Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa

South Tenerife is one of the most breathtaking destinations on this planet and offers a lot of sun-bathed activities for the visitors looking to loosen up and experience a new culture. One of the places you should not miss is El Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa, or "Market of Our Lady of Africa", a famous and imposing collection of market stalls, shops and eating places located on the Avenida de San Sebastián in Santa Cruz. This large, salmon colored building takes up a huge space just to the south of the Barranco de Santos, a gorge that runs through the city. These days, this gorge has roads in it, but, back when the market was first built, it was just that - a gorge - marking the natural boundary of Santa Cruz to the north, which was much smaller in size than it is today. So, grab your Santa Cruz airport taxi transfers and head for an adventure.
 

How the market came into existence

This large, fixed market was originally constructed under the jurisdiction of a certain General Serrador, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War. He decided that the existing market, on the northern side of the gorge, was too small to accommodate the ever-increasing volume of people and the increasing potential of trade. This decision, made back in 1942, was the first step in the expansion of the city and, doing building activities on the south side of the gorge necessitated the construction of a bridge across it. Needless to add, this bridge still exists (along with, now, many others) today and is named after its builder: General Serrador Bridge. Hence, make sure to look for it while visiting.

An interesting fact is that the name of the market is in honor of the General's wife. This place soon established itself as the major center for food trade and distribution for not only Santa Cruz, but the whole of Tenerife. Its golden era was the 1960s. However, a possible crisis loomed in the 80s, with the appearance of chains of supermarkets and hypermarkets. Many other fixed markets went under, or were bought out by the supermarket retail giants, but Nuestra Senora de Africa managed to survive, due to its history, popularity and the quality of its produce.

A further crisis occurred as recently as 1995. The market, answerable to the Santa Cruz Town Hall, was being swamped by bureaucracy. Council decisions were slow to be made, there was a complete absence of any trade policy and the market was being allowed to fall into disrepair. Members of the council dealing with the Market were always changing, so there was no continuity in decision making. All this changed in July of the same year, with a totally new outlook on the upkeep and management of the market. Many additions and improvements were made, like establishment of market security and improvement of cleaning services, longer working hours (now including Sundays), addition of new businesses, opening a new Mall Annex, featuring fashion, accessories and cafes, refurbishing the Rambla kiosks, as well as opening a free carpark. All these measures have helped the Market go to new levels of strength.
 

Facilities

There are three main areas in this giant market complex, plus a central courtyard: the market, the commercial center and Blue Rambla.
 

The Market

This takes up most of the building and its surroundings. You will find various stalls around the outside, selling fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers, interspersed with cafes and eating places. There is also a supermarket on the bottom floor. There is a large fish market, a meat market and a "foreign market".
 

The Commercial Centre

This is a smart, covered area which is basically a shopping mall. Indeed, it is otherwise known as "The Mall" and gets away from the food stalls, featuring retail outlets as clothing and other fashion items.
 

Blue Rambla

This is a collection of stalls and kiosks on the outside of the building, characterized by their blue color and bright, stripy blue awnings. Hence, the name. The shade from the awnings mean you can browse the various stalls out of the sun.
 

The Courtyard

This central area is a place to take a break, sit and have a drink in one of the cafes. It also features a recently included attraction, Nenelandia, which is a children's playground, added to attract more families to the market. The courtyard is a great spot for wine tastings and live musical performances too.
 

How to tind it

The Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa is situated not far from the sea and quite near the main thoroughfare Avenida Tres de Mayo. A good idea is to look out for the tower, a famous landmark of Santa Cruz, and aim for that direction. Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa’s opening times are Monday to Sunday, 6am-3pm, The Mall is open Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm, Saturday, 9am-3pm and Sunday, 10am-3pm. Blue Rambla is open Monday to Sunday, 9am-1:30pm.
 

Cafes and Restaurants

The Market boasts no less than 12 different eating places, so here’s what you’d find:

• Cafeteria Moneiva - grilled chicken and takeaway service
• President Churreria - churros
• Patio Bar Terrace - sandwiches and smoothies
• Arcade Foods
• Worship Tasca - specializing in shark
• Flavours Cafe
• Cantabrian Cafeteria - specialist snacks and local food
• Typical Canarian Food
• The Snack - various tapas
• Francisco Antonio Tasca - specializing in goat meat
• La Tasca de Ana - typically Canarian food
• The Market Eater - homemade food, self service

Enjoying this market is one of the best visits you’ll make during your Tenerife holiday. You can buy many souvenirs and enjoy amazing local food for a really good price. There’s cheap taxi at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, so even if you’re a bit tired afterwards, you can grab a nap at the hotel. So, whenever planning a trip here, make sure to add the market on your agenda.