A small store in a coffee shop in Long Beach is packing a big punch by not only selling items celebrating Chicana culture, but also serving as a safe space for them. Mekahlo Medina reports for the NBC4 News at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.
A shop inside a store along Long Beach’s Fourth Street offers more than just gifts for Southern Californian Chicanas.
“We are more than just our culture. We are also women on the verge of healing,” said Yvonne Marquez, the owner of Las Adelitas, a gift shop inside Agua y Viento coffee house. “It is small, but it holds so much.”
Marquez named the shop after “Adelitas” women freedom fighters in the Mexican Revolutionary War. The women soldiers wore ammo belts around their torsos and led regiments of men into battle.
“They were such strong women and I wanted to hold space for women,” said Marquez.
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In addition to vending jewelry and artifacts showcasing cultural pride, the shop doubles as a safe space for Chicanas to gather, share and grow.
“It’s almost like going to your hermana’s house -- your sister's house,” said Milagro Ruiz Bello, a healer who uses sound in spiritual cleanses at the shop. “It’s a very warm (place).”
“It’s like all like the magic put into one place,” said Xochitl Brizuela, a children’s Spanish teacher, who teaches the adult women at the shop the language they’ve lost or never learned.
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“There is a need for us to learn again; Spanish is not easy for me, but it still is something I want to learn,” said Marquez.
Along with the lessons and healing, Marquez brought along Rebecca Contreras, an art curator to design the show “Nuestro Tiempo: El Grito de la Independencia”.
“It’s a real beautiful and unique space here,” said Contreras.
The show features 12 artists from around the region including Oaxaca, as well as Central and South America and their cultural expressions of strength and love.
It is the love that brightens Marquez’ heart the most. The love of women finding a space to be who they are, learn more about their culture and feel safe.
“The love that we get has just been beautiful,” said Marquez. “I've had people who have gotten emotional and who have cried, who just say it just feels like my abuelita’s house.”
