Aninhas de Gondomar

Stalls: 98-113

If you ask anyone in the market about Ana Cardoso, perhaps no one will know how to answer, however if you ask for "Aninhas de Gondomar," there will be no shortage of answers.

Ms. Aninhas is 77 years old, and has been working at Mercado do Bolhão for almost 50 years. Still at a very young age — when she was only 10 years old — she would come from Gondomar, in an oxcart, with her father. In those days, the routine was well defined: while her father went to work the land, in plots close to the city, Aninhas would stay outside Bolhão selling vegetables, namely the famous Saint Cosme turnips.

Later, when she was almost 30 years old, Ms. Aninhas decided to look for a free stall in the market, so that she could expand their vegetables business. The opportunity to take over a stall did arise, and the business — which she still engages in — of selling vegetables grown in Gondomar, continues to this day.