Selling street food is still an option to survive in Venezuela despite the crisis and pandemic
Yanet y su hija, Carlos y su esposa, dos ejemplos de que aún algunos comerciantes informales pueden sustentarse económicamente a través de la venta de comida callejera. Sin embargo, es poca la ganancia ymucho el trabajo.
Caracas. Bajo unmodesto toldo ubicado en la calle Bolívar de Catia, Yanet y Eileen ofrecen chorizo,morcilla, cochino frito, chicharrón y chinchurria al estilo de El Junquito. No es un negocio reciente, pero tampoco de “toda la vida”. Hace tres años, cuandomadre e hija vieron que la venta de carne dejó de producir ganancias suficientes, decidieron cambiar la oferta y vender algo que no tuviera tanta competencia en la zona.
A wide table, several trays, a giant cauldron, a snack, sharp knives, a weight and a point of sale are part of the small space for the sale of Open Heaven from Yanet and Eileen.Before the Pandemia for the COVID-19-Eileen had-his tarantín hadmore appearance of a local appearance.People could not only ask to take but also could sit down to eat at the tables will.
But that was until 2019.Now in 2021, in themidst of the semi -phlexibilized quarantine that Venezuela lives, the reality of commerce is another and the space to work was reduced.Now they install the awning but not the tables for diners and instead of working only Saturdays and Sundays, as they did before, now they do so also on Fridays on Fridays.Packaging food sales, chucheías, cigarettes, liquors, fish, vegetables and others filled Bolívar Street."This was not like that, this street was practically alone," Eileen said.
Inmid -2020,mother and daughter returned to the street with the sale of fried and pork rinds, after trying at home with a warehouse of essential items that did not leave good results.But since they returned to prepared food, sales are not the same.With one of his hands, Eileen points out the place from where people queued to be treated.
However, people do not stop approaching, whether to ask or buy: "Howmuch do you have the pork rind?", "Howmuch the kilo?", "Do you sell them raw too?", "Giveme five kilos Morcilla”, Says one of the clients that not only takes kilos of several things for a grill at home, but also takes advantage of eating with his family several chicharrón arepitas that Yanet and Eileen sell two by one dollar.
Eileen is the youngest daughter of three sisters, and the only one who has not emigrated, her two older sisters are part of themore than fivemillion Venezuelans who emigrated from the country, according to data from the UN Agency for refugees, in themiddleof the humanitarian emergency that transformed the lives of Venezuelans, long before the pandemic.
In his cell phone Eileen keeps an image with the amounts in dollars that each studentmust pay quarterly at the private university where he studies and which he has paid over the years with the sale of street food and in recent times with thehelp from their sisters from outside."These are the last prices: $ 180 on credit and 160 cash, thankfully that I only lack the thesis," he said.
A slaughterhouse in Los Teques is the supplier of Yanet and Eileen, who then offer these foods in theirmenu to a price diversity for almost all pockets: a bag of 100 grams of pork rinds costs a dollar, the kilo of black pudding isSell in two dollars, sausage 3.5 dollars and pig in five dollars.And his famous "Junquito Type" comes out in 8 dollars and brings a little of all accompanied by toasts, which, in other times, packaged withmetallic bags for food that brought from Colombia "when you could travel," said Eileen.The border between Venezuela and Colombia has been closed since March 2020.
Although there are no indications that the Pandemia for the COVID-19 will end soon in Venezuela, Eileen and hermother, Yanet, leave their home, at kilometer three of El Junquito, to work every Friday, Saturday And Sundays, be it flexible week or quarantine week and with the help of Mauricio, Eileen's dad and Yanet husband, they carry all work implements in a cava type truck, and when you can't, they have to pay “a carrite” In a taxi.
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Despite the commercial stoppage, due to the quarantine decreed in 2020 and, subsequently, to the low sales, the Eileen street food business and his family could survive."Many catchoner who knew, broke and had to sell everything they used to work to have somemoney," Eileen said.However, the short -term young woman's plan is to finish the race and go after the steps of her older sisters, and try to take hermother.Meanwhile, fried pig, black pudding, sausages and the Junquito type pork rind can continue to be tasted in Catia.
In Venezuela there are no official data on the percentage of the population, which has the level of participation in the lowest economic activity in the region (56 %) compared to countries such as Colombia, which has 64 % participation, according to the survey dataNational Life Conditions (Encovi) of 2019-2020.
Another 2019-2020 Encovi data is the growth of the informal economy, which in 2014 was 31 % and by early 2020 reached 45 %.
Los almuerzos de Carlos
"Look, your wife sent you a lunch," Carlos says to one of his clients."Thank you, okay.".He looks good, but it's notmy wife, it'smy children'smother, ”replies the client.
Amonth after the quarantine decree in Venezuela, Carlos and his wife, Doris, reopened the food place they have been in the Manuelita Sáenz Center for eight years, on the Boulevard de Sabana Grande.If they were still paralyzed, their destiny asmerchants was bankruptcy."We were nothing to break," Carlos said, a 51 -year -oldman whose eastern accent gives his Sucrense origin, despite being raised in Caracas.
Withoutmuch time to waste, they arrived as always at 7:00 a.m..m.to the premises. El día que reabrieron, Doris preparó diferentesmenús ejecutivos.With the place in full functioning, only customers weremissing, but no one bought.Not a single client went to the shopping center fair, inaugurated by former President Hugo Chávez in 2012 for informalmerchants who work along the boulevard in those years, including Doris.At that time, Carlos served as a blacksmith.
Días después, un carrito característico de los supermercados, y que Carlos tenía sin uso en casa, se convirtió en sumejor ayudante de trabajo. Allímontó las 100 envases de anime que incluían cada uno dos piezas de pollo frito, dos arepitas y ensalada rallada.His wife had prepared everything to sell, this time not from the premises, but on the street.A few hours later, Carlos had sold everything walking with the cart between Sabana Grande and Chacaíto, each dish for a dollar.
The sale was good for a while.Carlos and his wife came to sell 120 plates a day.The gain reached to buy food, packaging and cutlery, paying the three employees they have in the premises and “some” left for husbands. Ahora, en abril de 2021, Carlos continúa con la venta callejera, pero ahora solo vende 40 platos y hay días en que le toca invertirmás dinero del que gana. Sumayormotivación, además de seguir generando ingresos para su esposa y él, esmantener a sus empleados en el local.
Carlos diversificó elmenú “para no aburrir a los clientes”. Ahora el carrito de comida callejera también incluye costillitas tipo comida china,macarrones con pollo, salchipapas, carne guisada con arroz y pollo y papitas fritas, todo aderezado con diferentes salsas, si el cliente lo desea. Lamayoría de los compradores son comerciantes informales que trabajan por el bulevar.Almost everyone knows Carlos and know who is "the Lord of Fritish Chicken" when they ask for him.
Other clients who approach Carlos are passers -by of the boulevard attracted by the smell of homemade food or the cries of: “Lunch, lunch. Almuerzos a un dólar!”, que Carlos constantemente repite para hacerse publicidad entre la gente que va y viene por Sabana Grande, donde la concurrencia nunca esmínima, sea el día que sea.
Monday to Friday, from 11:30 a.m..m.Carlos goes out to sell the lunches, almost always dressed in a flannel and a cap with the name of his premises El Rincón del Paladar. A las 12:30m.There is little to sell. De tanta caminata y de tanto empujar el carrito demercado, ha perdidomás de 10 kilos de peso."I weighed 92 kilos and now weight 82," said Carlos, who in turn has won friends and acquaintances in his walk on the street selling lunch.