“Even though it’s raining, for me it’s a day of celebration because we can start working in April after two years of opening in July,” says Silvina Moretti at her summer dress stall Bola Libre Ibiza at the Hippy Market. Her optimism exemplifies the mood at the opening of the Punta Arabí market, especially after the uncertainty they suffered in the last quarter of last year.
The bankruptcy of Azuline, the chain that leased the hotel complex where the market is located, was going to cause the vendors to lose the month of October, the last of their season. Once they recovered from the scare, thanks to an agreement in extremis with the owner, Paquita Sanchez, weeks later came another threat.
Uncertain end to the year for the Hippy Market
Unlike the Hippy Market, the Hotel Cala Martina (formerly Club Punta Arabí) was closed for the two years of the pandemic, a void that hundreds of squatters took advantage of to invade the complex’s bungalows.
“We were not very clear about what was going on here or how we were going to find it when the squatting was solved”
In mid-December, and after controlling access, the squatters were evicted and the new tenant chain, Llum Hotels, recovered the facilities to get them ready for this season.
“We suffered, because we were not very clear about what was going on here or how we were going to find it when it was solved [the squatters],” recalls the president of the Hippy Market Vendors Association, Ana Ordóñez. “Now we all have a sense of hope and excitement to get going again.”
Cooperation
Ordóñez is grateful that the vendors’ association now actively participates in the activities programmed on market days and in the musical selection, “something that had never happened before”. At the moment, they have already jointly organized the big opening party, ‘Peace no War’, although it has had to be postponed to next week due to rainfall. So next Wednesday, Punta Arabí will offer from 10am to 6pm the performances of six groups, batucada, two DJs and several peace-themed performances.
The opening party has been postponed to next week due to bad weather
Another of the novelties of this season is the gastronomic area, in the indoor soccer court, for food trucks and a second stage for live performances. “The idea is to offer all kinds of gastronomic options and lots of live music in various areas of the market,” said Ordóñez.
The assistant manager of Hotel Cala Martina, Noëlle Maldonado, who has been working in this complex since 2017, assures that with the arrival of the new managers, “improvements are going to be made to strengthen the image of the Hippy Market”. In her case, the hotel establishment will open its doors on May 3rd, the usual date before the pandemic ocurred, after repairing the damage caused by some of last year’s squatters. “In addition, good maintenance is needed after two years of closure,” she says.
Punta Arabí Hippy Market starts the season with 300 vendors, which will increase to 500 from May. For Diego, a fur artisan with his stall Antibarbie Ibiza, this new stage “is a rebirth of the market”. “We are very enthusiastic about this change, because now we are more involved and it’s going to be better,” he says.
The most photographed van
In front of Diego’s stall, on the main street of the network of stalls, is one of the iconic images of es Canar, the old blue and white Bonanza van. Lina Serra has been coming here weekly to sell vanilla and chocolate ice cream, lemon slushies and horchata for the last twelve years, although this point of sale has been with the market since its foundation in 1973.
“People always come again and again and they know us from other summers. Two years ago a young Swiss man came to ask for an ice cream and told me that he had been here 20 years ago. He was very happy and told me that they had the same flavor he remembered when he was a child”, recalls Lina.
Mari and Víctor visited Eivissa 40 years ago and now return, on an Imserso trip, accompanied by another couple from Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Conchita and José Luis. “When we were young we went to Las Dalias market, but we didn’t know this one. We had already scheduled this excursion from Barcelona,” recalls Mari. She confesses that she has found the island “very changed”, but she is loving everything she visits. “We can only complain about the weather”, she jokes.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.