Business owners in the center of Hermosillo, Sonora, are hoping the Christmas shopping season brings much-needed relief, after an explosion that killed 24 people left the commercial zone quieter than usual in November.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, cars inched past the burned-out facade of the Waldo’s discount store — where six children were among those killed. A makeshift altar to honor the victims has ballooned in the month since the disaster and now includes protest signs, one demanding “no more victims.”
The disaster left many in the Sonoran capital mistrustful that the tightly packed businesses in this busy part of town were safe, said Rubén López Peralta, owner of Las Chulas restaurant in the city center. He speaks as servers ferry traditional Mexican food past murals of famous scenes from the golden age of Mexican cinema.
“There was a certain amount of fear of going downtown,” said López Peralta, president of the Unión Comerciantes, an association that represents downtown businesses.
That fear caused businesses in the city center to lose about 50% of their revenues last month, López Peralta says. Now, his organization is considering a civil lawsuit against Waldo’s for those damages. Investigators say the disaster was likely associated with a transformer located inside the building.
At a park a block away from Waldo’s, Luís Eduardo Díaz and his wife, Andrea González, are wrapping up a day of shopping and on their way to visit the site of the disaster to pay their respects to the victims.
But even as families take photos by the giant Christmas tree in the busy pedestrian shopping zone and vendors sell fruit on the street corners, the couple agree there’s something different about the energy of these crowded city blocks.
“After what happened, the environment is tense,” Díaz said.
They don’t plan to stop shopping here, but they know others who are hesitant and newly fearful for their safety in this area. State authorities said after the explosion that certain safety certifications for the building were lacking.
But López Peralta says that unlike Waldo’s, the small businesses downtown work hard to comply with the state and city’s safety requirements. He points out the fire extinguishers near the front of his restaurant and the wide open storefront with easy access to the street. Many who died in the Waldo’s fire last month were trapped inside and inhaled toxic gas.
After big losses last month, he’s hopeful that Christmas shopping will bring a boost to businesses like his, and that the state’s investigation into the Waldo’s explosion concludes soon so his group can sue the company for damages.
That process, though, can be slow in Mexico, López Peralta said.
“We’re going to have to swim against the current, but we’re willing to if we can somehow get compensation for the affected businesses,” López Peralta said.
