The famous Sunday open-air market "El Rastro de Santa Cruz" is to once again open, albeit in a different location and with safety measures for coronavirus. There is no specific date as of yet but it is hoped to open before the end of the month.
The new temporary location will be on the Esplanade which is located on the Avenida Maritima where the carnival normally would be.
The re-opening of the market has been confirmed by the mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez and Carmen Tejera, the president of the rastro association, reporting that the market already has the authority of the Canarian Government to open.
The mayor, Bermúdez explains that “Our commitment to the Rastro is total and we have been working on its reopening. It will be reopened, although in another location and with the conditions that the Executive has set us in terms of security, extension and limited capacity. There must be a much greater control than there was before and sellers have to assume it".
Additionally, Tejera insists that the new temporary location is provisional until "this Covid19 coronavirus pandemic ends." "Once this is over, we will return to the surroundings of the Our Lady of Africa Market."
As for a specific opening date, it is said that with the additional necessities for covid19 and having to use security and control measures it's proving to be more challenging for the organisers. However, the hopes are for an imminent opening by the end of the month.
Furthermore, the market has had 412 of the 631 positions renewed but this comes at the cost of reduced seeking space from four meters to just two meters. When the pandemic is over the remaining positions will be raffled off and the full market will open again in its usual location.
For now, there will be surveillance to control access and capacity, with portable toilets installed on the site and other measures.