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Jasmine sandoval

English 113B

Professor Rebecca Lawson

Word Count 1055

Taqueria in Los Angeles

The smell of a delicious mexican dish can be smelled from half a block away. As a person

gets closer you can see the smoke coming out of the grill. Tacos are made with tortillas a

mano, which means handmade tortillas, are served with meat that is thrown onto the grill and

the meat sizzles,and makes a foggy cloud filled with breathtaking smells. This Taqueria is

located in South Los Angeles California, in a business parking lot. This Taqueria serves as a

place where people get together for a common purpose, to eat authentic mexican food, at an area

where the mexican culture is more visible.

The location of this food place, brings the culture more alive, because the majority of

people who live in that area are hispanic from central america and mexico. The people who are

serving the food only speak spanish, and the costumers themself speak spanish as well. Which

makes it easy for them to communicate when placing their order. As for a customer who only

speaks english the workers have a translator. The connection of a culture is visible, this food

place connects people with common cultural backgrounds, and common ideas of what an

authentic mexican dish is like. Ideas of how the food should look and tastelike, not only that but

also the expectations of having the tortillas freshly made by hand, and the meat freshly cooked as

well.
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The serving sizes are perfect because it is not too much and it is not too little, it is just

right.The tortillas are about the size of your palm, and are stuffed with the meat of your

choice.There are also tasteful salsas, such as the guacamole, and salsa verde, which were spicy

and it adds on to the flavor of the food. The types of meat they had were chorizo, al pastor,carne

asada, but it didn't stop there they had other Mexican flavored meats.Not only did they serve

tacos but they also served quesadillas, and burritos as well. This Taqueria is an authentic mexican

food place.

Restaurants such as Chipotle, and mexican food trucks are not authentic because, they do

not offer what this Taqueria does. Chipotle for instance is not authentic because their meat

doesn't have the same flavor as the food on South Los Angeles does.In a huffingtonpost article in

Regards on Chipotle food, Mariani states that The burrito and chimichanga aren't really familiar

foods to most Mexicans from Mexico.This is true in most occasions when you ask someone

who comes from a mexican heritage if they consider Chipotle to be real mexican food, the

majority will say it is not authentic mexican food. In South Los Angeles the predominant culture

there is Mexican or Central American. These people bring their culture and offer food that their

culture has. Not only its because of the flavor of the food, but the culture these people bring from

their country. People who are brining their cultural roots to California come to Los Angeles, and

represent their own culture by introducing foods and their ideas as well.

Recently there has been a law that has allowed people to vendor in the city of Los

Angeles.Street vending had not been permitted, but recently in California, they allow people to

vendor out in the streets again. In the city of Los Angeles, they are permitting people to sale in

the streets, as long as they have a permit. Other cities also allow street vending. In New York

they allow street vending as well. There was an article recently published called, Legalize and
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decriminalize street Vending in LA, written by the Times Editorial Board. In that article they

inform how the court is still trying to come up with a new form in which people can still sale in

the street in a mannarly way, they dont want crowding in the streets.Which is very ridicuuoles,

becuase the vendors are very organized, and dont want problems they just want to be able to sale.

With the new presedent Elected Donald Trump, vendors are in constant fear becuase the

majority of these people are immigrants, or people of low income who are make a living by

selling food,clothes,pillows,and accessories in the street. President Donald Trump said he will

get rid of people who are here illegal and have criminal records. In response to this a councel

called Curren Price, and Joe Buscanio are fighting to allow more people to sale legally, and not

be penalized.The law previously passed before the two council men started fighting for

legalizing vending more,stated that people can sale aslong as they have a permit. That isnt

enough, because these people will get penalized still. Street vending is a way of life for people in

California, it is a right to the people to sale their culture food practices, and be able to expose

other people to other cultures food. California is a melting pot country, and it is incredible to be

able to taste other cultures food it is a privalage.

Street vending helps both the economy and the vendor. It allows more people to work and

buy ingredients such as meat. So the meat markets will benefit. The workers such as the Taqueria

workers, are people who are just trying to make a living and provide for their family. Vending is

their passion, it is their chosen way of making a living. California is a more diverse place to live

in because people bring with them their recipes and cultural taste from their homelands, such as

in this case the workers from the Taqueria vendors, here in south Los Angels, they can safely

sale food without being penalized for their actions.Which is really great because it allows people

to enjoy these delicious exquisite food from these different Hispanic cultures.
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The diversity of cultures in the Los Angeles area brings people together. People are

intrigued with new flavors of food. It amazes how people are willing to travel long distances to

go to a specific place to eat. Los Angeles is a very diversed city in California. It is a great place

to come and try foods brought from other cultures such as Central American food and Mexican

food and other varieties of culture as well.

Citing Sources

Nash James,L.A.Changes Riles For Street Vendors Selling Outside Law,Bloomberg.Online.

December 1,2014. April30,2017

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Rojas Berestein Leslie, As L.A. Contemplates Legal Street Vending, A Look At Other Local

Policies, KPPCC. Online. June16,2015. April 30,2017

Times Editorial Board, Editorial Legalize And Decriminalize Street Vending In L.A, Online.

December 10,2016. April30,2017