It was 8 a.m., and there were only a few dozen of the 500 Tamareses that Christopher Luna Garcia wanted to sell.
About 17 hungry people lined up in food carts near Villa Parke in Pasadena, and on June 21, the immigration sweep took place for nearly two weeks.
When Chris, 14, reached out and pulled out the tamales, steam flowed out of the cart and the smell of Masa drifted through the air.
“A lot,” he said of the community response. “But I’m grateful for that.”
Chris said he took over his mom’s street vending business after the immigration raid.
His mother, Carmen Garcia, a 44-year-old law resident, said three of her customers were detained during a park sweep. But the immigration agents did not detain her.
“I was scared after that,” she said. “I had the documents, but I was still scared, scared.”
Not long ago, a tall teenager, Chris, worked hard to sell, sometimes bringing less than $100 a day, and on a very bad day, only $20. But on Friday, Tamarus sold very quickly. So much so that his aunt joined the second cart to help meet high demand.
1. Christopher Luna Garcia, 14, sold Tamarus to customers from her mother’s shopping cart near Villa Parke, Pasadena. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times) 2. The side of the shopping cart proudly illustrates its contents. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)
Friday’s event was organized by actor and community activist Alex “Tio Joker” Murillo, who stumbled upon Chris one afternoon and shared his video on social media.
“I want to help Latino youth,” Murillo said. “This iced thing is terrible, but we also turned it into a good thing.”
Under President Trump’s immigration crackdown, he filmed videos on allegedly living illegally in warehouses, car washes and sidewalks at home.
The immigration wave over the past month has prompted some U.S.-born children to take over street vending operations on behalf of their parents.
Parke Villa Parke’s actions prompted Pasadena city officials to cancel swimming classes and other entertainment programs for the park and two others.
Christopher Luna Garcia said he took over his mother’s street vending business after the immigration raid.
The decision follows a series of recent immigration enforcement actions in Pasadena. In a raid, federal agents Detained person On June 18, at the bus stops in Orange Grove Boulevard and Los Robles Avenue. Both happen less than a mile from Villa Parke.
Murillo said when he learned that Chris sold Tamales for the sweep, he decided to help his family because they were behind the bill.
So Murillo took to Instagram, calling on his followers and others to appear in the stands to buy tamales on Friday. He also said he would sell food to raise funds to bring Chris and a worker’s children who were detained during operation at the bus stop at Disneyland.
Enji Chung, 47, is a resident and member of the Pasadena Tenant Alliance and one of the first to emerge and buy Tamarus people. She said it was important to express support to those affected by the federal immigration crackdown.
People lined up for Christopher Luna Garcia, 14, to sell Tamales from her mother’s cart Friday near Villa Parke in Pasadena.
“I think it’s horrible to know that there are armed, masked people running around, inciting fear and stealing people,” she said. “It’s not just undocumented people. It’s American citizens and anyone they have on a racial profile.”
Yun Uen Ramos-Vega, 22, and Janette Ramos-Vega, 21, drove from Monrovia and supported Chris after learning his story. They said they were related to his situation because they also helped relatives by acting on their behalf.
The two said they knew there were at least two people detained by federal immigration agents. At least one was deported to Mexico and the other was deported.
Laura Ruvalcaba, 40, of Pasadena, appeared with her husband and her 8-year-old son.
“We saw the story of Chris and we’re going to be here,” she said. “We’re all about supporting the community, especially the youth.”
She said she was happy to see numerous clients.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s good to do anything we can help and get together.”
1. Christopher Luna Garcia charged money after selling tamales from her mother’s shopping cart. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times) 2. Business card sits on top of Tamale shopping cart. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)
A U.S. citizen in Ruvalcaba said the immigration seat scared her.
“It’s not even anything other than my skin color,” she said. “Sometimes I’m afraid to come out.”
She said two weeks ago, she began carrying a copy of her U.S. citizenship certificate, as well as her son’s birth certificate. She told her 18-year-old daughter to be alert when she goes out.
“Now, you need not only to pay attention to bad things,” Ruvalcaba said she told her daughter. “You’re guarding against people in uniform.”
Friday morning event also brought low-level Knights, bouncing as old-fashioned hip-hop music exploded from the car’s speakers, encouraging people to cheer up their phones and shoot videos.
When Tamales of the two carts disappeared, Chris and his family would use it to pay the bills and rent at 9 a.m.
His brother Erick Garcia, 20, said his mom and aunt went to cook more tamales and hoped to sell more throughout the day.
Exhausted, Chris sat in a folding chair for a moment, breathing a sigh of relief and massaging his eyebrows with his fingers. He got up from 4 a.m. and despite being tired, he said he wanted to act because his mother helped him and his three siblings raise him.
“She didn’t have much support,” he said. “I just wanted to help her.”
