On Monday, the Municipality of San José (MSJ) made the official presentation of the Municipal Artisan’s Market, which houses about 80 artisans who inhabited Calle 13 Bis, in Cuesta de Moras until Friday.
The authorities of the municipality and the Catholic Church participated in the activity. Johnny Araya, mayor of San José, said that this is
a special day, a day to be happy because we have a great event to celebrate. It is no exaggeration to say that today we are writing a new page in the history of the capital city. This act marks the end of a conflict and the beginning of a dream. The beginning of a project that we have been working together for a long time in the midst of a difficult environment.”
The space has been disputed nearly over a decade, before the refusal of the craftsmen to move to the new space for more than two years after its opening. Araya commented that this conflict should serve as a reference to open doors to dialogue.
A few weeks ago, Juan Rodríguez, who, in addition to being a craftsman, is one of the organizers and coordinators of the transfer process, said that up to now there were about 60 and that another 28 were still thinking if they were moving.
The municipality invested ¢ 2,400 million in this new space that has 88 sales posts (80 of which are already occupied). The Market was carried out in two stages, in the second phase remodels and extensions were executed according to some observations of the vendors. A room for Internet was built and a space where a restaurant of traditional food will soon be operating.