This NYC Store Built a Community for Latin American Designers—Now It's Launching a Podcast

Elle

18 hours ago

Put your headphones on, Lower East Siders. No, not for Addison Rae's debut album (but also yes, for that too) but for a much-welcome, not-another-white-man podcast that's sure to enrich and inspire.
Nestled in a below-ground space, steps away from Dimes Square favorites Cervo's and Scarr's Pizza, sits Tumbao, an expansive curation of Latin American ready-to-wear, accessories, and jewelry brands. If you've been in the minimalist space, you might think it's just another cool store in a cool neighborhood, but a closer look reveals something more akin to a showroom, bringing brands you may or may not have heard of to the forefront.
'Tumbao was never meant to be just a store,' says founder Valentina Pozo. 'It's a physical space, yes, but also a living project—a platform for storytelling, collaboration, and cultural preservation.'
Pozo, who hails from Ecuador, started Tumbao in 2021 as a series of pop-ups until the LES location pulled her in. Now, it's been a permanent store for three years, bringing together designers, musicians, collaborators, and friends. After years of hosting events, uplifting artisans, and connecting people from all walks of life, Pozo is bringing her gift of community-building to a new medium: podcasting.
'I want it to feel like sitting at someone's kitchen table—where the conversation lingers and something real gets exchanged,' Pozo says. 'So much of what happens at Tumbao isn't transactional—it's conversational. Customers stay to talk. Artists drop by just to connect and catch up on recent projects. And those conversations are where so much depth lives: about process, about doubt, about ancestry, identity, survival, vision.'
'The podcast is a way to document that,' she continues. 'It's about slowing down and asking: How did you get here? What do you need? What are you dreaming about?'
Much like Tumbao itself, the podcast will feature a variety of Latin American designers, photographers, gallerists, retailers, musicians, and friends. 'People who are shaping culture in quiet or bold ways,' Pozo says. 'A lot of it is based on instinct. We can tell when something has soul.'
While the future of luxury fashion and retail remains uncertain, Tumbao is offering a new approach for a new generation. The designers featured in the store are those whom Pozo has met through travel, various connections, or oftentimes, the Internet and social media. Many brands at the store don't operate through traditional models, but instead have made-to-order systems, making Tumbao a go-to for rare finds and if-you-know-you-know styles, all curated with the eye of someone who understands an intentional customer and isn't bound by scale.
'We prioritize designers who are building from a place of research, care, and cultural rootedness, not just trend,' Pozo says. 'I think the future of retail has less to do with performance and more to do with relationship: Can you tell a story that's honest? Can you hold a space that feels alive? That's what people are looking for.'
The Tumbao Podcast is out now.