At San Jose’s Berryessa Flea Market, on second street in spot 304, Kaled Escobedo and her dad, Nicolas Escobedo greet customers at one of their vending spaces. The flea market is like a mini city.There’s streets in every direction with people selling dulces, clothes, toys — you name it. Here, the Escobedos sell cobijas, also known as blankets. Their crowded vending space is stacked with them in tall rows that seem to never end. As big as their stand is, her dad knows everything they have.
“It’s crazy,” Kaled says.
Even though today isn’t super crowded, Kaled and her dad stay busy. They both stand on opposite ends of the vending space, encouraging customers from every direction to come and take a look at their cobijas.
Kaled’s family is no stranger to hard work. Kaled recalls working alongside her parents since she was a kid. Nicolas Escobedo says he and his wife have been selling at the flea market before Kaled was even born. They both started as employees for other vendors there, then started their own business at the flea market, 15 years ago.
The Berryessa Flea Market all started with George Bumb. He opened it to the public in March of 1960; his family still owns the property. Now, it hosts more than 6,000 vendors. Like the Escobedos, the flea market has been a generational place of business for many families. But just afew years ago, they all discovered they might be out of a job.
In June of 2021, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved theBerryessa Bart Urban Village, a mixed-use commercial and residential development. This plan will shrink the flea market to one-third of its current size. When vendors found out, they quickly organized protests in hopes their voices would be heard. Some of the vendors formed theBerryessa Flea Market Vendor Association or the BFVA. That’s when Kaled got involved.
Kaled is the secretary and her older sister is the treasurer. According to Kaled, “the BFVA is an association created by vendors for vendors.” Their goal is to help first-generation vendors as second-generation vendors. ”
Ensuring that her parent's voices are heard motivates Kaled, but Kaled and her sister aren’t just organizing for their family. If the flea market shrinks, Kaled is certain that not all vendors will fit. So the BFVA teamed up with the city of San Jose to make a plan to relocate as many vendors as possible so they can continue to earn a living. The BFVA’s activism resulted in a $5 million investment plan from the Bumb family and $2 million from the city to help study the market's impacts, look for a potential new location, and support the vendors in the transition. The flea market isset to close sometime in 2024 depending on development plans, but some vendors aren’t waiting to get kicked out and have already left.
Both of Kaled’s parents are from Mexico. Kaled worries that without the flea market, her parents won’t be able to find work here in the U.S. “There are even talks of going back to Mexico, something that we don't want as kids because I don't know Mexico,” Kaled says. “This is all I know and it would be a big hit to lose my parents and not know if they're okay or vice versa.”
Kaled is helping her parents try to sell their stuff online, but it’s stressful because she’s also a full-time student. “My mom has a saying of ‘un dia a la vez,’ so today we can only do what we need to do today, and then we'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow,” Kaled says.
As Kaled and her family climb ladders and wrap up the thick blankets they sell in plastic covers, they never stop selling, even to late customers. “That's something also that's hard like you're packing up and then people come. So you gotta think, is it worth it to stop?” Kaled says.
Kaled has hopes of going to law school soon, just like her sister. She says she got her work ethic from growing up here. She hopes to give back to her community through her involvement with the BFVA. To Kaled’s family, the Berryessa Flea Market is more than just a place of work, it’s their home.
“We have a saying, 'la pulga me crió.'"Kaled says.
