Eugenio Robayna, head of markets for the Teguise City Council, was on the program Buenos días, Lanzarote on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero this Thursday to answer some questions about the 40th anniversary of the Teguise Municipal Market.
After four decades, Robayna emphasizes that the municipal market "has not only meant a lot to the Villa de Teguise, but also to the entire island of Lanzarote because any tourist who enters the airport knows that there are two very important places to go, the Tourist Centers and the Teguise market. In fact, we have had European and even national prime ministers and presidents of communities who come on vacation."
In addition, in this sense he assured that "it is one of the largest open-air markets in Spain and in Europe there are few places where on a Sunday between ten in the morning and three in the afternoon 10,000 or 12,000 people gather, and when we reach the summer season we can reach 15,000."
Due to the increase in tourists and locals who come to the municipal market, over the years its location has been changing. "I remember seeing farmers selling watermelons, melons and onions in the Plaza de los Leones and little by little more and more tourists began to arrive," Robayna pointed out.
Thanks to the popularity that Teguise and its municipality acquired, the recovery and conservation of heritage began to be promoted. "Many of the buildings have been converted into shops, cafeterias and bars, also into rural hotels, and not only the private part, the public part forces you to paint and condition the facilities, we have to try to sell everything to people, both the gastronomy, the market and the museums," he declared.
In addition, some of the streets have been pedestrianized to improve the circulation of people during the celebration of the market. "Not only on Sundays, but every day because the amount of people who come is abysmal, and it was difficult for us to carry out this measure," he explained.
Another aspect that the councilor has emphasized is the investment of the City Council. "Throughout this year we have invested almost 480,000 euros in having toilets, ambulances, engineers and a veterinarian in the market to guarantee safety in the place," he concluded.