From Chaos to Order: How Commerce Survives in Centenario

From Chaos to Order: How Commerce Survives in Centenario

If you walk down Calle 15 with Carrera 10 on a Tuesday at 10 in the morning, the scene is seemingly chaotic: street vendors selling phone minutes, orange juice carts, MIO bus horns, and a constant buzz. But if you stand still for a few minutes, you start to notice that this chaos has an invisible order, a logic that supports hundreds of families. Centenario is not just a pass-through neighborhood between downtown and western Cali; it is a living commercial organism that has been reinventing itself for decades. This article is a map to understand how it works, who drives it, and what lies ahead in the next five years.

A Bit of History: The Neighborhood That Grew with the City

Centenario was born in the early 20th century as an upper-middle-class residential area. Spacious houses with inner courtyards and republican facades housed traditional Cali families. But in the 70s and 80s, with the growth of commerce in downtown Cali, these houses began to transform into warehouses, workshops, and commercial premises. The rise of public transportation—first the green buses, then the minibuses, and finally the MIO—turned Centenario into a connection hub between the administrative center and the western and southern neighborhoods.

Today, the neighborhood has a dual personality. By day, it is a hive of buying and selling of auto parts, footwear, textiles, and electronics. By night, it empties out almost completely, except for a few fast-food joints and bars that have started to appear on its more peripheral streets. This duality is key to understanding its dynamics: commerce rules, but housing still exists on the second floors, where families who resist the pressure of gentrification still live.

A curious fact few know: the old Pacific Railroad station, which today houses the Mayor's Office at the CAM, was just three blocks from Centenario. That made the neighborhood the first unloading point for goods arriving from Buenaventura. This logistical heritage explains why there are so many distribution warehouses in the area today.

Mental Map of Commerce: Formal vs. Informal

To understand Centenario, you have to divide its economy into two layers that coexist, clash, and sometimes complement each other.

Formal Commerce: Those Who Pay Taxes

Formal businesses are mainly concentrated on Calles 15, 16, and 17 between Carreras 8 and 12. Here you will find shoe stores like Calzado Sandalias or Calzado Futura, electronics parts shops like ElectroCentenario, and hardware stores that have been operating for over 30 years. These premises average 20 to 50 square meters, are open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6:30pm, and are mostly second- or third-generation family businesses.

Prices in these stores are competitive because they work with low margins and high volume. A pair of leather shoes can cost between $80,000 and $150,000 COP, while in a shopping mall it would cost twice as much. The key lies in the direct relationship with factories in Cali and the Valle del Cauca, especially the municipality of Palmira.

Informal Commerce: The Other Economy

Street vending in Centenario is a parallel universe. It is estimated that there are over 1,200 informal vendors operating in the area, according to figures from the Mayor's Office of Cali in 2025. They are divided into two groups: those with a fixed stall (usually on corners or in parking bays) and those who walk around selling everything, from socks to cell phone minutes.

Informal vendors have developed their own code of ethics. Corners are "inherited" among families, there are shifts to use the busiest spaces, and there is a seniority hierarchy that is respected. A new vendor cannot simply show up at the corner of Carrera 10 with Calle 15; they must first "ask permission" from the veterans in the area.

The most interesting thing is the circular economy that is generated: many informal vendors buy their products from the same formal stores in the neighborhood. For example, a sock vendor buys wholesale from Almacén El Triunfo on Calle 16, and then resells on the corner with a 30% margin. It is a symbiotic relationship that many are unaware of.

Success Story: 40 Years Selling Shoes on the Same Corner

Don Héctor Muñoz is 68 years old and has seen four generations of Cali residents pass through his store Calzado Don Héctor, located at Calle 15 # 10-24. His father opened the business in 1986, when the street was dirt and buses came right up to the door. Today, Don Héctor works Monday to Saturday from 8am to 6pm, and his son Carlos manages the business's social media.

"When we started, we sold rubber shoes for sugar mill workers. That was what sold the most. Then sneakers came, then quality leather, and now sneakers again, but branded ones that people look for on Instagram," says Don Héctor as he organizes a row of school shoes that are a hit in January.

The secret to his longevity is not just product quality. It is trust. Don Héctor keeps an informal credit ledger: longtime customers can take a pair of shoes today and pay in two weeks. "I don't charge my people interest. I'd rather lose a bit of money than lose a customer. Here, those who pay, pay. Those who don't, don't come back, but I don't chase them," he says with a smile that reveals a philosophy the big chains don't understand.

The biggest challenge he faced was not the pandemic, but the arrival of the MIO. "When they closed the Calle 15 station to build the MIO, we were almost a year with the street blocked off. Sales dropped 60%. I thought about closing. But we held on, and when they opened the station, people came back, though different: they no longer came by minibus, they came on the MIO and got off right at the station. That forced us to change our opening hours."

Don Héctor's advice for new entrepreneurs: "Don't fight against informality. Street vendors are not the enemy; they are your best customers. I sell wholesale to three guys who have stalls on the corner. If they do well, so do I. Whoever doesn't understand that won't last in Centenario."

The Impact of the MIO and the Nearby Shopping Mall

The arrival of the MIO system in 2009 was a turning point for Centenario. The construction of the Centenario station on Calle 15 with Carrera 9 transformed pedestrian flow. Before, people got off minibuses on any corner. Now, there is a concentrated arrival and departure point, which has created very defined pedestrian corridors.

The result has been mixed. On one hand, the station brought more people: it is estimated that 45,000 people pass through the station and its surroundings daily. That is a constant flow of potential customers. On the other hand, the relocation of bus stops and the partial pedestrianization of some streets forced many businesses to redesign their facades and storefronts.

The Centro Comercial Centenario, located on Calle 15 with Carrera 8, opened its doors in 2012 and became direct competition for street commerce. With 120 stores, cinemas, and parking, it attracts an audience looking for comfort and air conditioning. But street merchants have found their niche: price.

"In the shopping mall, a pair of leather shoes costs $180,000. Here in my store it costs $110,000 and I give a three-month warranty," says Don Héctor. The strategy of formal street merchants has been to differentiate themselves on price and personalized service, while the mall captures those seeking a more "modern" shopping experience.

The relationship between the mall and street commerce is not just competition. Many mall employees eat lunch at the restaurants on Calle 15, and some mall stores buy inventory from Centenario wholesalers. It is an interdependence that few recognize.

Current Challenges: Street Vendors, Security, and Gentrification

No honest analysis of Centenario would be complete without addressing the problems that afflict it.

Street Vendors: Problem or Solution?

The municipal administration has tried on multiple occasions to relocate street vendors from Centenario. In 2024, the Mayor's Office of Cali proposed a relocation plan to a warehouse near the CAM, but most vendors rejected it because "where they want to put us, no one passes by," according to spokespersons for the informal vendors' union in the area.

The problem is complex. Formal merchants complain that street vendors block entrances and sell similar products at lower prices (because they don't pay rent or taxes). Street vendors argue they have no other employment option and that formal commerce also benefits from their presence because they attract people to the area.

The current situation is a tense balance. There are informal agreements: street vendors do not set up directly in front of formal store entrances, and formal merchants do not call the police for every new vendor. But this balance breaks every time the Mayor's Office announces an eviction operation.

Security: Perception vs. Reality

Centenario has a reputation for being a "dangerous" neighborhood due to the presence of homeless people and the sale of goods of dubious origin (especially stolen cell phones). The reality is more nuanced. Thefts occur mainly during peak hours and in the most crowded areas, such as the exit of the MIO station.

Merchants have organized an informal surveillance network. Each store has the phone number of the others, and there is a WhatsApp group with over 300 merchants who alert each other about pickpockets or suspicious situations. The community police in the area acknowledge that this network is more effective than many security cameras.

For the visitor, the recommendation is the same as for any high-density commercial area in Cali: do not flaunt jewelry or high-end cell phones, keep your wallet in your front pocket, and avoid less-trafficked streets after 7pm.

Gentrification: The Silent Pressure

The term "gentrification" sounds academic, but in Centenario it is felt in the rent. A 30-square-meter commercial space on Calle 15 cost $800,000 COP per month in 2020. In August 2026, the same space is no less than $1,800,000 COP. Property owners, many of them families who inherited the properties, have seen the value of their su