NewsWhore
03-14-2007, 03:20 PM
The "marchantas" are one of the most familiar sights in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. In fact, when the city hosted the XV Central American and Caribbean Games in 1986, the marchanta was used as the symbol for the event. Marchantas are the women who arrive from the countryside, usually on donkeys or horses and sell their wares on the city streets. They hawk their merchandise with typical street vendor cries that identify each of their products. Visitors to the Centro Leon can hear recordings of some of these picturesque and hardworking folks. Yesterday the city honored these women with the inauguration of a shopping center. The Plaza de las Marchantas is located on Juan Pablo Duarte Avenue and includes a sculpture of a marchanta on her burro by Dionisio Peralta. According to Santiago's mayor, Jose Enrique Sued, none of the political parties objected when the idea was proposed. Listin Diario reports that dozens of the marchantas themselves attended the inauguration.
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