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8 de Julio, 2007
Let's Blow This Taco Stand
Categorized under Cultura , Ley , Raza | Tags: Mexicans, racism
WE KNOW THAT THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN FRICTION between some New Orleans officials and the Mexican American community that has stepped forth to utilize the work/labor/marketing opportunities opened up by the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina—by which New Orleans was drowned due to American Government deciding the town didn't need to be saved from an oncoming disaster. (See, we are in tha No-Spin Zone for realz.) There is now more friction in the same area, though not from Mr. Nagin this time who is still impressed, perhaps, with how quickly one quote can follow you around.
Lately, in Louisiana Parish, there has been a rise of mobile taco vendors. And they have been thriving, their clientele apparently mostly "Hispanic" customers, according to this particular news report. Nevertheless, Jefferson Parish Councilman Louis Congemi has introduced a law (since passed) that will surely put the smackdown on that particular growing market:
'La Sabrosita' — 'The Little Tasty One' — touts a painted slogan atop the Taqueria Sanchez, a white aluminum van through whose windows passes a steady stream of tacos, tortas, gorditas, flautas and burritos. Customers, almost all of them Hispanic, cluster with their lunch in the food van's skimpy shade.
Common in Houston and other Texas cities, such scenes are exotic in the greater New Orleans area where, after Hurricane Katrina, tens of thousands of Latinos rushed to fill jobs left vacant by fleeing locals. Within weeks of the storm, Sanchez and other Houston-based mobile restaurateurs followed.
Business has been good for Sanchez and his partner, Carmela Diaz, who operate four vans in New Orleans and Metairie, the governmental seat of suburban Jefferson Parish.
But now, parish officials have decreed that taco trucks must leave key thoroughfares, provide permanent restrooms and obtain new permits if they linger in any location more than 30 minutes.
The law, which became effective June 30, is the latest in a series that has sharply restricted itinerant food vendors across the nation.
Now I don't know about you, I've spent a few years—okay, almost a decade—in New York City. And mobile vendors are a necessity. They are good for the consumer. They are there offering quick service, cheap food when you are on the go. You don't always want to shuffle into a restaurant, stand in line, be seated, or otherwise waylay yourself into a longer, more complicated stop than you have time for. Or maybe you're dressed like a slob, or have paint dripping from your sleeves. Mobile vendors exist for a large number of reasons. And there's a reason that there is business for them. They fill a slot that a restaurant cannot. They are not competitors, they offer different services for different moments.
And a bathroom? Requiring a mobile taco stand to have a bathroom? Really? Isn't a bathroom is one of the reasons you choose to go to a restaurant? This is part of what defines a restaurant vs. a taco/fajita/gyro/hotdog stand! Free water and a bathroom! Next, they'll pass a law that says mobile taco stands need to have a non-smoking section, or a seating host. Okay, that's a little habanero snark for ya. But move the stand every 29 minutes? Do they really want taco stands in a constant dance up and down and around and across key thoroughfares? This is impossible, clearly.
The law's author, Jefferson Parish Councilman Louis Congemi, refused to be interviewed. But in a prepared statement, he defended his measure, saying it simply is intended to clear major thoroughfares of unsightly development that sprang up after Katrina. [...]"We are enforcing zoning codes," Congemi wrote. "The trucks can still operate as they were designed: go to a job site, serve the workers and then move on."
Hmmm. Why does this sound familiar? Oh, yeah....
"It would be better that they not sneak in, that they would come on a temporary basis, in an orderly way, to do work Americans aren't doing, and then go home."—George W. Bush, on Mexican Immigrants
Yes, yes, yes. The recurring theme. If those skeevy Mexicans would just get it through their bean-filled heads. We value the work your human bone-flesh arms can do. We value the time and energy, and your misery in meatpacking plants, and damn—we do love your food! But it's just the thought and sight of YOU. We'd rather you just, well, benefitted us and then get the fuck out. You know. The American Dream and all.
Well, I do wish Congemi would have agreed to an interview so his statement about simply clearing thoroughfares could be tested against real live questions. You know, the point of the Press and all. I can understand wanting safer thoroughfares (I'm imagining a flurry of taco stands playing 29-minute musical chairs), but it seems an unjust measure designed to bring hardship on a very particular group of (resented) people.
Of course those in the position of having no social/legal leverage aren't so interested in chasing any "justice." Justice is an expensive idea. It's for those who can afford it here in this place. These vatos just want to make a living.
'I can see that point,' Sanchez said of possible discrimination, 'but I'd rather not talk about it. We don't have money for lawyers. We don't have money to fight Jefferson Parish. We have to work with them. We someday want to open a real restaurant here.'
After all, that is how we all prefer the Mescans. No money, no ability to litigate or defend themselves, beholden. Perfect. This leaves them wide open for exploitation and manipulation. Refined, raw grade, red-white-and-blue-cake, American Dream material.
Oh, and look at that. My, my, my. It seems to me, Señor Sanchez, that your papers are in violation.
On July 2, a county inspector determined that the Taqueria Sanchez's health license had expired and that the truck now does not meet health codes."They were minor things like not putting chlorine in the dishwater," Sanchez said. The inspector declined to comment. [...]
At least 32 businesses fall under the law's purview, said Louis Savoye, the parish's chief of inspection and code enforcement, and four of them, including Taqueria Sanchez, have been found in violation.
Please allow me to interject myself, I'm a man of varied history. One of the occupations for which I have interviewed and been hired and employed is that of Inspector for the NYSDOH. That is, the New York State Department of Health. That's right, Nezua was a Health Inspector. And it was one of my favorite jobs, by the way. Great schedule. Working for the state is very nice. Nobody bosses you aroun, really, and when you show up at a joint with your clipboard, the brass runs around like gentle and eager-to-please rabbits. Offers you sandwiches an shit. You take your time and inspect everything from the egg storage in the fridge to the pH level of the swimming pool (depending on what they have on site, and what you are there to inspect; but much is in your purview and power to inspect, just about everything). And what you want to cite them for, you do. However, you do'nt have to cit ethem. You are empowered to decide whether or not you cite them or let them fix it on the spot. Just some info for the layperson reading of these citations.
In fact, you don't have to write anything on your clipboard. If it's a red item, something that endangers health in a serious, immediate way (broken fire exit, blocked fire exit, fire hazard, eggs dripping onto meat in storage, etc) you will almost always choose to cite them. Definitely, if it is recurring. But as a past inspector, I will tell you this with no uncertainty or doubt: I could, right now, write up any restaurant I walk into. Ahora. The swankiest, the whitest, the most successful. Any one. A food service outlet getting cited does not mean it stands out, necessarily, as under par or harmful. It could mean that. But it's not as clearcut and damning as the papers often make it sound.
The obvious point I make here is that it would be easy to choose a vendor and cite them, if that was your intention. Because every single food service establishment in existence has codes being violated at this very moment.
Professor Rosenblum said New Orleans, which lost roughly 200,000 houses in Katrina's flooding, generally has welcomed Hispanic workers, who provided an alternative to contractors who were expensive and slow to perform work. But the reception in Jefferson Parish, home to U.S. Sen. David Vitter, an outspoken Republican critic of recently defeated immigration legislation, has been cooler, he said.Gutierrez said workers have been cheated out of wages and subjected to other abuses. [...]
In neighboring New Orleans, City Councilman Oliver Thomas sparked a firestorm when he suggested that the Crescent City follow Jefferson Parish's lead. 'How are we helping our restaurants that are trying to recover by having more food trucks from Texas open up?' he asked. 'How do tacos help gumbo?'
Now, that's a question I can't answer. Who here is an expert on all the intracacies of the Taco - Gumbo relationship? I suggest, though, that focusing on and vilifying the Taco—if that is what is being done—is a course that traverses a slippery slope, and Gumbo ought to be careful. Because next time Pizza or Burger gets upset, Gumbo might be under the crosshairs and come looking for a handful of chicken or a spare onion from goodbuddy Taco! ¿Que no?
We're all in this picnic together. Let's buffet, baby. Let's work it out.
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Comentarios (14)
anon dijo:
This is Jefferson Parish, not all of New Orleans. That parish is the one that posted cops on the bridge to keep the black evacuees out after Katrina. The only reason why the trucks and workers are in Jefferson is the reconstruction money is flowing to (predominantly white) Jefferson and not (predominantly not white) Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard.
If the money were going where it was needed more, no one would give a damn about the bigots in charge in Jefferson. So, in a sick way, this is good. The big bigotry (the money) may lead to changes in the little bigotry (the officials) someday.
(BTW, WWOZ from New Orleans broadcasts on-line. Damned good music.)
Palabras por anon spat forth on el 8 de Julio, 2007 at 10:03 AM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
thanks for the details. and the music recommend.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 8 de Julio, 2007 at 10:09 AM
Rafael dijo:
Thanks for clearing that up anon, and thank you fore remind us of that awful scene that they, so that we may never forget.
Palabras por Rafael spat forth on el 8 de Julio, 2007 at 11:22 AM
RC dijo:
I agree that Gumbo better be careful Nez. But as an ex inspector you might also note that the Cloro in the dish cleaning water is important. I second your opinion that every food service outlet in the US has some failings-- even Mom's kitchen, or especially Mom's!
There is another reality that you might have skipped over or just not caught on to in your post and that is the ongoing friction between the black and the brown community throughout the US. But knowing your background, where you were raised, I bet you have seen the problem.
Indeed, where I live {not in the States}, there is plenty of friction between various Spanish speaking nationals, all pretty much some shade of brown and all about immigration issues, work issues, power issues, exploitation issues, the usual conflicts. The day is not far off when the political power will tip {it does do that eventually} and the Taco Wagons will be protected as sacred Louisiana patrimony, but until then, Gumbo still has the power. In New York City, the transit workers, who are predominantly black and brown, now have power because of their numbers. This is why potential voters are urged to register in general elections. Voting may not lead immediately to having one's rights respected or to having one's needs addressed, but it is certainly more effective than not voting.
U.S. politics {most of the world's democracies are the same} works by appealing to blocs whether we think that is fair or not. Is it any wonder that Richardson is Governor of New Mexico and not Vermont? And please do not make me choose between Pizza and Burritos. There ought to be a law. Indeed, I have actually eaten Pizza Tacos. I suggest that Sanchez serve that inspector a really nice Gumbo Burrito next time he comes around. That would be my blow against the Empire.
Meanwhile, the wagons need to find a good lawyer. Sad but true, if that Gumbo Burrito thing doesn't do the trick.
Palabras por RC spat forth on el 8 de Julio, 2007 at 01:01 PM
doctorj dijo:
I thought you would be interested in this letter to the editor in today's New Orleans Times Picayune.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/letterstoeditor/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1183873935229090.xml&coll=1
Palabras por doctorj spat forth on el 8 de Julio, 2007 at 05:41 PM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
right on, doctorj.
--
yes, RC. i'm aware of teh black/brown friction. a lot of people feed it, and not just black/brown, unfortunately. seems to be a big hit in a few places. it's sad taht everywhere, there are so many deep divisions.
i am with you. pizza and burritos. nobody should have to choose.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 8 de Julio, 2007 at 07:36 PM
luisa dijo:
that's fucked up but, yeah, i expect it from jeff parish. those are the crazies that argued (successfully) to blow the levee in the 1927 flood and drown out black neighborhoods.
they also moved to take trailers away from folks who are still trying to get their lives together after katrina (even before FEMA's deadline).
shady folks.
at the u.s. social forum there was a lot of great dialouge around solidarity with nola immigrants whether they were legal (vietnamese residents) or 'illegal.' one of the speakers (a guy from peru that came to be a day laborer and now organizes for immigrant rights) even said that the media was trying to pit "the old slaves against the new slaves."
it seemed to me that a lot of the taco trucks in nola served the day laborers--the food is cheap and farmiliar or maybe it is just that the folks who work the trucks speak spanish... either way, i didn't see a lot of folks in business suits frequenting trucks. we should get the jeff parish people to go and see what they're missing :)
Palabras por luisa spat forth on el 8 de Julio, 2007 at 10:21 PM
Richard dijo:
I'm trying to wrap my mind around a gumbo-burrito... kinda sloppy. But a gumbo style pozole -- now that sounds great (come to think of it, I've got some pozole fixin's in the refri, and some frozen shrimp. Hmmmmmmm).
Cajun and TexMex aren't that far apart. And, for that matter, neither are Cajuns and Tejanos -- linguistic and cultural minorities (rural, Catholic, Latins) colonized by the Anglos. I'll have to think about that one.
Palabras por Richard spat forth on el 9 de Julio, 2007 at 12:03 AM
alejandra dijo:
The tacos will prevail. When I was living in the States I saw the Salvadorenas by the Columbia Heights metro station get their pupusa and atol stands shut down week after week, just to reappear again to cater to all us homesick Central Americans. Resilience goes a long way, plus, in this case, the market forces will keep the tacos alive. Como bien dijiste, they fill a niche restaurants don't.
Palabras por alejandra spat forth on el 9 de Julio, 2007 at 04:39 AM
Xicanaanna dijo:
Yes...
This smells like a carne asada combo platter with a heaping helping of cracker pie. All these "city ordinances" that are to protect the people are created to keep out the "unwanted" aka the nannies who take care of the gringo's mocoso kids, the cleaning lady who hides the husband's mistress' dirty chones from the wife..the laborers who are making the houses at a price that people can afford..yes Mr. Unapaologetic Mexican, may I call you MUM for short?, We all know..we live it..we learn. I hate it ... you hate..that is why we need to focus on getting the huercos into school and onto higher education. You did it ..I did it..
Higher education and getting our peeps into positions that matter and into positions that will affect legislation and policy at all levels of government.
Also, calling these pendejos out is imperative!
By the way..to the chica who mentioned the pupusas up at Columbia Heights in DC..The fem mango man doesn't use gloves to sell the mangos..his fingernails are dirty..Not that I have anything against it...I just don't want to come down with a heavy case of chorro. I wish the Mexicans would get to selling Mexican food, but I think the Salvadoreños would kick their culos because there aren't many up here.
Besos a todos,
Xicanaanna
Palabras por Xicanaanna spat forth on el 9 de Julio, 2007 at 01:39 PM
Rafael dijo:
Can't be worse that the candy bar I bought yesterday. It appeared to be covered in greasy mold or something to that effect. I was the worse thing I ever say. I never thought it could get that bad.
"Lo que no mata, engorda!"
Palabras por Rafael spat forth on el 10 de Julio, 2007 at 12:03 AM
Xicanaanna dijo:
Rafa,
Tal vez no mata..pero si dara un chingo de chorro.
I have better past times.
=P
Palabras por Xicanaanna spat forth on el 10 de Julio, 2007 at 08:19 AM
dale dijo:
I live outside of Jefferson parish, thankfully. These taco trucks have FANTASTIC food. I would take a DATE to dine there. I am thankful that they are opening a restaurant soon.
As a law student, I feel that this law is clearly unconstitutional. It clearly picks upon one ethnic group to the exclusion of all others. The law is specifically aimed at Taco trucks and no other mobile food service vehicles. There currently are meal trucks that visit Northrup Grumman Ship Systems (a ship yard in Jefferson Parish) for breakfast and lunch and remain on site for well over 30 minutes. And this is just one example. But then again, they are not Hispanic. I wish that some lawyer would step in and take this case pro bono. If I could, I would.
Louisiana is a state of massive corruption from the politicians to the judges. I had a drug addict neighbor with over 20 arrest and multiple convictions who AGAIN stole several thousands of dollars worth of my property. He avoids the "three strikes rule" because judges allow him to plead down to misdemeanors, such as 'trespassing', as when he stole my boat and sold it last time. This time he got suspended sentence, inactive probation and no fine for 'possession of stolen property' only. I got a worse sentence when I got a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. I had to pay a $25 fine.
We will always have bad laws and corrupt politicians. We love them and keep re-electing them to office KNOWING that they are corrupt. Examples are our former Governor Edwin Edwards, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, with his 'chocolate city' speech and most recently Congressman William Jefferson (and his sister, and his brother...). (Who, other than drug dealers, keeps $90,000 in cash in his freezer and why?) Next, Google Congemi (the author of this unconstitutional law) and read about the feud with Capitano when he ran for major of Kenner (in Jefferson Parish). We in Louisiana are surprised that those outside of Louisiana are shocked by our incredible corruption.
Palabras por dale spat forth on el 6 de Agosto, 2007 at 08:46 PM
Karen dijo:
When we moved from Mexico to New Orleans my daughter was so sad, there were no Mexicans.
We live right by the Jefferson Parish line and we were so happy to see the trucks migrate over here.
Bienvenidos y buen provecho
Palabras por Karen spat forth on el 9 de Septiembre, 2007 at 08:53 AM