n my neighborhood, we say pushing dope, but in this case, I’m pushing fruits,” says Jorge Urrea. As a former gang member, the father of four and NASA employee, is now traveling L.A. County to serve his sliced fruit off his stand, Pushin Fruits.
Urrea sets himself apart from your local fruit vendor by adding Mexican chopped Mexican candy to his fruit: Chaca Chaca, Lucas Salsagheti, and chamoy. His other unique ability as a street vendor is his connection to people from the streets and inner-city. Urrea says, “You can see the joy in people from talking to me because of the humanity I give them. I’m talking to customers not just to sell something but also wondering how their day is going,” he notes. “I do still get a few dirty looks from people passing by like ‘Ay este cholo,’ so I have to win people’s trust. But in the same way, some people don’t want to buy from me, in the same way, people don’t want to mess with me.”
Growing up in El Monte, Urrea’s parents were not actively involved in his upbringing. His mom worked multiple jobs while also battling substance abuse addictions, and his dad was absent in his life due to heroin addiction and being in and out of prison. Without a stable home, Urrea left El Monte High School to attend a continuation school and later joined his neighborhood’s local gang.