The Tienda System
and the
Commercialization of Salango, Ecuador



Jennifer McDevitt
Ethnographic Field School
Dr. Michael Harris
Summer 2007


Acknowledgements
Before I begin with an explanation of my research, I would like to recognize all of those who have helped me throughout my sojourn in Salango. First and foremost, I would like to thank Doctor Michael Harris and his wife, Valentina Martinez, for allowing me this opportunity and experience. I can not express enough gratitude to my assistant, Johanna, who was patient and instructive as she walked with me through four weeks of investigations. She and some of my fellow students also taught me to speak and communicate somewhat coherently in Spanish. I would also like to acknowledge the teaching assistant, Michael Viña, for reading and critiquing my field notes and for helping me with translations. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation for all of the tienda owners who had to deal with my never-ending questions and repeated visits to their stores.

Introduction
Organized commerce is an important aspect of life that most people take for granted. Elaborate webs of supermarkets, movie theaters and malls permit the developed world immediate service and satisfaction. There is no period of waiting for negotiations to resolve. One simply swipes a plastic credit card or hands a bundle of cash to the cashier and is quickly approved to exit the store. Cars and public transportation make it both easy and rapid for consumers to commute to various ports of purchase. There is a great variety of brands and types of each product. Virtually any kind of merchandise may be purchased within minutes. No item is ever very far from reach. Such luxury does not exist in the tiny town of Salango, Ecuador.
In Salango, life is blithe and sluggish. The slow pace of life is peaceful and tranquil. Each moment is lived as it is breathed. There is rarely any rush or urgency. Tiendas, or deli-like stores, constitute the apex of commerce. They contain only a limited amount of each product, and there is little or no choice in make. Debit and credit cards are acceptable forms of payment. Most stores are unable to accommodate bills over five or ten dollars, unless an outstanding purchase has been transacted. It may take a store owner several minutes to collect enough change for a ten dollar bill, but the buyers are patient and indifferent. Customers may even open a tab and buy on credit when they are truly tight on cash. Life is much more relaxed without the bustle, buzz and bane of commercialization.

Methodology
In order to carry out my research on commerce in Salango, I became saturated in the culture and lifestyle of my subjects for a period of six weeks. I lived in the village from June 30, 2007 until August 11, 2007. I was part of a field school that boasted eleven other ethnographer students, and nine aspiring archeologists. We lived together in a compound along with other researchers and their families. Fieldwork was conducted from approximately 8am until 4pm on weekdays. Our weekly endeavors were accompanied by the readings of three texts. These books were Understanding Culture by Philip Salzman, Participant Observation by James P. Spradley, and Field Projects in Anthropology by Julia G. Crane and Michael V. Angrosino. In addition, we were required to write descriptive field notes illustrating the scenes and events observed each working day.
During the first week, we were assigned to create a map of the town in order to better acquaint ourselves with the immediate surroundings. This task was difficult and grueling, calling for myriad walks up and down every street and long hikes up to various aerial vistas. By the end of the five day project, I was exhausted, but motivated. This map provided the gateway to the long days of study and research that would follow. The next week, each student was assigned a guide, or assistant, to help us get to know the people while seeking out information. As a result of our studies and social interactions, everyone soon became heavily embedded in participant observation.
The next structured task involved proxemics and the study and observation of living spaces. This called for detailed descriptions of how the area around and inside of homes was used. In order to fulfill this undertaking, it was necessary to spend hours watching citizens as they went on with their daily household activities. Sketches of backyards, laundry lines and front porches were drawn from the outside. It was also necessary to enter into various homes to see how they were structured and utilized. This provided us with a window into understanding the life and culture in Salango.
Over next four weeks, each student focused on a single theme or topic. My own investigation involved the commerce of Salango. I physically walked through the town time and time again, marking down the names and locations of all of the tiendas and stores in Salango. My guide, Johanna, helped me to converse with store owners about their businesses and personal lives. I asked a series of uniform questions to a random sample of thirty-five store owners in order to get a general feel for the Salangan economy. I then prepared a series of in-depth interview questions, which I posed to ten proprietors of some of the bigger stores. Johanna helped me to interpret and understand the Spanish and the culture to which I had been previously unexposed and unapprised. During this time period, I was able to obtain information about the physical stores and how they worked.
I decided, in time, to focus primarily on the tiendas and their role in everyday life. I interrogated a plethora of people on the streets about their own shopping habits as well as those of their friends. I spoke with many elders in order to acquire an understanding of what life was like before the tiendas, and how the economy came to be. I had no audio recorder to tape my conversations, and I came to this country with very little knowledge of the Spanish language. It was Johanna and my trusty dictionary which helped me to communicate and eventually accumulate a working knowledge of Spanish. I also spent many hours sitting in and outside of stores observing regular negotiations. I was showered with a wealth of information and am very grateful to each individual who helped me on my journey through the Salangan commerce system.

Setting
Tucked away quietly in a pocket by the sea, the village of Salango drifts nowhere in its dormant state of sublime subsistence. It is a timeless vortex of fog and mist obscured centrally between the northern and southern coasts of Ecuador. Its grey, muddy roads spiral across and throughout the dithering altitudes of the mountains on the beach. The static white sky is even and shadowless. It is terminally thick and soggy with mist and clouds. This light, sticky rain, called garua, is almost as permanent as the waves which crash incessantly open the beach. Rare is the day that the sun shines in the winter of this equatorial existence. The eternal mist of Salango gives the region an air of displaced consciousness.
The streets are narrow, and essentially unpaved. These shallow earthen roads swallow into one another as their inebriation swirls them sloppily through the uneven mountain terrain. They conjoin and diverge at their own leisure, leaving cartographers with no simple pattern to unravel. They are carved directly into the raw dirt of the terra. This dirt turns into thick, green mud when it rains. It is conversely dusty and pale on the unconventional days on which the sun does shine. The olden paths form the bases and foundations of tiendas, homes and other manmade structures.
The carretera is of asphalt, but it lacks any sort of line to distinguish lanes. There are no sidewalks to protect pedestrians from the filth and grime which build up along the sides of this pseudo highway. It connects the otherwise isolated village with Puerto Lopez to the north and with Rio Chico to the South. Antique autobuses, taxi-motos, camionetas and the occasional car transverse this road intermittently. The carretera forms the spine of the village Together with the Malecon, it paints Salango into the shape of a whale. Ironically, whale-watching is one of the greatest attractions of the town’s tourism industry.
The principal road is made of stones and is lined with concrete sidewalks. It cuts through the carretera and continues east into the next neighborhood. The greatest sections of activity and trade occur in this area. This is the road that takes children from elementary school to high school. The health center, museum, library, dentist and several tiendas decorate this downtown oasis. Filthy, flea-ridden dogs run wildly through this street and others. The dogs are small in size, but countless in number.
The people tend to be of small, sturdy statures. Most have clear, brown skin and dark obsidian eyes. Their hair is thick and black. It is believed that some are the direct descendents of the first inhabitants of this area. There is a certain ethnic mystique which connects them together in kinship. Pale skin and lighter hair occasionally grow on children of mixed lineage. Rare is the blue-eyed prodigy. They are simplistic and normally clad themselves in old flip flops, shorts and t-shirts. They live their lives through the sea.
Many a Salangan male is a pescador, or fisherman. These gentlemen pass the nights away playing cards, drinking, and waiting for the fish on their boats at sea. Most families can claim relations with more than one fisherman. The majority of the population consumes seafood at least once a day. This protein is very cheap and easily obtained in the village. There is a giant, blue fish factory sheathed in the southern end of Salango. It sometimes emits the foul odor of grinding fish mill. Fish is a staple ingredient in the society’s subsistence and overall way of life.
The beach delves into the town. Or, the beach has been exceeded by the people. The Pacific Ocean provides an effortless means of determining the west. It runs parallel with the town, and extends past Salangan limits, in a slightly concave fashion. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore is powerful and endearing. The sea is always occupied with the boats of the fishermen. Small, wooden boats, called bongos, lay overturned on the beach and docked in the ocean. Large fishing boats and fiberglass boats accompany the naval bongos. The distance from the civilization to the ocean is small, ranging between ten and thirty meters as the tides ebb and flow. There is a Malecon, or cement boardwalk, in the central part of town. It is accented by several restaurants and bars which are heavily patronized during the summer months.
The northernmost point in Salango is marked with a white whorehouse, oftentimes referred to as the “Bandera Blanca”. This name comes from the fact that the sex workers fly a white flag whenever they are open for business. It is situated directly behind the beach. Just south of this building, there is a cemetery on the sand. Beyond this are ten distinct neighborhoods, or barrios. The narrow town ends as it rises to a mountaintop in the south. On this mountain, a foreigner has established both a hotel and a faulty repertoire with the locals. There is also a Miramar with an excellent aerial view of the entire village.
Mountains provide a steady backdrop in the east. It is in these mountains that some agriculture occurs. Exotic plants such as plantains, yuccas and papayas are harvested here. A poor system of irrigation yields Salango with limited cultivation. Several homes are located on the lower land in front of the mountains. An archeological site and a soccer field are also etched deep in the east. The grandeur and awe of these mountains has given birth to many legends and stories.
In terms of proxemics, Salangans are rather intimate. Pats on the back, squeezes on the arm, and hugs are very common. Men shake hands with each other and give light kisses on the cheek to females upon each salutation. The women almost always kiss whomever they are greeting. It is standard to say “Hola!” or “Buenos dias” to each person encountered. It is customary to at least acknowledge the presence of another human being. Because Salango is such a small town, the majority of the people are familiar with one another. This lends to a sense of bondage and community.
Personal space is not an issue here. People hardly acknowledge when they bump into one another. They sit very close to each other when conversing and resting. They do not mind piling into the back of a fish truck to drive to Puerto Lopez. Siblings share beds shrouded in nylon mosquito nets. Most houses have far less bedrooms than they do inhabitants. Doors to houses and rooms are usually wide open or nonexistent. Neighbors and friends enter into each others homes erratically and raucously. This use of space yields an atmosphere of tolerance, understanding and familiarity.
Most homes are small and simplistic. A concrete floor powdered with dry dirt is the norm. Only a small fraction of the houses may maintain any sort of tile floor or carpeting. The living area tends to be the largest and foremost room of each house. It is generally furnished with plastic chairs, hammocks, tables and television sets. Some have sofas and other accessories. Religious memorabilia, family photos and mirrors are common accents on the walls. If a kitchen does not follow the main room, at least one bedroom does. A cooking area or bathroom might be located in an open room in the rear of the house. Many homes do not have running water or showers. Toilet paper may never be flushed down the toilet.
Salangans are a peaceful, happy folk. Through the lens of an outside, watchful eye, they appear to live in a bubble of contentment. Such ease and simplicity is the result of their enduring dependence on the sea and on each other for survival. They have not yet become the products of heavy commercialization. However, the Salangan economy has been growing very rapidly over the past forty years. The following study of tiendas in Salango will seek to analyze and interpret the impact of increased commerce on the formerly unexploited peoples.

History
Life before Tiendas
Sixty years ago, there was no tienda in Salango. The village on the beach depended primarily on fish for their protein, as the ocean was only footsteps away. Some families raised chickens or pigs to consume on occasion, but there was no place to buy meat or poultry at the last minute. Furthermore, a lack of water and irrigation systems made it very difficult and impractical to grow crops. The practice of horticulture was relatively rare, so it followed that fruits and vegetables were not in great abundance. As a result, Salangans had to turn elsewhere to purchase groceries.
The nearest city of commerce was Puerto Lopez. This small urban center contained many tiendas, stands and shops from which Salangans could purchase their own provisions. Since cars and buses had not yet been instituted in the town, individuals were required to walk an hour each way to reach the northern city. This trip is sometimes referred to as the “camino feo”, or ugly walk. The road that led to Puerto Lopez was unpaved and treacherous. It climbed up and steeped back down, rendering the hike jarring and difficult in both directions. When it rained, the path became heavy with mud. In such conditions, the journey would be extended by at least thirty minutes.
Due to the mental and physical labor of this trek, families did their shopping only one time each week. From each family, a single man made the voyage. He carried with him an empty sac and an endearing attitude. The bag would later be filled with twenty-five pounds of food in Puerto Lopez. This load consisted of various fruits, vegetables, poultries and meats. Each man then carried the heavy sac on his back and he made the grueling walk home. The rite of grocery shopping was frequently performed on Sundays.
The quantity and quality of imports was very limited. Fragile foods, such as tomatoes, could not be simply tossed into the sac, lest they be squashed. There was no electricity or refrigeration at the time, so perishables had to be preserved with copious amounts of salt. If a family ran out of some necessity or other, they had to borrow from a generous friend or simply do without. Sometimes, Salangans could only hope for a good catch from the sea. Life was tough and unpredictable before tiendas.
A Growing Economy
It was not until the late 1940’s that the first tienda was finally established. There is some disagreement amongst the elders in town as to which of two men opened the first one. One of them was from Salango; the other was from Puerto Lopez. Specific chronologies and dates are rarely remembered exactly in Salango. This, unfortunately, makes it impossible to know whether the conception of commerce was integrated by a native Salangan or imported by a businessman from Puerto Lopez. In any case, the stores were opened about a year apart by gentlemen who had boats and could transport products from Puerto Lopez to Salango. It is important to note that there were very few boats in the town at the time. The population was also much smaller and the locale less developed.
As a manifestation of the importance of family and intimacy in the small town, all informants were able to give the same dozen or so names of the first business owners. However, their chronologies were variable. After these two entrepreneurs established their enterprises, two or three men followed in their footsteps. It is said that only one of them did not possess a boat. One elder in the village told the, perhaps slightly dramatized, story of the landlocked man’s travels. Allegedly, the industrialist was able to carry one hundred pounds of each sugar and rice on his back. In addition, he carried to large bags of potatoes and vegetables in his hands. The accuracy of this story can not be determined, but it is probable that the man did carry home a very hefty load of food to sell in his tienda in Salango.
In 1951, the locally renowned Isabel’s opened. Today, many young Salangans believe this to have been the very first tienda founded in the town. Although it was actually the fifth or the sixth to open, Isabel’s has been in business longer than any other tienda that exists today. This is because none of the original tiendas stayed in business for more than twenty years. Little by little Isabel’s grew larger and more profitable. It began importing merchandize from bigger cities such as Jipijapa, Portoviejo, Quito and Guayaquil. In approximately 1963, the owner of this store became the first person in Salango to own a car. This helped him transport products from different cities cheaply and efficiently.
During the years of the first tiendas, there was a local legend that the devil sat in a tree in the center of the village each night after six-o-clock. Hidden beneath a large sombrero and smoking out of a pipe, he remained arboreal until dawn. Salangans had to walk past the tree in order to reach any of the few tiendas. As the phantasm was an obvious threat to the people, everyone finished making their purchases before the devil arrived. This effected business in the sense that there were no customers at night, so the tiendas closed when the tree became occupied. Such was the norm until the late 1960’s when the tree was chopped down in order to build a house. The devil then fled to the mountains, and has been creeping through its trees and shrubbery ever since.
As the first handful of tiendas began to grow and expand, shopping in these stores became more commonplace than the long voyages to Puerto Lopez. Puerto Lopez was cheaper, but Salango was more convenient. As the years passed, Salango grew larger and more populous Neither the elders nor the proprietor himself are certain when the next tienda opened, but there is a general consensus that at least ten years had elapsed since the dawn of Isabel’s There is no record or documentation, but Sylvester Alvarez opened his store sometime between 1960 and 1968. There was great breach in time between the two stores, demonstrating the sustainability of Salango. The rational behind the commencement of Alvarez’s tienda is probably related to the increasing number of immigrants as the town began to expand.
As is the norm in Salango, the exact date of the fish factory’s inauguration is debatable. It most likely opened within the window of 1968 and 1971. With the debut of this economical building block came a great influx of people. Peruvians and Ecuadorians from all over the country came to Salango to work there. Not surprisingly, this catalyzed the rise of tiendas. By this time, the original handful of tiendas had already folded into the ashes of history. From the late 1960’s onward, there opened in Salango about one tienda per year.
At this point, it is essential to understand that exactitude is not stressed in Salango. Both proprietors and elders were asked the years in which several of the older stores had opened their doors. No person ever gave an exact year. Instead, all informants responded with an estimate of how many years had passed since the unveiling of each. Elders related the stores to events or stages in their own lives. Sage store owners did not give the subject much thought, but spat out some seemingly-sufficient quantity of years. There are large gaps in the possible years in which each store opened. The following chart will mark the differences in years proposed by owners and elders of several stores.
Store Year According to Proprietor Year According to Elders
Isabel's 1951 1950
Sylvestor Alvarez 1967 1961-1966
Oswaldo 1975 1968
Olguita 1989 1970
Jessenia 1997 1971
A thoughtful analysis of the above data yields that time is relative and not so important in Salango. The discrepancy in years is somewhat minor in terms of culture. Perhaps some stores were confused with others. Maybe the elders have so much unconscious bias against the tiendas that their presence has been amplified and exaggerated in their minds. The citizens did and still do a lot of fishing for subsistence. Clearly, no tiendas had greater personal impacts on the people than the two oldest that remain today, Isabel’s and Sylvestor Alvarez’s. It seems as if each ensuing tienda came with more ease and was appreciated less than the one before it. Younger generations were born into a world much different from that of their elders. The former could never imagine their town without tiendas.
Slowly, Salango has become a partially materialized existence. It could be generalized that various tiendas open and/or close every few years. There are about thirty functioning tiendas to date. Today, they vend much more than basic food necessities. Stickers, snacks, cigarettes, liquor and cleaning supplies are all available in Salango. Clothing, sneakers and DVD’s are sold as well. There is a good number of restaurants, bars and eco-tourism companies. There are several calling centers and pay phones. Even the internet is available at the Comuna, when the electricity is working.
Nowadays, there are also trucks that drive through the village several times each day selling fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats and poultry. As of 1977, public transportation has made it much easier to travel to Puerto Lopez, where Salangans are able to purchase more for less. Relative to the Salangan past, life is much less strenuous for the children of today. In time, the standard currency changed from the real to the sucre. In 2000, Ecuador then switched its currency from the sucre to the American dollar. Elders remember a time when groceries were cheaper and fish was more abundant. This past, they say, was more beautiful than the present.

Snapshot of the Oldest RemainingTienda: Past and Present
Isabel’s, which has the greatest circulation of customers, was one of the first tiendas established in Salango. Four or five other stores had been opened within recent years, but this is oldest enterprise still standing. It was opened by a coffee bean harvester named Enrique. He began to save money to open the business after he married Isabel in the late 1940’s. In addition to the coffee beans, he sold land to earn money. In 1951, Isabel’s was finally opened for business. By this time, there were several tiendas and Salangans had already been liberated from the hours and years of toiling and trekking up and down the muddy carretera for groceries.
Eventually, Enrique and Isabel had children. They decided that each child would be trained to and consequently be obligated to work in their parents’ store by the age of eleven. This system worked quite well, and the family ultimately accumulated eight children. Over the years, most of them grew up and moved out of Salango. The store was run primarily by its founders until 2002, when Isabel passed away. At this point, one of the daughters, Maria, moved back to Salango from Venezuela to assume the role of her deceased mother. To this day, Maria maintains the largest and most profitable store in Salango.
The floor is of wood, as are the five sillas which are used as both social devices and loci of rest. This area is outlined by a U of five display cabinets. When facing the back of the room, the first cabinet on the right is filled with pens, pencils, glue, markers, erasers and other utilares escolares. The adjacent cabinet is stacked with cuadernos, rulers and paints. The main cabinet, which connects the other two prongs of the U, contains bags of candies, drink mixes, paper napkins, plates and several bottles of dusty wine. Finally, the two left cabinets are sprinkled with such toiletries as soaps, lotions, deodorants, q-tips, nail clippers, and nail files.
Several feet behind and above these focal cabinets, the walls are lined with shelves and boxes of products. To the high, far right, there are rows of cleaning products, bug sprays and children’s building blocks. Adjacent and below these are more pencils, as well as shelves of jars of candies and chewing gum. The greater part of the right wall is dominated by bottles of hard liquor. Gatorade, beer, and energy drinks are also located in this domain.
Directly behind the main counter, the shelves promote leches, canned fruits, sardines, pastas, cereals, cookies, crackers, instant coffee, non-dairy creamers, spices and batteries. There is a gargantuan bag of arroz on the floor for customers desiring specific quantities of the starch. Next to this is a large box full of brown eggs. A glass jar of raisons, a bag of corn kernels, and several varieties of fruits are also located in this area.
To the left, there is a wooden box divided into three sections, each containing a separate variety of dry frijoles. The back shelves of this section are full of various brands and sizes of shampoos and toothpastes. There are also toothbrushes and other dental necessities. On the floor below, several cardboard boxes hold copious amounts of nails and screws. Above these is a case of cigarettes. A glass cabinet hanging from the wall to the left sells hair dye and boxes of medication. Light bulbs, pantyhose, sanitary napkins, floppy disks, and a wealth of other miscellaneous items also adorn this area.
The character behind the counter is a friendly woman in her middle ages. Maria spends her days in the tienda from about 7:30 in the morning until 9:00 at night. She has no colleagues with whom she shares her duties. She occasionally steps into another room to take care of any personal matters. There is a small kitchen located through a room adjacent to the store where she is able to quickly prepare daily meals. She is never very far from the front of the counter, and can be easily resurfaced when she is. She often engages in conversation with her customers. Maria knits or leafs through newspapers when business is slow. The way of the tienda is her entire life.
Being the largest and most heavily patronized tienda of Salango, Isabel’s is accordingly a sphere of socialization. Maria converses with customers as they come and go throughout the day. The tall wooden chairs are almost always occupied during the store’s hours of operation. The radio sometimes resonates Ecuadorian music during the day. People frequently amass themselves in the small area to watch movies on Maria’s television after dinner. This store is enticing and prosperous. During its hours of operation, Isabel’s rarely sees more than several moments without a customer or visitor. It is because of this extreme success that apprehensive locals swear Enrique must have made a pact with the devil many moons ago.

Structure and Function
What is a Tienda?
Directly translated, the word “tienda” refers to nothing more than any simple shop or a store. However, its role and impact on Salangan culture renders it much more significance and meaning. Most tiendas are very small shops with no more than a few meters of floor space. They can be most closely related with a standard deli of corner store of the Western world. Each sells its own selection of snacks, drinks and foodstuffs. In Salango, there is no supermarket to offer every necessity in a single space. There is not even a open-air or farmer’s market available in this area. Instead, there is a series of tiendas located strategically throughout the village.
Each tienda is slightly different from the next. They offer unique assortments of goods, but retain about the same general pricing index. Some tiendas, called “papeleria”s specialize in the sales of paper products such as notebooks, pencils and folders. Others focus on the sales of beer, juice, vegetables or some other product. The intrigue of the tienda system is that, together, they provide a sufficient network of subsistence for the entire community.
The tiendas in Salango are a system of socialization and subsistence. They provide citizens with a means of obtaining food and miscellaneous novelties without ever having to leave their quiet town. Tiendas allow people to live lackadaisically and lightheartedly. Most vend at least the basic necessities of nutrition and flavor. In addition to this, they may sell canned goods, snacks, toiletries and paper ware. Some even sell clothing, shoes and notebooks. There is no protocol for the retail demography of a particular store. Most products are neither illustrated in advertisement nor visible to the buyer’s eye. Instead, there is a collective local knowledge of when, where, and how any given product may be purchased.

Distinguishing a Tienda
The typical tienda in Salango is nothing more than the small, main room located in the front of its owner’s casa. It does not scream commerce or trade; rather, it whispers casual, small exchange. The tiendas tend to blend in with the ambiance of the concrete and brick domiciles which surround them. In general, a tienda is most easily distinguished by a large, open window, secured precariously by an outer shield of thick, black, barricading bars. Through the open triangles and squares patterned across these intricate constraints, one may view products displayed on cabinets and other alcoves throughout the room. Oftentimes, faded posters advertising for CocaCola, Deja and other novelties are plastered about the outside walls of the store. Although many tiendas conduct business through their windows, some also have open doors through which consumers may enter. There are also several tiendas which stand alone as either kiosks or booths. The actual floor area of all stores in Salango is universally very limited.
It is important to realize that, in some instances, not all tiendas are ostensibly recognized as points of commerce. For example, there is a salesman who does not advertise his products, and his casa looks no different from any other ordinary residence. He lives in a small home on the corner of the principal road, just before the careterra. There are no signs or advertisements to promote his business. However, it is local knowledge that he stores leche and chocolate covered bananas in his home as retail for conscious clientele. This Cabaňa, which turns into a bar at night, is unbeknownst to even the most dexterous outside observer. One must be culturally embedded in this particular barrio to realize that this obscured tienda has been an important vendor of milk for the past five years.
There is also an old man named Carlos who sits near his bitrina, or food cart, from about 7am-7pm each day. He sells little cakes and cookies for about a dime per confection. He claims that his greatest selling product is bananas, which are purchased frequently by passing school children. He also sells a small, tart, bitter fruit called ciruela. He is known throughout the village as having had this cart for at least thirty years, but his senile memory yields him no exact figure. Every several months, he turns over his case to sell different fruits and pastries. The words “se vende landrillos” are painted on the wall of the building behind the stand. This advertisement is accurate, as the old man still sells bricks as well.
A third atypical example of a store is a papeleria and bazaar located in the barrio, Martha del Roldos. From the outside, it looks like nothing more than a regular house. There is no sign or poster advertising it as a place of commerce. It is not even possible to view the products through the windows. With the exception of those living in this neighborhood, many locals are not even aware of the stationary store. One must yell “A ver!” from the front steps of the house in order to be assisted. Once allowed to pass through the house, there is little more to see than two cases of notebooks, pens and other school materials. The display is located in the living room of the individual’s home. It is literally right beside the television set and couches. Clearly, this business is quite small, but it still brings in extra income and entertains a bored housewife.

Structure and Products
It is standard for most stores to have jars of dolces and chiclets scattered about low shelves and cabinets to tantalize spendthrift niňos, or children, on their journeys home from school. Bags of plantain chips, spices, milk, Tang, and other accessory food products are also displayed in plain view. Toiletries, such as shampoos and soaps, may also be immediately visible. Scales for weighing bulk items are sometimes seen on tabletops, but the products which are sold by the pound are usually tucked away in refrigerators, freezers and bins on the floor. When peeking farther back through the tienda window, it is not uncommon to see a mosquito net shrouding a bed in an open bedroom, or a mesa covered in large basins used for washing laundry. This illustrates the relationship between the family and the business.
Produce, dairy, meat and poultry are sold in many of the tiendas. Once in awhile, the phrase “se vende pollo” will be painted onto a brick wall, but these foodstuffs are not typically advertised. It is understood that many a store is very likely to carry such products, despite their being hidden in backrooms. Different types of meats and cheeses may be available upon request. The tiendas which have a greater variety and supply of such staples are known and distinguished locally. This is due to the tightly-knit kinship of the small town.
Most tiendas have a large, lucrative refrigerator located near the entrance of the store. It is generally filled with 25-cent bottles of water, Pilsener beer, Inca Kola, and other jugos and colas. A beverage called “Sunny”, which is one of the most heavily advertised beverages in Salango, boasts some of the greatest competencia amongst retailers. Of course, Pilsener’s beer campaign is even more avid and intense. Brahma and other minor cervezas are sought after with much less frequency. Despite the varying popularities of different beverages, many tienda owners can say with confidence that bottled drinks comprise a significantly large percentage of total sales.
Electric power is not guaranteed in Salango. It sometimes goes out for hours at a time. These sporadic upheavals do not happen every single day, but they do occasionally occur on a daily basis for weeks at a time. As a result, store owners do not maintain a large supply of foods that expire without refrigeration. This includes hot dogs, ice cream, and other animal products. When the electricity does go, most stores do remain open. Along with the rest of people in town, proprietors have candles and lanterns to back them up when such incidences do occur.

Tiendas and Space
The area surrounding the church plaza has the greatest congregation of tiendas in the village. This particular barrio is named Maria Auxiliadora. This neighborhood is the heart of Salango. It is shaped roughly like a square or a rhombus. It begins on the second block of the Malecon and extends south for two more blocks. It encompasses the area directly east of these roads, terminating on the street just one block shy of the careterra. There are three bars, three restaurants and a pharmacy in this area. There is also a small wooden booth across from the church which sells chicken and an alcoholic beverage called cana at the owner’s diplomacy. Finally, there are three tiendas. Isabel’s, the largest tienda in town, is one of these three.
Perhaps the second most congested area of commerce in Salango is within the containments of the Principal Road, between the carretera and the Malecon. This includes the barrios of el 21 de noviembre, and parts of Los Jardines and el 25 de diciembre. There are six tiendas on this street alone. There is also a party store, a bar, the aforementioned bitrina, a telephone center and a DVD store. Finally, the health center, the elementary school and the dentist are also located on this street. This stretch of land is only 300 meters in length, but the small amount of space is very industrious.
Continuing along the Principal Road eastward past the carretera, the street gives way to another neighborhood. Martha del Roldos, as it is called, is less densely populated than the former neighborhoods. It has only two true tiendas and the hardly recognized bazaar that was described earlier in this paper. There is a daycare center situated very near these stores. The colegio, or high school, is also set back deep into this neighborhood. There is a bit of discord amongst the locals as to whether or not the funeral parlor and the comuna are included in this barrio. The greater majority seems to believe both buildings should be included in Martha del Roldos.
The neighborhood at the north end of town, Brisa Al Mar, is small and contains only one tienda. This papeleria is only the front room of a woman’s home and does not sell any actual food. There is also a solder and a cemetery in this barrio. Citizens of this area must walk just a few blocks before encountering several food-vending enterprises. El 25 de diciembre includes a total of six tiendas, several of which are located on that Principal Street. Likewise, several of the tiendas encompassed by Los Jardines are on that street; but, it has a total of seven basic tiendas. One of these sells DVD’s and repair bicycles. There is also a small, unadvertised shoe store located in someone’s home. It could be considered the eigth tienda of this barrio.
Cirgueles, which is set far back east of the highway, has only one bar and one tienda for its small population. This tienda, located just off of the carretera, is only several months old and does not even have a name. It is merely a hut which a very small variety of products. Ostensibly, it is patronized almost exclusively by nearby inhabitants or passers-by on the carretera. On the opposite side of this road there is a neighborhood called Las Orquidias. In terms of commerce, it has only one tienda/papeleria. It is a wooden stand which sells school supplies, soda and snacks. The telephone company and several billiard tables can also be found here.
Continuing south, one finds himself in the sprawled out barrio of Mercedes. It is within this neighborhoods limits that all of the side streets terminate and only one road runs parallel to the carretera. There are three or four tiendas located here, one of which is a papeleria. There are also a hardware store, a barbershop, calling centers and several eco-tourism establishments. A heavily-advertised restaurant and another bar are also in this vicinity. Finally, the southernmost barrio is named Acacias. It contains seven tiendas, one of which is also a bar. There are also calling centers, eco-tourism agencies and a restaurant.
Location, number of competing businesses and demography within a particular barrio ultimately determine which store sells the most of each respective necessity. For example, there are two tiendas in the barrio, Martha del Roldos. The first, Jomaira, is staffed by a twenty-five year old man. The vendor claims to have a lot of competition with proximal tiendas, but pollo spars the greatest contention. Nonetheless, he is amicable with the owner of nearest tienda. Most of his sales come from tuna, sardines, rice, a detergent called Deja, and cola products. The other tienda boasts greater sales in different products. It is the tendency for neighboring tiendas to maintain the same types of basic foods, while promoting their own unique products as well.

Taking Care of Business
Maintaining a Tienda in Salango
In order to open a business in Salango, one must obtain approval from both the ministry of health and the local police. Such policy was mandated only twelve years ago by the comuna. The process is rather lenient and unobtrusive by any standard. Each potential vendor must simply meet the criteria for a series of regulations. A document of authentication from each institution must be given to a proprietor before he or she is able to open any business. Each deed costs fifteen dollars and must be renewed every year.
Each business must have a source outside of the village from which to purchase gross products. Many owners of smaller tiendas buy their stock from Puerto Lopez, which is the city nearest Salango. Portoviejo, La Liberdad, Jipijapa and Manta are also somewhat close cities from which bulk items may be obtained. Store owners who desire special or rare products are required to make lengthy trips to Quito or Guayaquil to obtain their merchandise. Nonperishable products are usually purchased every fifteen days, or twice a month. Such items include chocolates, chips, detergents, toiletries and the like. Because stock is replenished so infrequently, there is no guarantee that a tienda will always carry a particular product on any given day. Bottled waters, colas and jugos, however, are delivered regularly by large trucks.
Proprietors tend to purchase animal products, fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Some rise early to obtain these goods from Puerto Lopez; others simply wait for the delivery trucks which visit select stores each morning. There are separate trucks for vending each type of food. For example, one truck sells only fruits and vegetables while another sells chicken and other protein products. Store owners generally buy just small quantities of these items because the demand is low and there is much competition amongst surrounding tiendas. Two whole chickens, six yuccas and several onions may be sufficient supply for a day’s sales in a standard tienda.
Fruits and vegetables are not typically large-selling products in Salangan tiendas. This is because there is a truck that drives through the town at least once a day selling the crops of ripened plants from large crates in the rear. It vends oranges, apples, grapes, potatoes, tomatoes, yucca, plantains, onions, and many other such harvested products. As the truck drives around, a young boy shouts, “Legumbres!”, or a man announces himself through a loudspeaker to attract customers. Those who hear the announcement and need vegetables run out of their casas to replenish what they have already used and to shop for whatever they may so desire. If no one responds to the boy’s cries, the truck continues on its way. Those who miss the truck must buy from the tienda, commute to Puerto Lopez, or wait until the truck returns at another time.
There is another, similar sales truck which drives through town about three times a day vending perishables. It generally comes once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening. It sells chicken, meat and dairy products. It is proclaimed loudly by a vendor as it drives up and down the streets. Both this truck and the vegetable truck give people the opportunity to buy fresh food daily at a lower price than is endorsed in the tiendas. This takes away from business, but such factors are accounted for and accepted by all store owners.
In addition to the food trucks, there is a number traveling salesmen that make their merchandise available by foot. Usually solo, they walk about the streets of Salango selling various products as clothing, fish and produce. There is a man who wanders around nearly every morning with buckets full of shrimp in his hands, yelling, “Camarones! Camarones!”. In a more silent manner, men and women from other cities go door to door in hopes of selling cheap garments and accessories. Some vendors wrap sacs filled with fruits or vegetables behind their necks or carry them in wicker baskets as they walk around. There are also occasional carts which ride by selling bread and produce. In contrast all of these mobile vendors, the tiendas are the only mechanisms of commerce that remain constant and physically present.
Life as a Vendor
The average tienda in Salango opens between 7:00am and 8:00am and closes some time after 7:00pm. There are no set hours for these establishments, as hours are sanctioned on a daily basis at the discretion of the proprietor. This means that a store may open at 7:00am one day, and at 8:15am the next. This is because business falls secondary to family and personal matters. That is, mothers must be ensured that their children are fed and sent off to school before opening for the day. Sometimes, people wake up later than usual; and, thus the store follows such patterns of sleep.
Some stores close for short periods throughout the day so that their owners may attend to personal matters. Many workers do not close their stores in order to cook and consume meals. Likewise, laundry and household chores are also performed during operating hours. While participating in such activities, the worker may disappear from the front counter for a small amount of time. However, they will readily terminate own their task to accommodate anyone who calls, “A ver”. If there is a family emergency or sickness, a tienda may be closed for several days, or until the unfortunate situation has been resolved.
Many of the stores are run by women. In tandem with this, their husbands are usually busy with some other profession as fishing or agriculture. As was mentioned earlier in the passage about the tienda, Isabel’s, children and adolescents of proprietors are oftentimes obliged to work by their parents. This, of course, allows the adults more time to undertake other household duties. Sometimes, men who have retired from their long, hard years at sea exchange their fishing boats for tiendas. This provides them with an easier and more stable source of income and way of life. All stores are staffed exclusively family members of each respective proprietor.
For the proprietor, the tienda is more than a store. It is a physical part of their home and life. If the tienda is not actually attached to the home, it is only steps away. Workers and their families spend their days near the sales counter, patiently waiting for customers. Most stores do not have more than twenty customers in the course of a day. To pass the time, workers watch television, knit, sleep or simply sit and wait. They are calm and content. Most are very happy with their store and job. The profession of tienda operator allows the individual to work and maintain a family without ever being too far from either.
“A Ver”
Every Salangan knows the magic words for service, “A ver!”. This phrase does not translate well directly into English, but it is essentially equivalent to asking the worker to “come here”. This sounds somewhat aggressive in English, but it makes sense in terms of business in Salango. Id est, workers are often caught up during the day in household tasks and may not realize a customer has come in. For example, a female worker may be cooking or doing the laundry. Upon entering into a tienda, all children, teenagers and adults say these words, even if the employee is standing directly behind the counter. The worker naturally says or yells back, “Mandame” or “Digame”. Both of these responses prompt the customer to tell the worker what they would like to purchase.
At this point, the client will either ask if their product is in stock or simply demand it. Perhaps a child will say, “vendame dos cebollas” when his mother has sanctioned him to purchase two onions for the soup she is cooking. Normally the worker will reach below a counter or walk into a back room and come out with the products of choice. Occasionally, stores do run out of products and must send consumers elsewhere.
Most customers pay in change or small bills. Oftentimes a tienda is unable to make change for even a five dollar bill. Tens and twenties are both suspicious and extremely difficult to break. There are no cash registers in these stores; rather, calculations are done by hand or by calculator. Change is kept in small containers beneath the counter or in some other spot out of direct view. In order to accomadate clients, vendors will sometimes go out of their way to another store in order to make change.
Because the town is so small and most people can be trusted, Salangans occasionally buy on credit. The size and financial stability of a tienda determine the amount of money which may be credited to an individual. Smaller stores usually have limits under fifty dollars, while some of the larger one allows infinite credit. Of course there is a written record, usually scratched onto a piece of loose paper, of who owes what and when it must be paid. There are rarely any problems with this system. In any case, both the client and the employee always thank each other and say goodbye before parting ways.

Clients, Purchases and Interactions
The majority of the shopping in Salango is done by children. This is because many families are quite large, having at least four or five children. Fathers often work, sleep and socialize during the day. Mothers and other adults living in the house are consequently left to fulfill the majority of the domestic duties. Hence, it is easier to send a child with some change and an order to make a purchase at a nearby tienda. This way, the adults may remain in the house to oversee activities and other children. Salango is a very tightly knit and safe town, so there is little to no risk in handing young person money to make a purchase. Women do occasionally go to the store, if there is no one else around to shop for them. Such situations may arise when all of the children are at school or an older woman is by herself in the house. Men also go to tiendas once in awhile, but their purchases tend to revolve around alcohol, cigarettes and fishing necessities.
As has already been explained, the term, “A ver,” constitutes common manner and courtesy in the tienda. Now, there are different social situations and ways of dealing with each that arise once inside of the tienda. If the employee is by him or herself in the front of the store, that individual will most likely attend immediately to the consumer, regardless of age or sex. If the worker is entertained in another area of the house, the vocal response will be relatively immediate, but the physical appearance of that person may take up to a couple of minutes. Children tend to be serviced with much less urgency than adults. If, for example, a woman If a worker is already helping another customer, the newcomer must always wait tolerantly.
Most families shop in tiendas several times a day. They tend to buy only one or two items at a time as needed. For the most part, they have already stocked up on fruits and vegetables either in Puerto Lopez or in the sales trucks. Also, they purchase a lot of their meat, cheese, eggs and chicken from the other truck. So, what exactly are these people buying? Their purchases range from spices to pasta to laundry detergent. A mother may be missing just one ingredient for the lunch she is preparing and send her son off to procure it. Children buy candy and gum on their ways to school with dimes and quarters. A hot afternoon warrants a cola. Most products come in small packages, as there is no reason to buy more than necessary.
Many of the tiendas have tables and/or chairs either inside of the store, or on the ground directly in front. These chairs are used for resting, waiting and mingling. It is common for customers to take a seat when ordering from the person behind the counter. The chairs inside of Isabel’s are almost always occupied with garrulous customers. Men drink their cervezas and play cards on wooden or plastic tables outside of tiendas. Children run in and out of them as they play their games on the streets. Pedestrians greet proprietors as they continue on their ways down the street. The tienda is a place of comfort and socialization.
Conclusion
In Salango, life is lived with the tides. As the waves roll gently onto the beach, so too flows the pace of life. Over the past sixty years, the tiny town has become partially integrated into the material world. Life has become much easier, as it is no longer required to voyage out of the town on foot to obtain nutrition and other necessities. The tienda system has woven Salango into a microscopic network of socialization and commerce. No tienda is ever more than a short walk away. Up until this point in time, the people have managed to protect and conserve their delicate way of life, but as globalization pushes its way into the town, this culture slips slowly away.
The evolution of this economy has been gradual, but steady. Little by little, Salangans have learned to adapt a way of life that depends primarily on outside resources. The tiendas provide easy access to dietary needs, but they also promote such vices as beer and candy. Public transportation allows for easy travels to other towns and cities that have already been swallowed up by materialism and greed. Life is still slow and lenient in Salango, but only time will tell when it too will be devoured by negative outside influences. There is little doubt that, as the town earns more money and develops, it will model itself after the crudeness of the western world.
In the past, life was more difficult; but, it was also more beautiful. That certain sense of achievement that comes with toil and labor is no longer a part of the people’s regular routine. Jaded fishermen now retire to tiendas for a more facile method of sustainable revenue. It is fast and painless to buy food and drink. Less and less fish is being consumed, as it is replaced with meat and preservatives. Children buy cheap toys and amusements. Television sets beam media waves into virtually every household. Such a quickly satisfying lifestyle has been difficult for Salangans to refuse. As time ensues, so too will the wrath of commercialization. Eventually, there will be a population that knows only how to live on demand.
Those who have lived to watch all of this change and growth prefer the days of past to those of the present. These older generations are dying out and will soon be unable to tell their stories of a world without ease. It is of utmost importance that culture and history be preserved in writing now, before it is buried beneath the sands of time forever. As each baby is born into the climbing economy, materialism steals another soul. The devil in the tree has been replaced by an even nastier beast. This monster is named Commercialization.