But the uneasiness washes off when she’s at the market.
has been “strange,” Corado said, because it’s starkly different from Santa Elena, the town she called home in Guatemala.
They see the Westlake market as a place they’ve carved for themselves in L.A., which hosts the most Guatemalan expats of any city.Ĭorado has been working at the stand for four years while being mom to her young son, Nick. Sandra Aguilar and Christian Gonzalez of Xela Tacos prepare garnachas on a makeshift grill set up on the sidewalk next to businesses at the Guatemalan Night Market.Īs customers walk by, they are greeted by the chorus of vendors whose offerings - an array of native Guatemalan dishes - roll off their tongues: “pepián de pollo, caldo de pata, chuchitos, tamales, rellenitos de plátano, garnachas.” That’s just to name a few.įor a moment, vendors and customers can picture themselves back home in the municipalities of Quetzaltenango, Flores or Mazatenango.
