{"id":5064133,"date":"2025-11-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5064133"},"modified":"2025-11-11T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T08:00:00","slug":"cyclists-tour-little-village-to-support-street-vendors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2025\/11\/11\/cyclists-tour-little-village-to-support-street-vendors\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclists tour Little Village to support street vendors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHICAGO\u2013 \u201cThe prevailing reaction we get from street vendors when we buy out their entire supply is, \u2018Are you sure?\u2019\u201d said Erin Ludwig, a member of Cycling x Solidarity, to the crowd of cyclists during a recent Saturday morning ride. \u201cWhen we get three dozen tamales in, they\u2019re like, \u2018Are you sure you want all of this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ludwig was one of over 40 cyclists gathered at Queen\u2019s Landing, across from Buckingham Fountain, for a bike ride to Little Village this October to buy out street vendors\u2019 inventory there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bike ride, a Street Vendor Tour of Little Village, had cyclists stop at three prearranged vendor stops along their 15-mile route. Participants bought elotes, raspados, donuts, and tamales, bringing Tupperware to carry leftovers home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The streets of Little Village, a hub of Mexican culture in Chicago, have been quieter since the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began mass arrests<\/a> targeting Latino communities in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cycling x Solidarity community organizer, Rick Rosales, reached out to the Street Vendors Association of Chicago to identify and coordinate with Little Village street vendors who have been unable to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the cyclists got their fill, representatives from Cycling x Solidarity bought the rest of the vendor\u2019s supply to distribute to encampments in Pilsen and Little Village, using money from individual contributions to the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Instagram\/cyclingxsolidarity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosales said the mission is beyond food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see on the news how ICE is targeting street vendors,\u201d he said. \u201cWe not only want to ride around and buy out street vendors, but we also pass out Know Your Rights flyers and whistles. I want people to associate us and our rides with solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diana Camarillo, a first-time Cycling x Solidarity rider, said she was looking for ways to support the immigrant community when she learned about the rides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes we think that standing up and giving back is such a big deal. Like you have to do something huge. And it doesn\u2019t have to be huge,\u201d said Camarillo, zipping her leftover sesame almonds and Mexican candy into her backpack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For street vendors like Gabriela Chavez, the impact of the event was significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, with raids and ICE, I haven\u2019t been able to go out for a month because of fear. People I know have been detained,\u201d she said in Spanish, speaking through an interpreter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chavez started her roadside stand 19 years ago, when she transitioned from factory work to street vending so she could watch her children while working. Today she sells foods like elotes, Mexican candies, peanuts, and other packaged goods. Chavez\u2019s stand was the first stop of the bicycle tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very happy to see people buy everything out. My fear was that my products would spoil before anyone bought them,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fear street vendors face hits close to home for Maria Orozco, the development manager and outreach organizer at the Street Vendors Association of Chicago, whose parents have operated a street vendor stand in Scottsdale for 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany street vendors cannot leave their homes because of fear. If they do come out and sell, they do not see the support,\u201d said Orozco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orozco opened an SVAC GoFundMe page in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe saw how everyone, even members at the organization [SVAC], were struggling. So I did some research and came across this GoFundMe in Los Angeles by a street vendor association that reached $200,000. I brought the idea to the table, and was like \u2018hey, we really should do this.\u2019\u201d said Orozco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SVAC\u2019s GoFundMe has now raised over $300,000 to benefit street vendors across Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vendors did not expect that. In the past week alone, we raised $100,000,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosales plans to continue collaborating with SVAC to organize weekly street vendor tours in other Chicago neighborhoods. He welcomes other Chicagoans to join the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people have donated funds, others work with translation. I want people to feel empowered to contribute.\u201d said Rosales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Caroline Prewitt is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, specializing in magazine writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Instagram\/cyclingxsolidarity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cyclists rode through Little Village and Pilsen on a Street Vendor Bike Tour to show solidarity with immigrant vendors and support their businesses amid growing enforcement 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