Meet Susanne Herrera, the 22-year-old from South Central serving up icy mangonadas bien preparadas (well prepared) to cool you down as temperatures rise in Los Angeles.
Herrera, who lives near the Florence-Firestone area, is currently working full-time making mangonadas from home. When asked what drove her to start selling this staple frozen dessert, she said it was a combination of a few things that life had thrown at her. But mainly and most importantly, it was her need to want to give her daughter a better future and be a good example for her. Something she said she lacked in her life when she was a little girl.
“My dad is from Mexico, and my mom is from Nicaragua. I was raised by undocumented parents for a little bit of time because my dad went to prison when I was eight years old, and he was deported when I was 13,” she said after picking up her daily groceries for her business. “And my mom had me and my siblings only for a little bit because honestly, she was battling drug addiction, and unfortunately, she couldn’t raise us. So we ended up moving in with family.”
Growing up, she swore that if she ever had kids, she would make sure to be present in their lives and be someone they would be proud of. She is trying to do this with her new business, Cati’s Cravings, where she sells mangonadas. The business is purposely named after her almost-two-year-old daughter Catalaiyah “Cati” Martinez.
Another reason that drove Herrera to open her own business was the need to make a steady income. Before opening Cati’s Cravings, she worked different jobs but mainly worked at a boutique and enjoyed the job, but unfortunately, it did not pay well. She was forced to make the bold decision to quit. The 22-year-old shared that she was struggling, living paycheck to paycheck and not making enough money to buy basic necessities. Herrera also expressed that after giving birth to her daughter, she experienced postpartum depression and anxiety, interfering with any job she would obtain.