A wise person once told me that the great thing about cooking is that although it is an art form, like painting or dancing, it is the only one that is born out of necessity. Out of the need to nourish ourselves. And it is because of this that it is present in all cultures and places. We all need food to survive, that is obvious, however, the way we relate to ingredients and think about eating rituals is different around the world. Food is and has always been in the center of our social and cultural life, and it is around this life that markets were born. Far more than only commercial centers, markets were crucial public spaces around which people gathered. Today, thanks to the growth of supermarket chains and commodification, they have become unfamiliar to most people around the world. They are far from the sterilized environment we have grown accustomed to. Far from the supply of over-packaged and mass-produced goods that are transported long distances from all over the world for our consumption. Contrary to the convenience of supermarkets, the beauty of marketplaces is in the regional. What makes each market special lies on what they can tell us about their environment and the imperfect uniqueness of their products.
-Nagyvásárcsarnok (Great Market Hall). Budapest, Hungary
-La Boqueria. Barcelona, Spain
-Paloquemao. Bogota, Colombia
The market as a place, where land and culture come together to showcase both nature and traditions.
