It’s a beautiful Saturday morning in South Central Los Angeles, when locals Marvin Valencia and Patricia Amador make a pit stop at the corner of 28th and Central Avenue for some steamy, protein-filled tamales from Susie’s Ricos Tamales stand.
“Hola, ¿cómo están? ¿Qué van a llevar hoy?” (“Hi, how are you? What will you be ordering today?”) Susie the owner of the stand says as she greets them and fixes three giant pots of tamales resting under her rainbow umbrella.
The stand is one of 16 local businesses in the area that the two creatives, along with their friend Erick Solis, have included in their new project, the Locals Only Passport to South Central.
The coupon-based booklet seeks to uplift local businesses that have been impacted by ongoing ICE raids, and it’s also their attempt to show the community all that their rinconcito (little corner) of L.A. has to offer. It’s a form of dismantling negative notions of a part of L.A. that they say is often overlooked and showcasing the people who make their city what it is.