If you have nothing in your wallet but a 500 peso note (worth about $37 CDN), you are hosed. Unless you are paying for a hotel room, or *maybe* buying a full tank of gas, you are unlikely to be able to spend it. Very few places can change a bill that big.
The sensible thing would seem to be to avoid getting 500 peso notes. Unfortunately, that's very difficult, because ATM machines very much want to give them to you. For a 3000 peso withdrawal, you'll generally end up with a minimum of 4.
So, spending 500s requires strategy. Hm....this coffee shop caters to foreigners and has large volume.....maybe I can slip them a 500 mid-day. Score! (she says, noticing that in the process she's making a big dent in the change in the register). Okay, I'm spending 240 for 2 kg of chocolate at this moliendo....I'll force them to take a 500. They'll grimace, but you're making a big purchase, so Yah! Broke another.
But the best solution is a bank. You don't have to get farther in your sentence than "Can you change...? (Puede cambiar...) before the teller will reach for the cash drawer. Dealing with 500s is a common problem.
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