02-03-2025
Más que una tienda: Finding a sense of ‘comunidad' on Oahu
Por los Latinos quien necesitan un sentido de comunidad en Oahu, este historia es para ustedes.
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Nestled in a small storefront on South Beretania Street lies the sights, sounds and flavors of a minority cementing its culture thousands of miles away from their story of Oahu's only Latin American market, Mercado de la Raza, began in 1994. Husband and wife duo Alex Villarino and Megahn Chun took over la tienda (the store) in 2022, but their story stems from las calles de Nueva York (the New York City streets).
Megahn found herself in New York for 11 years. Though she was born in the islands, her family was part of the diaspora that moved to Las Vegas when she was young.
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When she moved to the Big Apple, the culture shock could not have been more apparent, as she struggled to find a connection to her heritage and Hawaii.
'Way before I met Alex, I was walking to classes near Grand Central Station. I distinctly remember hearing Hawaiian music, live Hawaiian music. I remember that feeling of having a little piece of home in the middle of New York,' she said teary-eyed.
Meanwhile, Alex grew up in Mexico. After spending time in Los Angeles and New York, he quickly realized the need to bring authentic Latin American products and culture to other regions of the United States.
When the couple moved back to Oahu in 2022 to start a family, it was Alex's turn to feel the culture shock, finding very few Latinos on the island to connect with.
It was at that moment when the couple decided to take over the Mercado de la Raza business and create a community for Oahu's Latinos looking for a reminder of home.
'Naturally, being that it's the only Latin store on the island, it does attract all of the Latinos and it's really nice when they see their friends in here or family members in here. It's a place where you can come and find all the ingredients to make dishes that bring friends and family together,' Megahn said.
The pair took the business to the next step with their Marchantes Latinos program, a space where local Latino entrepreneurs can make a name for themselves and their businesses.
'We set them up at the front of the store and promote them on social media. They get to meet customers, let people know what is it that they're making, why it's so special, [and tell them] about where [they] come from,' she added.
Of course, the local entrepreneurs who sell their culinary goods source some of their ingredients from la tienda itself.
'We bring products from all over Latin America from remote places that are very unique like Honduras, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic to bigger places like Mexico, Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela,' Alex explained. 'We try to bring a lot of the authentic products from those regions.'
And they try to grab products from every single country.
'We have all the flags there in the front and we even make contests to go around and tell all the names of the flags, so yeah we try to source as much as we can,' he added.
'That's the difference between a place like this. Smaller, community-driven, very close to the people. Like if you go to a regular, larger supermarket you can find certain things. But if you have a question, you don't know how to cook something, nobody there will help you,' said Alex. 'All of it is really inspired by that relationship with our customers.'
'It's a team effort. It's a community effort to really build this place,' Megahn added.
You can also visit their website or Instagram for more information on community events or the Marchantes Latinos program.
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So, if you're feeling a disconnect with yourself and your Latin culture, head to Mercado de la Raza Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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