Dozens of young and adult couples walked through downtown Mérida on Tuesday with balloons, stuffed animals and bouquets of flowers of different sizes, demonstrating that Yucatecans continue to be romantic during the celebration of the Day of Love and Friendship.
As was to be expected, lovers took advantage of the day and the afternoon to gather around the Cathedral, the Plaza Grande and Hidalgo Park, where most of the street vendors were concentrated, offering all kinds of products alluding to love.
Inflatable hearts, teddy bears, colorful lollipops, romantic postcards, suggestive candies and even underwear with hearts, were part of the varied catalog that could be found in the Emilio Seijo, Eulogio Rosado and Portales passages, whose prices ranged from 25 to 400 pesos.
Kisses, hugs and lots of honey was what was observed when the lovebirds gave each other their gifts, as a token of affection driven by the marketing surrounding Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated every February 14.
Another favorite for this date in which cupid is remembered are the bouquets of flowers, which were sold on almost every street corner in the center of the city, as well as at various points along Paseo de Montejo.
Roses, sunflowers, daisies and tulips, among others, are some of the flowers from the State of Mexico, which vendors invested in to try to make a profit on this day.
Some vendors like Bernardo Caamal invested around 10 thousand pesos with the intention of tripling the amount, but earning it is not as easy as it seems, as he arrived at Paseo de Montejo on Monday afternoon and will remain there until he runs out of flowers.
The vendor acknowledged that this year the prices of flowers have increased, as in 2022 he was still able to offer a dozen flowers for 250 pesos and this time if he did not increase the price by another 100 pesos, he would not make his full profit.
He explained that the main competition for the flower sellers are the supermarkets, since by making profits from other products, they can offer the arrangements for up to two thirds of the price of the street vendors.
Although he acknowledged that the economy of families and the working class is still not at 100 percent, he pointed out that 2023 is the year (after the arrival of Covid-19 to Yucatán) that has given him the most confidence to invest and recover the business he has been doing with his parents for more than 30 years.
TYT Newsroom
