PIÑATAS BURSTING WITH HISTORY

PIÑATAS BURSTING WITH HISTORY

By Carlos Velázquez

San José is a unique and beautiful city, one whose cultural heart and roots lies in its immigrant and Chicano neighborhoods, at places like the pulga, in pho restaurants at strip malls full of asphalt and sandblast, or a tiny wooden building bursting with color.

Dulceria Mi Carnaval, a piñata and Mexican candy store located on the corner of 24th and E. Santa Clara, is a big part of my family’s roots, as well as that of the East Side. My Tia Gabriela Velázquez, my pop’s younger sister, opened the shop in 1986 with my Tio Chava, and it’s been a family affair since. Cousins, tios, siblings, and my parents have all worked there, helping with the chair and table rentals, or creating and decorating the piñatas. I can hear my Abuelita Lupe’s loud voice filling up the tiny room that makes up the store. I can see the explosion of colors from the piñatas and bags of dulces, feel the dried, textured layers of glue covering the folding tables where the piñatas are made.

“Dulceria Mi Carnaval, a piñata and Mexican candy store located on the corner of 24th and E. Santa Clara...”

This city does very little to highlight the history of businesses like these, leaving the corazón and roots of the city to oral histories and photo albums, always in danger of disappearing with every family move or generation lost. How many other stories like Dulceria Mi Carnaval are within other Mayfair, East Side businesses?

“How many other stories like Dulceria Mi Carnaval are within other Mayfair, East Side businesses?”

About four years ago, my interest in learning about San José’s Chicano history led me to the California History room at the King Library in Downtown San José. There, under the “Mexican-Americans” folder of news-clippings, I found an article in the San Jose Mercury News from 1989, about my tia’s store (it incorrectly lists it as having recently opened that year). My family’s history is in this article, down to how my tios met in an English class at Lincoln High School. There are many more clippings of local Chicano and Mexican American history, and I wish I had more time to immerse myself, to research, learn and share this history.

“..under the “Mexican-Americans” folder of news-clippings, I found an article in the San Jose Mercury News from 1989, about my tia’s store..”