09-07-2025
These Fruity, Icy Raspados Have Kept Hollywood Cool for 17 Years
In Los Angeles's Mexican community, raspados vendors are not a monolith of shaved ice slingers who use generic syrups. Loyalty is earned by serving concentrated flavor combinations made with real fruit. All good raspados start with the jarabes (syrups) and a big block of ice. The raspado's construction — the speed with which the vendor pours chunky fruit syrup over cylinders of hand-shaved snow dressed with lechera, Tajín, or squirts of lime — all contributes to the final result. The longest line in town for these chilly cups forms at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue, where Daniel Velázquez of Raspados El Chilango has built a cult following for more than 17 years.
Velázquez grew up in Tlalpan, a borough in Mexico City known for its lush, tranquil national parks that border the State of Mexico. Soft-spoken and focused, the compact, wiry raspados vendor spends hours vigorously shaving snowy ice from a step ladder that looms over the three-foot frozen block set alongside his white cart. On his head, a wide bandana captures beads of sweat. The fruits used in Raspados El Chilango's syrups are sourced from Downtown's Seventh Street Produce Market. Customers who eye the cart are often compelled by plastic grip jars filled with colorful syrups packed to capacity with nance, guanábana, pineapple, strawberry, and coconut, among others. Raspados are $5 for a small, $6 for a medium, and $7 for a large.
Velázquez's Raspados El Chilango went viral on social media in late June due to an incident that occurred outside the strip mall located at 1075 North Western Avenue. In the video, which has racked up nearly 6 million views on the Raspados El Chilango TikTok account, a security guard working in the strip mall's parking lot allegedly make threats to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Velázquez. As the contentious exchange made the social media rounds, Velázquez received support from social media followers and from regulars who queue at his cart, which is set up on the sidewalk just outside of the lot near the T-Mobile store.
Raspados El Chilango in Hollywood. Bill Esparza
'I like coconut and strawberry, or coconut and walnut,' says Juan Vega, a local customer of 15 years. Raspados begin with swirls of lechera (condensed milk) inside a clear plastic cup before ice is packed in and generously covered in a syrup. A second flavor follows a hand-shaped bullet of ice heaped with overflowing fruit-laden syrup that's then crowned with chopped fruits. Finally, it's dressed through the hole at the center of the plastic dome lid with some Tajín, a squirt of lime, or a spot of El Cherito chamoy sauce if requested. A wide straw goes in to slurp up the slow-melting sludge of fruit, syrup, and ice.
Spicy diablitos with a tamarind syrup and mangonadas made with mango, Tajín, and chamoy, promise contrasts of sour, spice, and salt; they're among the more beloved raspados here. Spring and summer afternoons bring out the longest lines for Velázquez, who had, until recently, been able to operate amid the sweeping ICE raids that began in late May 2025 due to a lesser presence of the enforcement agency in Hollywood. But on Tuesday, July 1, Velásquez announced on TikTok he had to temporarily shut down due to a sudden spate of ICE activity in the area — both undocumented and US citizens have been taken by the agency. 'Some women reached out to us here where we sell, and thanks to them, we were warned and we were able to escape. Stay Alert!' Velásquez wrote on his TikTok account.
Raspados El Chilango has since returned to its corner, but Velásquez is taking the decision to open day by day, as are many other vendors in Los Angeles at the moment. 'I know my rights and don't cause anyone problems, so I'm not going anywhere,' Velásquez says.
Raspados El Chilango is open 7 days a week from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue.
Bill Esparza
A raspado getting eaten fresh.
Raspados El Chilango with a line in Hollywood. Bill Esparza
Eater LA
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