Chedraui Owie

[DonJuane]

Toured the new Chedraui last night and in 10 words or less: "Bodega Aurrera size-x-5 with a great vegetable selection". For me that was it in a nutshell. Yes there were some winners and the isles were tough to see through with 6 people per square meter in front of each shelf but overall a severe letdown and I am sure in contrast (from the crowds) a great level of excitement for the locals. Of course my foolish dreams of another Queteraro City Market were laughable but at the same time I was expecting something a little more upscale (or at least a small section) than seen from a comparison to the northwestern part of town's half-stocked Soriana. When La Commercial or Sorianna or whatever it is called today (downtown GTO market close to Mercado Hidalgo) looks comparatively like a gourmet offering, this new market is not a lot to get excited about. Still the shiny and the new was overwhelming (as well as the over powered blasting band at the food court on entry) but the stacks of beans and other dried bag fare still in the shipping boxes with only the sides cut away from them as store displays still shouted, we must still be scratching our head at the Bodega Aurrera.

The entire time this thing was being built, the question among friends was always "how can they expect such an elaborate thing to go over in this neighborhood" and with knowing well the demographics of the area and the limits to my own pocket book, I had to agree. Who could afford such a new fancy shopping mall? Certainly not me. Still after being experienced traveling across Mexico it was sad that this iteration didn't offer at least one quarter of what other Chadrauis do that I've seen while driving or busing around Mexico. This local shop did however made it clear their targeted competition by displaying two shopping carts comparing the same shopping baskets with a Chadraui bill for 500 Pesos taped to one basket and a "Bodega Aurrera" bill taped to the other listed at 800 Pesos.

I'm constantly shamed for shunning these things, however. People always say to me to "let the people do what they want and enjoy what they want and if they want to go to the mall, then bless them and let them enjoy and just stay out of it" Still my mind cracks a bit and heart aches a bit wondering how is it that a community struggling to survive like most people in this area are and how long they will be able to funnel up every penny they make into the pockets of this country's well-to-do oligarchs rather than the local grocers that have kept them them fed and happily for decades. Or should I ask, were the residents here all simply busing up to the Bodega Aurrera before this thing showed up, while feeding the greedy pockets of the Walton oligarchs in the US instead? I'm not sure exactly how long this model of "poor feeding the rich" can last and while I believed the solidarity and small business mentality of some Mexican communities was just too tight to break up, the unveiling of this market and its success just proves that anywhere is fair game in today's world of migrating values.