For hundreds of families living in this tourist Mecca 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Mexico City, the November 4 opening of the store was greeted with applause and shouts of "We did it!" as it brought in welcome competition to local stores and markets where prices for some are too high.
In San Juan Teotihuacan "there are few stores and everything they sell is very expensive," said Maria Felix Nieves, a homemaker at the opening.
Bodega Aurrera is only 2.5 kilometers from the famous pyramids of the Sun and the Moon and a nearby artifacts-rich archaeological site.
"The truth is that the people who opposed [the opening] don't care that we're poor and in need of cheaper goods," said Estrella Torres, who was checking out kitchen appliances at the store.
Despite a grueling six-hour wait in sunlight, the first people streaming into Bodega Aurrera were all smiles as they went about buying food, diapers, kitchenware and cleaning products.
The Wal-Mart store's location, relatively close to the Aztec pyramids, drew outrage from an environmental group that claims the store is sitting on an archaeological site.
The locals dismiss most of the controversy, pointing out that the new establishment really bothers only local merchants and store owners.
Ema Moreno, self-proclaimed "keeper of the pyramids," admitted "some members of the Civic Front for the Defense of the Teotihuacan Valley were local merchants, but this is not what drives our opposition.
"We're really opposed to any new construction in the area," said Moreno, a 59-year-old indigenous woman member of the group who is camped out near the archaeological site.
The front treated the opening of Bodega Aurrera as a day of mourning.
© 2004 Agence France-Presse
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