SANTA CLARA, Cuba – La Candonga can be found on the outskirts of Santa Clara, Cuba.
The spot is the equivalent of a flea market and is located about a 10-minute drive from the old historic center of town.
The stands fill an area across the street from the hospital district, and most of them are homemade.
It’s hard to miss the calls made by vendors.
One screamed, "El mamoncillo dulce," referring to the sweet fruit found in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Visitors to the flea market can find fruit, cooked meals and almost anything else at La Candonga.
The shaded pathways are lined with items such as electrical sockets and plastic refillable ink cartidges for pens.
Vendors make sure to show shoppers their homemade shower heads that heat up water and their different-sized tools for plumbing.
"This is our livelihood," Sisto Granela, a vendor, said in Spanish.
The 24-year-old has been self-employed for three years and uses the little money he earns from the flea market to feed his family.
The private sector in Cuba is relatively new.
It wasn’t until 2008, when President Raul Castro took over, that the socialist state started allowing some private business.
But experts on the Cuban economy say the Castro government still continues to severely restrict the growth of private businesses.
"We're barely living, just surviving," Granela said.
Granela and other vendors admit that because of the government restrictions, most of the items sold at the flea market are illegal.
“What are we going to sell when the country lacks raw materials?” Granela said.
That’s partly the reason vendors have to tap into the black market or buy their good from state-run stores in order to keep up with the customer demands.
"We just want them to leave us alone," Granela said. "We just want to sell."
He and others are constantly keeping their eyes peeled, always looking for government inspectors who, they say, charge hefty fines if they catch you selling goods from state run stores.
"This is the biggest injustice," said Granela, who was the only vendor who gave us his name.
The others wanted their faces and names omitted for fear of government retribution against their families and businesses.
"If they don't want us looking for merchandise outside this country, then sell it to us," one of the vendors said.
He and others hope someday the can get goods from wholesale warehouses, even if it's state run.
Even if a vendor is licensed by the state or doing things legally, growth is restricted.
But Granela is not giving up, even if it means quickly removing illegal goods from the table and trying again the next day.
This story is part of a series on Local10.com, which seeks to document the current state of economy in a small Cuban town. Santa Clara, which is in the central part of the country, made history when the first commercial flight from the U.S. landed on Aug. 31. With added commercial flights and tourism, Local 10 News is exploring a growing private sector and overall life in what likely will become a tourist destination for Americans.