Family-run landmark vows to stay open “every Sunday” until the courts decide — claims of pressure from developers fuel the storm
GUARDAMAR DEL SEGURA — The battle over one of Alicante’s most iconic weekend markets has exploded into open defiance. The El Fogón Sunday Market, a beloved 30,000-square-metre bazaar just off the N-332 highway, is refusing to close — despite repeated sealings ordered by Mayor José Luis Sáez.
“We’re not going anywhere. The market will be open every Sunday until the court rules,” declared Carmen Valenti Marí and her son Fernando García Valenti, who have run the site for three decades. The family insists the council cannot shut them down while a judge weighs their request for precautionary measures to keep the market open pending a legal appeal.
Twice in recent weeks, local police have barricaded entrances, only for traders to reopen days later. “We don’t understand the mayor’s rush,” says García Valenti. “This case has been open since 2012, and suddenly they want to evict us.”
At the heart of the dispute is whether the bustling site — home to cafés, licensed warehouses, and hundreds of stalls — is legally compatible with the area’s new El Oliverón ZO-6 urban development, a 580,000-square-metre project set to bring 2,365 homes and commercial zones.
The owners believe developers behind that mega-plan are pressuring City Hall to clear the land. “We’ve never been contacted by them,” the family says. “All we want is to know their plans — and to keep a market that pays taxes and employs local people.”
The family has asked for a temporary operations permit while development plans move forward, calling it “a perfectly legal solution.” But their requests to both the council and developers have gone unanswered. Meanwhile, they say, the closure orders have ignored their court filings and overstepped legal boundaries.
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The El Fogón Market, famous across the entire province, attracts thousands every Sunday with its mix of antiques, collectibles, and second hand treasures — a lively flea market that fuels local bars and restaurants. More than fifteen people work there directly, and dozens of traders rely on weekend earnings to survive.
Mayor Sáez, however, stands firm: the market “lacks a valid license” and will be sealed “as many times as necessary.” Still, he insists police will not use force, saying, “We don’t want tension or conflict.”
For the García Valenti family, the fight is personal — rooted in a decades-long dispute dating back to the expropriation of N-332 land. Now, thirty years on, the family that built a Sunday institution says it won’t be bullied off its own ground.
