Hope blooms in a Hispanic neighborhood

“The coconut chips, mango slices and cucumber slices are all in plastic Ziploc bags. Umbrellas cover the stands and shopping carts hold the fruit that gets periodically peeled and sliced. Here is a group of women holding on to the culture of their native country while trying to make a living everyday on the four corners of Merrimac Drive and 14th Avenue.

Anairis Reyes, 43, is relaxed as she sits on the top of a motor case that powers her snowcone machine. She wears a T-shirt and jeans, and her hair is cut short. Her eyes are sharp, but friendly, her vocabulary is extensive and her grammar is excellent. However, these qualities are only noticeable in the Spanish language because Reyes cannot speak English. Like many other Salvadoran and Latin American women, she immigrated to the U.S. in hopes of finding a job and found one as a street vendor. “

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