found his place in this plaza.
Don Arsenio is 95 years old and spends his days here, happy and
surrounded by “good people and good neighbors.” “This is my
paradise. I am here every day. There is joy, events, you meet people
and the community is very nice. You can find everything here,” he
said. Quiles also said that he serves people when they arrive, sweeps
if he has to sweep and even takes pictures with tourists from all over
the world who want to take a souvenir of their visit to the iconic
square.

On the other hand, an allocation of nearly $264,000 went to the Juan
Velázquez Marketplace in Las Piedras to repair its building, built in
1996. The plaza has the 52nd flag by artist Héctor Collazo Hernández
and receives about 400 people a month. The Culture and Tourism
director of Las Piedras, Elvin Agosto Rodríguez, said that although
sales have decreased in certain areas, "the plaza remains alive due to
the wide range of artisan workshops offered and the variety of events
that take place.”

Businesswoman Mayrabel Tolentino Serrano, owner of a beauty salon,
agrees that activity has decreased, but understands that the repairs
in the plaza will benefit merchants and customers, since it will be
possible to fix existing problems that affect the structure and,
therefore, services.

For his part, the executive director of the Central Office for
Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3), Manuel A. Rivera
Laboy, said that “marketplaces represent an important opportunity
for the development of local farmers and merchants. The reconstruction
work and the implementation of mitigation measures will make these
buildings, some of them historic, more resilient to future natural
disasters. At COR3, we will continue to assist in the necessary steps
to ensure that these works, which are subsidized by FEMA funds, are
carried out in an expeditious and compliant manner.”

To date, FEMA has obligated over $32 billion for more than 10,900
recovery projects in Puerto Rico following Hurricane María.

For more information about Puerto Rico’s
recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4339
[https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4339], fema.gov/disaster/4473
[https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4473] and recovery.pr
[https://recovery.pr.gov/en]. Follow us on our social media
at Facebook.com/FEMAPuertoRico
[http://www.facebook.com/femapuertorico], Facebook.com/COR3pr
[http://www.facebook.com/cor3pr] and Twitter @COR3pr
[https://twitter.com/cor3pr].

HÉCTOR A. JOY SANDÍN MARKETPLACE, VEGA BAJA PR

 [Two story grey and white building with cars parked on the front
street.] 
VEGA BAJA, PUERTO RICO (February 29, 2024) – FEMA obligated over
$876,400 to the Municipality of Vega Baja to repair three facilities
of the Héctor A. Joy Sandín Marketplace: the Market Plaza, an annex
and the Public Car Terminal. Hazard mitigation measures such as the
replacement of roof panels with water-resistant ones are considered
with an allocation of over $39,000. Photo FEMA/Karixia Ortiz

SANTURCE MARKETPLACE, SAN JUAN, PR

 [Entrada principal de la Plaza del Mercado de Santurce. Edificio es
color violeta y amarillo con puertas y ventanas verdes.] 
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (March 4, 2024) – FEMA allocated over $46,000
to repair the Santurce Marketplace, built in 1912. Photo FEMA/Eliezer
Hernández