Slideshow: Leon’s Central Market

Latin American market places are always crucibles of energetic exchange. As communal meeting points, bastions of barter, gossip and teeming activity, they invite the traveller to explore at will. In the West, traditional market places have been largely replaced by corporate-run shopping centres – vast, church-like halls dedicated to consumerism – all bathed in sterile fluorescence and replete with row upon row of uniform wares. Not so in the market places of Nicaragua, where shortages of all kinds beset the shopper and the black economy is king. In Nicaragua, the market is a place of dirt and toil, erratic energy and frenetic pace, where sing-song calls summon your attention from left and right. It offers rich rewards for writers and photographers alike.