Saturday, July 31, 2010
Body Guard
Juan (name changed) is now my official body guard on the streets. It became official yesterday when we acknowledged his role openly. I have been actively looking for someone to fill this role as I start filming on the streets. Up until now, I’ve been filming my documentary, “Working Mothers”, based on the lives of the sex workers, in private spaces—in their homes, in the hotel where they work, at church, etc. I have only once dared to film openly in the street and I put myself in a dangerous situation. It lasted for less than half an hour because all the women warned me that the robbers were beginning to swarm around me like sharks coming in for the kill. I was sufficiently scared to put my video camera away and to never bring it back out in public. But unfortunately, as I continue filming, I can no longer avoid gathering critical footage from the street.
Juan has always “gotten my back.” He has always been one of my bodyguards—many people fill this role simultaneously, including the sex workers and random neighbors, store owners, the boyfriends of sex workers who are often themselves robbers and addicts. An example is A., who I went to visit in prison recently (see the purple plastic beads entry). He makes his living as a mugger but when it comes to me, he won’t let anyone come close. The people who know me on my corner know I’m an “untouchable,” the problem comes when robbers from other neighborhoods spot me, a vulnerable gringa standing with a bulky bag, often tape recorder in hand. I'm prime target for them, until one my bodyguards alerts them to my social position on the corner. Or, one of my bodyguards approaches me to tell me that such-and-such a person is scooping me out and that I should retreat into a lunch cafeteria or the hotel. As such, I always feel safe. In fact, as I’ve mentioned in many previous posts, I feel safer in this very dangerous area of Quito than in my own neighborhood, an elite area, since no one looks after me here.
The topic of Juan becoming my “official” bodyguard came up yesterday when he told me flat out that under no circumstances should I employ A.in this position. I'm still getting used to becoming the object of gossip, as every member of this (and any) community experiences. I guess the word got out that I'm looking for someone. Amused, I asked Juan why. He said that A. smokes base and is therefore unreliable—furthermore, A. is a dangerous man who beats his girlfriend, prone to violent rages and would definitely end up stealing my equipment. I had already come to this conclusion over the past few weeks as I’ve watched A. and his girlfriend, S.’s relationship deteriorate (which is why I was amused at J.’s insistence of A.’s “badness”—because it’s so obvious that A. would never EVER make an appropriate bodyguard!) I’ve become very wary of A. even though he still greets me with the same warmth. I would never want him to know that my feelings for him have changed, that I no longer trust him and now view him as a potential threat. I still believe he wouldn’t ever lay his hands on me, but knowing the details of the beatings he gives S. makes me keep him at a distance. But of course, things have to remain “cool” between us and I must always remain on his good side. Therefore, I never ever talk to him about his violent side, nor about his addiction to base, unless he brings it up, which he often does because he feels such remorse after beating S. or using drugs.
Anyway, I told Juan that I couldn’t agree more—that I had crossed A. off my list weeks ago. I agreed that it would be unbelievably stupid to employ a body guard who is addicted to base and is prone to violence. Juan seemed relieved. He seemed pleased to realize that I’m not THAT naïve as a dumb gringa… We sat in silence for a moment and then I popped the big question, “well Juan, when I start filming would YOU be interested in helping me out.” With a huge grin on his face, Juan replied, “yeah I can do that…I already do that, you know.” I told him that indeed, I did know—he has chased away many potential predators for me over the past 10 months. I fully trust Juan. He is the partner of one of the sex workers and is a house-dad. He takes care of their three children while K. works the streets. He doesn’t smoke base and is an admirable father. We decided that I would buy his children’s lunches as payment for days he guarded me on a shoot. There it goes. Perhaps I shouldn't, but I trust me instincts when it comes to Juan. I’m excited to now have an “official” body guard.
Juan has always “gotten my back.” He has always been one of my bodyguards—many people fill this role simultaneously, including the sex workers and random neighbors, store owners, the boyfriends of sex workers who are often themselves robbers and addicts. An example is A., who I went to visit in prison recently (see the purple plastic beads entry). He makes his living as a mugger but when it comes to me, he won’t let anyone come close. The people who know me on my corner know I’m an “untouchable,” the problem comes when robbers from other neighborhoods spot me, a vulnerable gringa standing with a bulky bag, often tape recorder in hand. I'm prime target for them, until one my bodyguards alerts them to my social position on the corner. Or, one of my bodyguards approaches me to tell me that such-and-such a person is scooping me out and that I should retreat into a lunch cafeteria or the hotel. As such, I always feel safe. In fact, as I’ve mentioned in many previous posts, I feel safer in this very dangerous area of Quito than in my own neighborhood, an elite area, since no one looks after me here.
The topic of Juan becoming my “official” bodyguard came up yesterday when he told me flat out that under no circumstances should I employ A.in this position. I'm still getting used to becoming the object of gossip, as every member of this (and any) community experiences. I guess the word got out that I'm looking for someone. Amused, I asked Juan why. He said that A. smokes base and is therefore unreliable—furthermore, A. is a dangerous man who beats his girlfriend, prone to violent rages and would definitely end up stealing my equipment. I had already come to this conclusion over the past few weeks as I’ve watched A. and his girlfriend, S.’s relationship deteriorate (which is why I was amused at J.’s insistence of A.’s “badness”—because it’s so obvious that A. would never EVER make an appropriate bodyguard!) I’ve become very wary of A. even though he still greets me with the same warmth. I would never want him to know that my feelings for him have changed, that I no longer trust him and now view him as a potential threat. I still believe he wouldn’t ever lay his hands on me, but knowing the details of the beatings he gives S. makes me keep him at a distance. But of course, things have to remain “cool” between us and I must always remain on his good side. Therefore, I never ever talk to him about his violent side, nor about his addiction to base, unless he brings it up, which he often does because he feels such remorse after beating S. or using drugs.
Anyway, I told Juan that I couldn’t agree more—that I had crossed A. off my list weeks ago. I agreed that it would be unbelievably stupid to employ a body guard who is addicted to base and is prone to violence. Juan seemed relieved. He seemed pleased to realize that I’m not THAT naïve as a dumb gringa… We sat in silence for a moment and then I popped the big question, “well Juan, when I start filming would YOU be interested in helping me out.” With a huge grin on his face, Juan replied, “yeah I can do that…I already do that, you know.” I told him that indeed, I did know—he has chased away many potential predators for me over the past 10 months. I fully trust Juan. He is the partner of one of the sex workers and is a house-dad. He takes care of their three children while K. works the streets. He doesn’t smoke base and is an admirable father. We decided that I would buy his children’s lunches as payment for days he guarded me on a shoot. There it goes. Perhaps I shouldn't, but I trust me instincts when it comes to Juan. I’m excited to now have an “official” body guard.
School's out....
School’s out for summer. That means that the sex workers’ kids are being shuffled into various activities and that they must shift their work schedules. For some of the women school vacation works to their economic advantage, while for others, it’s a time of crisis. For example, some of the women can’t work at all because they can’t afford camp or fulltime daycare. Only when they find friends or relatives to babysit can they come out to the corner for a bit. Some of the women work significantly more because they send their children to extended family’s homes on the coast. My friend V. for instance is working “day and night” as much as possible during the two weeks her daughters are away. She can finally work full-time now that she doesn’t have to also be a fulltime mother. Some of the women were able to enroll their children in free municipal day-camps which means their work schedules have remained steady. V. and her friend A. both sent their children to their respective mothers’ homes on the coast and as such, they plan to travel to Cuenca, another city in the midlands, to work the streets there for a few days (rumor has it that business in Cuenca is booming at the moment).
All of the women are using this time to earn the money needed for their children’s school pensions. School starts again in September and many costs accompany the new year, despite the fact that school itself is supposedly “free.” For example, women must pay a pension, school uniforms, notebooks, and even some text and work books. The schools lack resources so the parents must pitch in for supplies. More than anything else, the sex workers have been fretting about earning the money needed for the upcoming school year. Their children are all enrolled in different schools around the city. Many of the women put their kids in schools far from the historic center so no one will know they work as prostitutes. My friend, H. explains that that is her worst fear—that the teachers and other kids at her sons’ school will find out that she’s a sex worker. She says that she would “die from humiliation” if someone found out what she did for a living. Plus, she said it would be the worst fate for her kids—given that “hijo de puta” (son of a whore) is one of the worst insults in Ecuadorian society, I can understand H.’s wish for anonymity.
One of the sex workers had her son in a Catholic school in the historic center and apparently, when one of the nuns found out that she worked as a prostitute, they proceeded to kick her son out of school. This is such a typical discriminatory act that sex workers face here—in this conservative, Catholic country nuns condemn sex workers, treating them as social lepers. Even their children are “infected” and might bring their mothers’ filth and indecency into the school. The children don’t know that their mothers are prostitutes and as such, it must be confusing for them to be kicked out of school for apparently no reason. The women are good at coming up with excuses and tell “tall tales” to protect their children. Unfortunately, many of the women must tell one lie after another, to everyone—to their families and children, to schools, to government administrators, etc.. They lead double lives and their school age children often experience the brunt of it even though they are often clueless to why they’re treated differently (and unfairly) from their peers.
Many of the women had pensions due this week and had to pay them promptly in order to save their children’s spot in a school. Some of the municipal schools are very good, at least for public schools; the parents enter their children in a lottery at several schools and then wait to see where they’re accepted. But if the women can’t pay the pension on time some of the schools fill up and their kids might miss an entire academic year. When the women can’t place their kids at any school, they try their best to teach them at home. This happens more successfully in some cases than in others. Some of the women themselves don’t have much education and therefore can’t teach their children more than elementary lessons. However, it seems as if for most of the women, their children’s education is their number one priority. As such, they always figure out a way to come up with the school pension, even if it means working late into the night when things get very dangerous on the streets. My friend V. is so obsessed with her children’s education that she gives her kids extra homework on the weekends in addition to their regular school work. She’s determined that they’ll attend university and therefore avoid employment in sex work at all cost.
Not all of the women choose their children’s education as a priority. These women are generally addicts and have long ago abandoned their children to various family members on the coast. Perhaps some of them came to Quito alone with the intention of sending money home each week to support their kids but once they arrived, fell into lives of delinquency and drugs. Or others came to Quito with their children but when family members realized that they had become unfit mothers, they came to collect the children. Some of the children of women who become addicts leave school at a premature age because no one can pay for their pensions. Perhaps these kids also have absent fathers or live with family members in such poverty that they must start working at a very young age. (Human Rights Watch recently intervened in multinational corporations in Ecuador whose huge banana plantations exploited child laborers). All of these plantations are on the coast in small cities where many of the women originate from. Some of the women have such little education themselves, they figure their children can also “get by” in life without much of their own. Or perhaps are so distracted by drama in their personal lives, often due to abusive partners that they can’t think as much about their children’s education.
I must say though, the vast majority of the sex workers fight tooth and nail to earn the money for the kids’ school expenses. I rarely meet women who don’t consider education a priority. As such, summer vacation is a stressful time because it’s when all the money for the upcoming year must be earned since most of the expenses are due in September. There’s an added sense of stress on the streets at the moment, but I know that the women will figure out way to gather the money, as they always do….
All of the women are using this time to earn the money needed for their children’s school pensions. School starts again in September and many costs accompany the new year, despite the fact that school itself is supposedly “free.” For example, women must pay a pension, school uniforms, notebooks, and even some text and work books. The schools lack resources so the parents must pitch in for supplies. More than anything else, the sex workers have been fretting about earning the money needed for the upcoming school year. Their children are all enrolled in different schools around the city. Many of the women put their kids in schools far from the historic center so no one will know they work as prostitutes. My friend, H. explains that that is her worst fear—that the teachers and other kids at her sons’ school will find out that she’s a sex worker. She says that she would “die from humiliation” if someone found out what she did for a living. Plus, she said it would be the worst fate for her kids—given that “hijo de puta” (son of a whore) is one of the worst insults in Ecuadorian society, I can understand H.’s wish for anonymity.
One of the sex workers had her son in a Catholic school in the historic center and apparently, when one of the nuns found out that she worked as a prostitute, they proceeded to kick her son out of school. This is such a typical discriminatory act that sex workers face here—in this conservative, Catholic country nuns condemn sex workers, treating them as social lepers. Even their children are “infected” and might bring their mothers’ filth and indecency into the school. The children don’t know that their mothers are prostitutes and as such, it must be confusing for them to be kicked out of school for apparently no reason. The women are good at coming up with excuses and tell “tall tales” to protect their children. Unfortunately, many of the women must tell one lie after another, to everyone—to their families and children, to schools, to government administrators, etc.. They lead double lives and their school age children often experience the brunt of it even though they are often clueless to why they’re treated differently (and unfairly) from their peers.
Many of the women had pensions due this week and had to pay them promptly in order to save their children’s spot in a school. Some of the municipal schools are very good, at least for public schools; the parents enter their children in a lottery at several schools and then wait to see where they’re accepted. But if the women can’t pay the pension on time some of the schools fill up and their kids might miss an entire academic year. When the women can’t place their kids at any school, they try their best to teach them at home. This happens more successfully in some cases than in others. Some of the women themselves don’t have much education and therefore can’t teach their children more than elementary lessons. However, it seems as if for most of the women, their children’s education is their number one priority. As such, they always figure out a way to come up with the school pension, even if it means working late into the night when things get very dangerous on the streets. My friend V. is so obsessed with her children’s education that she gives her kids extra homework on the weekends in addition to their regular school work. She’s determined that they’ll attend university and therefore avoid employment in sex work at all cost.
Not all of the women choose their children’s education as a priority. These women are generally addicts and have long ago abandoned their children to various family members on the coast. Perhaps some of them came to Quito alone with the intention of sending money home each week to support their kids but once they arrived, fell into lives of delinquency and drugs. Or others came to Quito with their children but when family members realized that they had become unfit mothers, they came to collect the children. Some of the children of women who become addicts leave school at a premature age because no one can pay for their pensions. Perhaps these kids also have absent fathers or live with family members in such poverty that they must start working at a very young age. (Human Rights Watch recently intervened in multinational corporations in Ecuador whose huge banana plantations exploited child laborers). All of these plantations are on the coast in small cities where many of the women originate from. Some of the women have such little education themselves, they figure their children can also “get by” in life without much of their own. Or perhaps are so distracted by drama in their personal lives, often due to abusive partners that they can’t think as much about their children’s education.
I must say though, the vast majority of the sex workers fight tooth and nail to earn the money for the kids’ school expenses. I rarely meet women who don’t consider education a priority. As such, summer vacation is a stressful time because it’s when all the money for the upcoming year must be earned since most of the expenses are due in September. There’s an added sense of stress on the streets at the moment, but I know that the women will figure out way to gather the money, as they always do….
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Female Condom
The female condom could drastically change business on Espejo and Montufar Street in Quito’s historic center. A nurse came to give the sex workers a workshop on how the female condom works, how to insert it, etc. She came bouncing in with the lower half of a female’s anatomy. I must admit, I felt as intimidated as the other women by this newish product on the market, mostly because it’s so bulky—it looks like a narrow plastic bag with two circles, one open and the other closed, at each end. It’s about time the female condom arrived to Ecuador. As the sex workers watched the demonstration they took notes and whispered to one another about how it functions. They were eager to learn because as I said, the female condom could shift the entire game of sex work, in the women’s favor.
J. is one of the veteran prostitutes and has been using the female condom for a few years. She had already talked about it with the other women, praising its benefits. The principle advantage of the female condom is that it suddenly solves the conundrum that all sex workers find themselves in—they find themselves having to make a life or death decision in a split second based on their finances or their addictions. Many of the clients prefer to have sex with the sex workers without a condom (don’t ask me why), and are often willing to pay double the price to do so (10 instead of 5 dollars). Most of the women refuse the offer for obvious reasons, they want to stay safe, so they lose a lot of clients to women who are either in dire straits economically or who are unfortunately, drug addicts, desperate for their next hit.
J. explained that she’s been using the female condom for years because now she can accept all these clients who don’t want to use a condom. Once they are in the hotel room, J. excuses herself to the bathroom to insert the female condom, and apparently the client never knows the difference. He pays her double price and thinks he’s just had sex without a condom. It’s the perfect way to trick clients. The other women asked J. to confirm if she was absolutely certain the clients don’t feel the female condom during sex….obviously, if a client found out he was being duped, the prostitute would find herself in a very dangerous situation. Especially because he had just paid double to be with her. But what does it matter? He IS having sex without a male condom, and obviously that’s what makes the difference sensation-wise. The women have been thrilled to learn about this new method to squeeze more money out of their clients, while at the same time, staying safe.
Obviously the problem with male condoms is that during sex a woman has very little control over whether her partner will actually use it or not. Even though the sex workers insist on using condoms (a male condom and piece of toilet paper are included in the $3 bed-fee when the client pays the hotel), there are cases when her client refuses to put it on at the time of intercourse. That can lead to the sex worker losing money or, in the worst case, coercion or rape without a condom. It’s hard to believe that the female condom has only recently come into circulation. For women to have complete freedom over their sexual rights, they have needed a product like this one in order to be pro-active about their health. In the best cases, men will agree to use a condom, but often women (not just the sex workers, obviously), become convinced not to use one in the moment. Given these possibilities, I think it’s a huge step forward in women’s rights that we have our own condom we can use whether our partners agree to them or not. They don’t even have to know about it. So indeed, we’ve waited many years after the anti-contraceptive pill for the next step in women’s sexual freedom.
The only complaint about the female condom is that it’s a bit difficult to use. It’s best to attend a workshop to learn how to insert it correctly, although J. said she figured it out after a few times. (But one should really have it figured it out for the first time of use!) Also, in Ecuador it’s still expensive. I’m not sure even how much it costs in the U.S. but here it costs perhaps $2-3 dollars for one. That is a huge amount of money for sex workers in San Marcos because they only earn $5 per client for full service. At the moment, one of the sex workers is selling them for a dollar each, but that’s still triple what a condom costs. One can usually buy 3 male condoms for a dollar here. (just $.33 for each one). But hopefully, the women wouldn’t have to use the female condom every time, only with those select clients who truly insist on not using the male condom. The women were giddy after the workshop—eager to try out the female condom, a revolutionary product for them that will saves lives and help them earn a bit more money….perhaps until the word gets out.
J. is one of the veteran prostitutes and has been using the female condom for a few years. She had already talked about it with the other women, praising its benefits. The principle advantage of the female condom is that it suddenly solves the conundrum that all sex workers find themselves in—they find themselves having to make a life or death decision in a split second based on their finances or their addictions. Many of the clients prefer to have sex with the sex workers without a condom (don’t ask me why), and are often willing to pay double the price to do so (10 instead of 5 dollars). Most of the women refuse the offer for obvious reasons, they want to stay safe, so they lose a lot of clients to women who are either in dire straits economically or who are unfortunately, drug addicts, desperate for their next hit.
J. explained that she’s been using the female condom for years because now she can accept all these clients who don’t want to use a condom. Once they are in the hotel room, J. excuses herself to the bathroom to insert the female condom, and apparently the client never knows the difference. He pays her double price and thinks he’s just had sex without a condom. It’s the perfect way to trick clients. The other women asked J. to confirm if she was absolutely certain the clients don’t feel the female condom during sex….obviously, if a client found out he was being duped, the prostitute would find herself in a very dangerous situation. Especially because he had just paid double to be with her. But what does it matter? He IS having sex without a male condom, and obviously that’s what makes the difference sensation-wise. The women have been thrilled to learn about this new method to squeeze more money out of their clients, while at the same time, staying safe.
Obviously the problem with male condoms is that during sex a woman has very little control over whether her partner will actually use it or not. Even though the sex workers insist on using condoms (a male condom and piece of toilet paper are included in the $3 bed-fee when the client pays the hotel), there are cases when her client refuses to put it on at the time of intercourse. That can lead to the sex worker losing money or, in the worst case, coercion or rape without a condom. It’s hard to believe that the female condom has only recently come into circulation. For women to have complete freedom over their sexual rights, they have needed a product like this one in order to be pro-active about their health. In the best cases, men will agree to use a condom, but often women (not just the sex workers, obviously), become convinced not to use one in the moment. Given these possibilities, I think it’s a huge step forward in women’s rights that we have our own condom we can use whether our partners agree to them or not. They don’t even have to know about it. So indeed, we’ve waited many years after the anti-contraceptive pill for the next step in women’s sexual freedom.
The only complaint about the female condom is that it’s a bit difficult to use. It’s best to attend a workshop to learn how to insert it correctly, although J. said she figured it out after a few times. (But one should really have it figured it out for the first time of use!) Also, in Ecuador it’s still expensive. I’m not sure even how much it costs in the U.S. but here it costs perhaps $2-3 dollars for one. That is a huge amount of money for sex workers in San Marcos because they only earn $5 per client for full service. At the moment, one of the sex workers is selling them for a dollar each, but that’s still triple what a condom costs. One can usually buy 3 male condoms for a dollar here. (just $.33 for each one). But hopefully, the women wouldn’t have to use the female condom every time, only with those select clients who truly insist on not using the male condom. The women were giddy after the workshop—eager to try out the female condom, a revolutionary product for them that will saves lives and help them earn a bit more money….perhaps until the word gets out.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Neighborhood Divisions
For the past few weeks, I’ve delved into the neighborhood politics and social relations in the area of the historic center where the sex workers work, the barrio of San Marcos. I’ve been surprised by how divided San Marcos is, not just on the issue of prostitution, but on everything under the sun—how garbage should be collected (what time of day people can start placing it on the street for pick up that night), how they envision the future of San Marcos generally, how they should control crime (some want alarms installed on the front of every house), how they should handle increasingly “errant” children and teenagers….parking dilemmas, curfews, conflicts over the planning of the festivities of August 10th, a national holiday in Ecuador in honor of one of the first battles of independence of 1810. One strong group is the old-timers--some of these families have lived in San Marcos for several generations and have lived their entire lives within the confines of the three principle streets. Some of them are now in their 60s or older, but many of their children have also chosen to remain in the neighborhood.
The largest clashes are between these old time residents and newly arrived business owners who are set on gentrifying the neighborhood. For instance, in the past 10-15 years, six new museums and cultural institutions have arrived, 2 in the past 3 years. San Marcos is a quaint, beautiful area of the historic center with colonial and republican architecture, but since most of the (huge) homes have been occupied by just one family over several generations, their original details are still intact despite their poor condition--they’ve never been renovated which means these grand homes are a gold-mine for new investors who want to start “boutique hotels,” fancy restaurants, new art museums, galleries, etc. Similar to other parts of Quito’s historic center, many families started dividing their grand homes into smaller apartments to rent out to new families migrating from rural areas in the 1970s. But for whatever reason, this process happened less in San Marcos than in other areas of the historic center, perhaps because it is a bit further from the Plaza Grande and due to its geography has always been set apart from the rest of the Centro. (It developed as a tiny neighborhood of only 3 streets between two deep ravines—it ends in a dead-end so there are only 2 ways to enter it and you are forced to exit in the same way you entered….)
The old-time residents get annoyed because they don’t feel included in the plans of the new business owners. For instance, at the last Neighborhood Association, the neighbors complained that the new art gallery and museums were over-looking local artists in favor of exhibiting artists from other parts of the country or at times from other parts of the world. The business owners of cultural institutions do not tend to promote local artists or even invite the residents of San Marcos to their events. Some of the museums have said they’ve tried to invite the residents in the past but none of them ever come so they’ve given up. The tensions boil down to class issues. The old-time residents of the neighborhood belong to the middle or lower classes. Indeed, there are very few wealthy families left in San Marcos. The new arrivals are very wealthy Quitenos who have decided to invest in a beautiful neighborhood that they view as having serious business potential. Most of the new business owners do not actually live in San Marcos, they still live in North Quito, although that is changing—one of the gallery owners just bought a house in the neighborhood and is in the process of restoring it. Several wealthy individuals from North Quito have bought and restored some of the grand homes of the neighborhood in recent years, so there is a definite movement of the upper classes reclaiming San Marcos as “their territory.”
The old timers who have been there for 25 years or more feel threatened by the new wealth in their neighborhood. They are definitely wary of the new arrivals, even though some of these businesses might be economically beneficial to them too, especially if there is more foot traffic in the area. The two groups are at odds in their visions for the future of San Marcos and have very different concerns for the present. For instance, the new business owners consider prostitution and security issues as their absolute top priority because they feel these are the biggest obstacles to the barrio’s gentrification. As long as sex workers are standing on the corners of the neighborhood’s entrance, tourists will not feel comfortable visiting the area. The new arrivals seem to think the neighborhood is incredibly dangerous, which is debatable. Some parts are, especially where the sex workers work, but others are very safe, at least during the day.
The old time residents A) don’t feel the neighborhood is dangerous in the slightest and B) don’t have as strong opinions on prostitution because it has existed in the area for a decade. They seem resigned to the fact that the sex workers have claimed two streets on the periphery as their own. It seems that as long as the sex workers do not actually enter the neighborhood, (which they don’t), the residents don’t seem to care. The residents are more concerned about continuing to be included in the changes of the neighborhood. They have mixed feelings about tourists visiting the barrio because San Marcos has always been a very quiet area. They don’t want more restaurants and definitely no bars at all because that would dramatically change the family atmosphere of the neighborhood. As it stands, not one store in San Marcos sells alcohol. It is not an official law or ordinance, it’s just something the neighbors have agreed upon together. For now no bars have moved in and all the restaurants are only open for lunch, so tensions around night festivities have not yet come to a head, but it’s definitely an issue on people’s minds and a worry for the future. The residents seem to realize that they wouldn’t have any power to stop a bar from moving in.
It surprised me that there are some residents who refused to sign a petition created by one of the new business owners demanding that the prostitutes be removed from the neighborhood. It seems that as long as these stark divisions and antagonisms exist between old and new residents/business owners, the sex workers will be able to work without worry. Only if San Marcos becomes a unified front could they make such a drastic change of kicking the women out.
The largest clashes are between these old time residents and newly arrived business owners who are set on gentrifying the neighborhood. For instance, in the past 10-15 years, six new museums and cultural institutions have arrived, 2 in the past 3 years. San Marcos is a quaint, beautiful area of the historic center with colonial and republican architecture, but since most of the (huge) homes have been occupied by just one family over several generations, their original details are still intact despite their poor condition--they’ve never been renovated which means these grand homes are a gold-mine for new investors who want to start “boutique hotels,” fancy restaurants, new art museums, galleries, etc. Similar to other parts of Quito’s historic center, many families started dividing their grand homes into smaller apartments to rent out to new families migrating from rural areas in the 1970s. But for whatever reason, this process happened less in San Marcos than in other areas of the historic center, perhaps because it is a bit further from the Plaza Grande and due to its geography has always been set apart from the rest of the Centro. (It developed as a tiny neighborhood of only 3 streets between two deep ravines—it ends in a dead-end so there are only 2 ways to enter it and you are forced to exit in the same way you entered….)
The old-time residents get annoyed because they don’t feel included in the plans of the new business owners. For instance, at the last Neighborhood Association, the neighbors complained that the new art gallery and museums were over-looking local artists in favor of exhibiting artists from other parts of the country or at times from other parts of the world. The business owners of cultural institutions do not tend to promote local artists or even invite the residents of San Marcos to their events. Some of the museums have said they’ve tried to invite the residents in the past but none of them ever come so they’ve given up. The tensions boil down to class issues. The old-time residents of the neighborhood belong to the middle or lower classes. Indeed, there are very few wealthy families left in San Marcos. The new arrivals are very wealthy Quitenos who have decided to invest in a beautiful neighborhood that they view as having serious business potential. Most of the new business owners do not actually live in San Marcos, they still live in North Quito, although that is changing—one of the gallery owners just bought a house in the neighborhood and is in the process of restoring it. Several wealthy individuals from North Quito have bought and restored some of the grand homes of the neighborhood in recent years, so there is a definite movement of the upper classes reclaiming San Marcos as “their territory.”
The old timers who have been there for 25 years or more feel threatened by the new wealth in their neighborhood. They are definitely wary of the new arrivals, even though some of these businesses might be economically beneficial to them too, especially if there is more foot traffic in the area. The two groups are at odds in their visions for the future of San Marcos and have very different concerns for the present. For instance, the new business owners consider prostitution and security issues as their absolute top priority because they feel these are the biggest obstacles to the barrio’s gentrification. As long as sex workers are standing on the corners of the neighborhood’s entrance, tourists will not feel comfortable visiting the area. The new arrivals seem to think the neighborhood is incredibly dangerous, which is debatable. Some parts are, especially where the sex workers work, but others are very safe, at least during the day.
The old time residents A) don’t feel the neighborhood is dangerous in the slightest and B) don’t have as strong opinions on prostitution because it has existed in the area for a decade. They seem resigned to the fact that the sex workers have claimed two streets on the periphery as their own. It seems that as long as the sex workers do not actually enter the neighborhood, (which they don’t), the residents don’t seem to care. The residents are more concerned about continuing to be included in the changes of the neighborhood. They have mixed feelings about tourists visiting the barrio because San Marcos has always been a very quiet area. They don’t want more restaurants and definitely no bars at all because that would dramatically change the family atmosphere of the neighborhood. As it stands, not one store in San Marcos sells alcohol. It is not an official law or ordinance, it’s just something the neighbors have agreed upon together. For now no bars have moved in and all the restaurants are only open for lunch, so tensions around night festivities have not yet come to a head, but it’s definitely an issue on people’s minds and a worry for the future. The residents seem to realize that they wouldn’t have any power to stop a bar from moving in.
It surprised me that there are some residents who refused to sign a petition created by one of the new business owners demanding that the prostitutes be removed from the neighborhood. It seems that as long as these stark divisions and antagonisms exist between old and new residents/business owners, the sex workers will be able to work without worry. Only if San Marcos becomes a unified front could they make such a drastic change of kicking the women out.
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