Not many people, with fewer bags.

[Guanche]

After spending part of the 'Dia de Reyes' eve walking round Santa Cruz for the past 11 years I can, with some authority say, it's a poor turn out. Not many people and not many carrying bags. Even in Corte Ingles there was room to swing a cat. In past years you needed a cattle prod to fight your way around, and paying for anything was a long process. Not today, it's was just slightly busier than a normal Saturday. On the main streets of Santa Cruz it was another Saturday. The trams now doubled up were almost empty even accounting for the extra carriages. The 'Rastro' was open and again not a lot going on. Not sure if it will improve later as the shops stay open late, but it's not looking like a record breaker of a Dia de Reyes. What's it like in the South?

I can only hope the sales improve things.

[Janet]

Not many people and not many carrying bags. ... On the main streets of Santa Cruz ... The 'Rastro' was open and again not a lot going on.

This seemed like the best thread for this, at least for the moment, because I'm wondering if @Pelinor can throw any light on this. I'm seeing reports that the rastro stallkeepers have been forced to move to a new site, and now are being treated as a "market" and made to go autonomo. The president of the rastro association has been on Buenos Días Canarias to say that it's all impossible and that the stallholders simply can't afford to go autonomo for a fleamarket income ...

P, do you have any info on this?

[Guanche]

This is going to sound awful but since the Ebola outbreak we haven't been to the Rastro. I have no doubt that the local council wants to get rid of the market and there have been various attempts to move or close it over the past couple of years. This may be their latest attempt to get shut.

Whilst a lot of the stalls are filled with items found by 'skip diving' there are an increasing number selling new stock either from their own shops (Which shouldn't be a problem as they should be autonomo already) or bought from the Chinese wholesalers. These always seem to do a brisk business mainly clothing and these people do not own shops. Many of the women I see on these stalls used to be the ones selling tablecloths from bags on the streets and are not autonomos. 

The thing is if the council really wanted to shut it down they could do it over one weekend if they felt like it. Just send the Police in to check permits together with tax inspectors and benefits officers and people would be running away. For me its just smoke and hot air to placate the home owners that have to suffer the 'Rastro' every weekend and to be fair I can't blame them.