El Hueco – The Hole
August 30, 2008
There was supposed to have been a Government building here, a twin tower the same as the one that is found across the road, but the utter collapse of the Peruvian economy under the stewardship of Alan García put an end to construction before it even began, leaving a huge hole in the ground where the foundations were supposed to be.
In 1984 street sellers moved in, turning this deep hole in the ground on Avenida Abancay into an informal market. As with all Lima’s informal markets, El Hueco specialises in pirated goods – from DVDs to clothes and even to medicine.
It is these illegal activities, particularly the dangerous ones, that have prompted authorities to take action on several occasions. In July 2007 Police launched a raid at El Hueco in which 15 million soles (5 million USD) of expired, fake or unfit medicine was found being sold to the public and to small scale pharmacies, and potentially ending up in the state health system.
El Hueco has been closed several times as a health hazard. The deep hole in the ground is filled with thousands of stalls with make-shift roofing. Dangerously wired electricity connections run to each stall, passage-ways are narrow, exits are few and far between, no fire extinguishers exist and the whole thing could collapse in on itself in the event of an earthquake. It could potentially end in a disaster such as the terrible Mesa Redonda fire.
In response to the repeated closures, stall holders have made many improvements. Proper signage, fire extinguishers and medical kits can now be found. No medicine is now any more and some stalls even sell a few original items.
In a country where about half the population still live in poverty, a number that is decreasing slowly by a few percent each year, vendors have little choice but to work here. The majority of Peruvians have a somewhat casual recklessness when it comes to human life, but this is born out of poverty and having little other choice. This is why most customers visit El Hueco. Saving a few cents, or even a few soles is worth the hassle.
Being located in a fairly unpleasant area of central Lima, things are cheap and there are some great bargains to be had. The latest blockbuster movie on DVD, while costing as much as 3-5 soles in most of Lima is bought for only S./ 1.50 here – in fact, this is where everyone’s favourite pirate DVD sellers come to get their own supply of DVDs. If you are interested in owning a huge movie collection and want change from $30 US, this is the place to come. Use that change perhaps on a new pair of Merrell boots! You’ll get a much better deal that at the more famous Polvos Azules.
Due to the trouble with the law, taking photos, or “evidence” as a court might call it, in El Hueco is not easy, security guards got extremely confrontational with me.
All could soon change however. In line with Peru’s phenomenal economic growth, plans have been afoot for over a year to turn El Hueco into a fancy(ier) shopping centre, where, El Hueco’s administration assures, the selling of fake goods will be history.
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I love El Hueco, and everything about it: its unusual yet typically Peruvian genesis, the descent down those creepy stairs into a shoppers delight, and the fact it’s located somewhere I usually pass whenever I’m in Lima. I must admit, each time I am in El Hueco’s bowels, I wonder how I’d get out if there were a fire or earthquake. That doesn’t keep me from visiting. Sometimes I’m just ‘sapeando’, looking around, but other times I conduct some hard bargaining for (pirate) DVDs and music. It will be very interesting if it really does become a fancier shopping center. Saludos!
Heh, it’s not a secret why they are confrontational about photos. I gotta say I’ve never been to El Hueco. I guess I should hurry if I still want to find cheap stuff before it turns into a regular (but thanks god more secure) shopping center.
While being threatened I explained that taking photos of the entrance from the street is not illegal, that despite the market being private property, the street isn’t.
They didn’t listen. I now have dozens of stock-photos of peoples hands.
Dear Stuart:
First I want you to excuse my very poor english and second welcome you and your family to my country. I will try now to make a few comments and bring you some important facts.
Peru imports more than 120 millions of blank disks per year and less than 10% are used for legal purpose. The rest is for piracy. Those poor people you see at “El hueco” are the frontline used by criminal bands that manages a US $ 100 million plus industry. Don’t let they fool you. Piracy is not a question between poors and richs. It´s a business war between two very big contenders: big corporations and government on one side, and big criminals and corruption on the other side.
It´s true that we in Peru really don’t feel sorry for the the Hollywood industry. And we should not, it´s a very healthy and millionaire industry. But we are very worried for the music and film peruvian industry, that it’s almost non existent because of a weak market ruled by piracy and corruption. For us, the main consecuence of piracy it´s that peruvian movies are not even printed in dvd legally because the producers know that if they have a success, it will be fastly pirated by others. You can find peruvian movies in Argentina, Spain, even in the US, but not in Peru. Our best musicians, actors or talent emigrate to Spain or Argentine because they know that peruvian market is corrupted and they can do for living here, abroad they can be paid for their art.
As we killed our own cultural industry we are also killing our morality. Look what has happened to you in the entrance. In order to take photos you argue your civil rights, you cuote the law. But in the place you choose to do there is no law, there is only corruption. If you have tried to do the same by giving a 50 soles bill to the guy at the entrance you had succeed, believe me.
Reading your chronicles it looks that our piracy centers are tourist attractions and can be improved. That´s wrong. No matter how much money you can put in a crime, it´s still a crime, not a “fancy established” crime. So, there is no possible improvement for an illegal activity such as piracy in “El Hueco”.
Many of us are concerned about piracy, not because of Hollywood, I repeat, but because we want a civilized society and we need a regular music and movie market for our own artists, not a corrupted one. Please consider this.
Best Regards,
Mario
Mario, you bring up some important points, points that I am very much in agreement with – particularly with struggling Peruvian artists and producers.
I definitely don’t condone criminal gangs or illegal activity.
But I also feel that it is important to consider some priorities. If piracy was wiped out in Peru, people like you and I in Lima could probably afford $10 for a official DVD, for example. But in a city where most people earn a few dollars a day, and where outside the city the vast majority of people live in mud homes, it is little wonder that piracy exists and that many thousands of quite innocent providers for their families find that selling fake DVDs is the only way to put food on the table. If your young children will have to live on the street if you don’t sell a DVD where some of the proceeds might go to criminals – would you care?
The best way to help cut out piracy and help producers of art is probably by reducing the stark inequality between rich and poor in Peru. Then, as you said, a civilized society can be built free if piracy, criminal gangs etc.
I hope to see a future in Peru where no-one buys pirate DVDs, because the family from the cerros in Ate Vitarte decide to take a family trip to the new multiplex cinema, then go for some Pollo a la Brasa. Today though, at least for now, I’d prefer to see the head of that family sell pirate DVDs rather than see his children malnourished and not get the chance to. Hopefully as the economy goes, we’ll both get the future we want.
im just a kid..so..yeah..i have a history project im doing on Peru and i wouldn’t mind some insight on their economy over there =] (i need a good grade..and any kind of help is needed)
I’m Peruviaan and I think that “El Hueco” is so great, many things are cheaper than in other places, especially the DVDS.
El hueco FTW!
Bye.
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