Living in the valley all my life
has been a pretty amazing experience. It’s not like any other part of town.
There are lots of activities to do and aesthetically, the views are really intriguing.
One aspect of this amazing place that I will not ever forget is the raspado man
(shaved ice), the elotero man (corn man), and the nieve man (ice cream man).
These people are usually Hispanic males that own wooden carts and go about the
streets of Los Angeles to sell their shaved ice, corn on the cob, and ice cream
to hundreds of people on a daily basis. They usually are at parks or go about
their routes in little streets pushing their cart full of delicious goodies.
Their prices usually in the range a couple dollars and are made in a matter of
a few minutes.
It is interesting that these snack
men are only to be found in areas where there is predominately low class to
middle class people. I have been to upper class areas such as Beverly Hills for
example and there are no raspado, elotero, or ice cream men at all. A while
back, I had asked one of them how far the areas where they traveled were and he
told me he usually just stays at the park or goes around the area and comes
back to the park. He told me he never goes any further than that. I find it
interesting that they do not go to other places. Social class and where you
live definitely depends on what type of lifestyle one has.
