Kids at Work by Emir Estrada

Author:Emir Estrada [Estrada, Emir]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, American, Hispanic American Studies, Sociology, Urban
ISBN: 9781479828272
Google: -pJzDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: NYU Press
Published: 2019-07-16T04:25:49+00:00

Figure 5.1. Girls preparing food.

The street vendor’s hygienic performances matter, but so did their gender. On one occasion, a young boy was selling tamales at La Cumbrita. He declined to do an interview, but during my field observations with other vendors at my site, I noticed something worth noting. He sold the tamales alone from a grocery pushcart. He was modestly dressed with a black cap, a black sweatshirt, and blue jeans. Even though his clothes were not new, he looked clean. Like the rest of the vendors, he used plastic gloves to handle the tamales when he would put them inside plastic bags or plates for the customers. Even though he followed the same routines as the other street vendors, he was asked by one customer, “Did you make the tamales?” The boy immediately responded, “No, my sister did, but she asked me to come sell them for her. I only sell them.” He attempted to reassure the potential customer. The customer ended up not buying the tamales and instead purchased two pupusas from Linda and Susana.

While it is possible that this customer’s decision to buy pupusas and not tamales was simply a desire for a particular type of food, it is also likely that the customer was concerned with whether the boy made the tamales and whether or not he was clean enough to sell them. Here it is important to recall Katia’s remarks about the customers’ preferences: “‘Oh, she’s more clean because she is a girl.’ … and a guy, ‘Oh no.’ … Like, people don’t think about it but they do see it.”

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