Harlingen Has Her Own Story: Health, Business & Ganas

Anjelica Cazares: Allow me to. Welcome to the LatinA Leadership Podcast, a podcast by Latinas for all women. Get ready because today’s conversation is really special. Oh, la. And welcome to another episode of the Latina Leadership Podcast. I am your host, Anjelica Cazares, and today we’re in Arlington. Okay, pronounce it for me. Harlingen.

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: Harlingen, Harlingen and Texas.

Anjelica Cazares: Sitting here as my guest is Paulina winner. Doctora Paulina. Ceasar Quintanilla.

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: So as mentioned, my name is Doctor Paulina Sosa Quintanilla. It’s a mouthful. But I’m I’m grateful. I’ve been on quite a journey professionally and personally. And so first, I will say that, you know, faith has been a big part of, of the journey that I’m on professionally. The doctor part. I’m still getting used to that because that’s fairly new as of last. Me. With a doctorate in public health informatics from Hopkins. And again, that’s a huge testimony to to the way God kind of pivots our journeys along the way. But, of course, just the fact that, you know, I, I’ve been given the honor and the opportunity to start a nonprofit, that is focused on celebrating the Latino voices in our community, but also to showcase the importance of health priorities in our community. And so we started during Covid, as I, I’m sure many organizations and businesses. And the reason for it was because, you know, during the onset of Covid, I was still living in D.C. at the time and just noticing that Latino priorities were, well, not a priority. And, thinking about, you know, how do we communicate with our communities? How do we make sure that information is, you know, being spoken in the right dialect, the right language? So all of that was the catalyst to start Latinx Voces and the journey we have been on. We’ve also been on a similar tour. We did a national tour from someone Puerto Rico through Miami, Florida, all the way through Texas, all the way through California. And that’s really what’s brought us to where we are today. So we’re while we are based here in the Rio Grande Valley, we are national as well. We have over 400 partners that we work with, all to tackle and discuss the priorities for our community.

Anjelica Cazares: Where I want to start first is where it’s with the nonprofits. When you talk about doing this nonprofit, what was it exactly or what was the moment that you said, okay, this is what’s needed and this is what I feel I need to do.

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: Oh okay. I’ll give the shorter version okay. Yeah I got this. I feel like this was it really happened over the span of a few years. And I’ll just make a very small mention, of, of my cultural identity. You know, I’m from Brownsville, Texas. I’m from a border community. But growing up on the border, you know, you’re juggling two different cultures. You’re juggling the Mexican culture, you’re juggling the American culture. And so just even before the nonprofit was an idea in my head, I realized that, you know, struggling with embracing my Latina. That was a really big struggle that not only I dealt with. Yeah. And part of that was because, you know, the language, but also really like trying to understand my history. So at the time, I was like, you know, I wish there was a space where people could come to talk about their story. In embracing their Latina birth. And that was maybe a couple years before Covid hit. So originally the idea started as we were supposed to be culture focused. Okay. And then Covid hit and like I said I was in DC at the time. Working in a great association. I won’t say out loud, but it was a public health association. And realizing not only through that association, but through others that colleagues were working in, that there was really only 1 or 2 Latinos in those organizations. I was one of the token Latinas in mine. And, when I brought up the importance of having, hey, Spanish materials, they were like, great, you should do it. And, you know, this is a common a common issue across the board. I talked with so many partners and colleagues that have dealt with maybe maybe yourself, maybe others have, you know, been put on the spot to do the translation. And while, yes, we always want to jump in and to help and to make things available for our community. There’s time and there’s a whole bunch of things that go into that. So it was that moment when I realized, okay, the the needs of Latino communities are not really the focus right now in this organization. How can I step out and do this work on my own time with other people that feel like this is just as important and get this going? And so, boom, that’s kind of how it started at the time. The very small volunteer group began. And then that’s what grew into what we now know is Latinx Voces.

Anjelica Cazares: How are you making it cohesive and how does that translate into we need representation in health. Do we need representation in how in terms of like the education part of it, or people advocacy part of a policy side of things? Are we talking about what where do you when you give I guess when you give kind of like, these lectures or these, these places that you go in and listen or hear and you what is it exactly that the focus is? And where is that? Like if I was coming in, walking in and, partaking in it, what will I like walk away with?

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: Let me tackle the first half of question. And so you know, how is health and representation tied. So as as I mentioned, you know, at the beginning we saw that, okay, our communities are now represented at the decision table. So that’s why Latino health priorities were not a priority. And so we decided to force ourselves to be at the table. We pulled up our own chair to sit at that table to be a part of the decision making. And you know, so decision making comes in a lot of forms. Right. So there’s of course there’s policy. Policy can be very slow moving. So yeah. Okay. So while we know that policy is one lane there’s also funding which can also be slow moving depending where youre getting funding. But then there’s also programmatic which can be a little faster and can be a little more indirect. Okay. So the lane we look at is more programmatic. And so let’s say just as an example, there’s an organization on the ground that puts together programs for families. Okay. Are we making sure that the community that they serve includes Latinos. Okay. And are we also ensuring that those Latino voices have a voice when they design the programs. And so and I think that’s kind of where, you know, fasting. Fast forwarding to what you just mentioned, the the program. So we put together the teaching that that we do. For the partners we work with. You know, how do we make sure that we are all equipped with the tools to make sure that the communities we serve, that we care about, that we represent are also able to give them a platform. And so giving them a platform means hey look we’re going to listen to the needs that you have. Because maybe our idea of what your need is, is not correct. Or maybe we’re not going about it the right way. So how do we make sure that your voice is also represented. So that’s one way that we we tackle that. And then of course just making sure that I think it’s important to say this from the get go that the Latino community is not a monolith. Right. You know, it’s not just Mexican. It’s not just Dominican. It’s not just Puerto Rican. Y’all. Right. Like we have so much diversity, which is part of the beauty of our community. Yes. But also how do we make sure that as we’re serving different communities, we’re serving them in a way that makes sense for that community? And so in our tour, the national tour that I mentioned, we had the opportunity to go back up to Health and Human Services and say, yes, we did those vaccine pop ups to help educate. But and this was really important, I think. I don’t know if they thought it. Well, we thought so, but we also use it as an opportunity to hear stories from all 26 cities directly from families, from partners to say, hey, HHS, this is how Latino communities is not a monolith. This is how we can still serve our community while also respecting the unique and beautiful differences between all of them. Okay, so it’s a very loaded response to your question, but.

Anjelica Cazares: That’s a that’s a that’s a difficult and that’s a difficult because yes, we’re not all you’re right. We’re not all a monolith. Right. And this is definitely for a different conversation and discussion. Right. Because it’s hard. It’s that it’s it’s completely loaded with a lot of nuances. Right. Absolutely. And it has a lot of cultural nuances. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I can’t even tell you. The Mexican living in Texas is completely different than the Cuban living in Miami, than the Puerto Rican living and living in the Bronx. Absolutely. And then it becomes and people in its very regional, certain regions go and live up to go live like in Chicago. And they’re from like Sinaloa. I’m did this is just an example, right. And those who are in Texas kind of tend to live in the border towns from like Monterrey and up, you know, like northern Mexico. Right. And Durango, like everything else is like they might travel a little bit further. And so even within that, there’s still so many cultural nuances. And it’s a hard conversation to have. So congratulations on the bravery to try it out and have it, because I find myself in very difficult conversations, you know. Because the way things happen in their countries wasn’t necessarily what happened to that. The Mexican northern New Mexicans here in Texas. Right, right. Or those who’ve experienced and who live by the rule of Puerto Rico aren’t, aren’t going to to kind of maybe see, we know we are differentiated, right. We know that. And it’s hard. It’s hard because even Spanish, even Spanish, like, Spanish language like TV is hard. Oh. Because you, you know, and I’m like, Sabado Gigante was cool in orbit. And then you realize that, oh, this there was not a preference, but there was a differentiation. And then it then came the closest to things. Right. Then came the, the and we hear them sometimes in modern like as kind of like the joke. But when you mean like I said it’s a whole different conversation. It is, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a whole other discussion within itself. Right. But what I’m saying is that it’s a hard topic in conversation to tackle. So when you’re going to the National Health Organization, to the national on a national level and like, okay, this is the kind of conversations that we’re going to have and this is how you can approach them. Do you feel like you gained insight?

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: Absolutely. Okay. Yes.

Anjelica Cazares: Talk to me about that. Okay.

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: So the insight that we gained was, you know, I don’t think it’s anything new. And I think, you know, whoever is listening, will agree that at the end of the day, the best way to bring information education, to introduce any new, interventions in a community, in a city, whether it’s health related education, even economic development, the best way to make sure that families are interested to hear what you have to say is to bring a trusted messenger from the community. It is not going to be from us. It’s not going to be from a national association or from a federal agency. It may not even be from the local health department. It may be the promoter has a solution. And I’m going to take a moment to shout out or community health workers because they in many ways are the reason why we can get information into the community, into the families that we serve. And, you know, they did so much during Covid. They did so much before Covid during, and they continue to do so much hard work now. And so for that reason, we we partner with them and we partner with with trusted messengers. And many times your trusted messengers are not even health. So maybe it’s your artist, maybe it’s the small business, or that the in the in the corner.

Anjelica Cazares: Where’s my. Phone? Because I’m taking notes. Where’s my phone? Because I like that it’s your trusted messengers within your community. I’m so sorry to mean to interrupt.

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: No, no. And I love that. Yes. And that’s the power. That’s where the power comes from. Where? It’s not just us saying, hey, boss, we have all this information because. We don’t know how the. How do we work together? Yeah. And I think that was one of the, the biggest collateral benefits from Covid, from such a, a crazy, chaotic time as a Covid emergency was the power of nontraditional partnerships. And unfortunately, we’re seeing a slight decline in that now that we’re plus we’re back to normal. But but are we how do we make sure that we keep these lessons learned and we keep them moving forward, because we still have a ton of things to tackle. And so bridging the gap, as you know, as our brochure says, where our our big tagline is bridging health and culture. Culture plays such a big role in our in our perspective to health. Just thinking of like my in-laws and thinking of, you know, families that we we talked to and that we work with, culture plays a big role in what we eat and how we are physically active outside in the type of family activities we participate in. Culture plays such a big role. So how do we make sure that we’re we’re talking with the people that they trust, and then we’re talking with the families, right. And many times families are left out of these conversations. But, you know, white those are the ones families are the ones that should be a part of those conversations too. So it’s just making that decision making table a little bigger to fit these voices that maybe are not normally a part of health decisions. And we’re now we’re all at the same table to make, to make decisions moving forward.

Anjelica Cazares: My mind cannot stop thinking because I’m my mind is just like firing off right now because I’m thinking to myself, okay, and I want to speak this out loud because I think it’s a you said many, you said a lot of things. Quite important. But how do we get people who aren’t part of of this kind of I feel like little revolution that’s happening with Among Us. How do we get people to care about our culture nuances?

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: Yes. So I think, you know, it comes back, I think, to the end of the day, what we’re doing now. Right? This idea of storytelling and the importance behind, giving people a voice. And so, you know, I think there’s one thing that everybody, no matter who you’re talking to, at least for the most part, I’d like to think 98%. We all care about one thing, and that is we care about our loved ones. We care about making sure that our loved ones are safe, are healthy. We can agree on that. And we all have different ways of making that possible, making that happen. All of us also have a childhood. All of us can remember when our grandma parents or, you know, whoever raised us, you know, they they raised us on this type of food or on these type of activities. So even if they weren’t Latino, you know, they’re all we’re all coming in with some similar experiences. Yeah. So for us it’s bringing us on the same page. Okay. We’re all here to do one thing to to make sure our loved ones are healthy, make sure our loved ones live a good and healthy life. Right. And then from there we open up this opportunity for for sharing. Right. Unfortunately, something like this takes time, right. And and that’s actually something we talk about in, in some of our, our workshops. You know, this idea of building trust and building connection, it doesn’t happen over overnight. I wish it did, but it doesn’t. Right. But that’s I think really where connection with trusted messengers from the community make a big difference because that opens a pathway to move forward in there. You know, and I think people people can read intentions. Yeah. People can read like, are you here because you really care or are you here just because you. Turn out your numbers? You’re trying to. Yeah. Or you’re just trying to create a fight like let’s. Yes. The intention that you’re showing up with acts really good. Again, I love this conversation. And I can go down many paths because over a decade of my over a decade personal experience, my one breaking lifetime of experience, right. But over a decade of working within the space of that experience, I love to have these conversations because it truly does matter. Thank you. Thank you for giving me surviving information for me to be able to take back home and really think about it deep down, because I have my own personal issues with it. So we’ll just we’ll carry on. Okay. So the second thing that I told you, that I know it sounds very important to you is education. Why did you pursue continuing your education? And a lot of the times, here’s the thing. A lot of the time I notice a lot of people don’t like to tell me. It’s because I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to I wanted to prove myself wrong. Like, I knew I had that tenacity and I wanted to show myself that I could. What was your reason.

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: Oh okay. So not to give a fool the full facts. I think part of it was that part of me was absolutely. Can I do it? But I think a big part of it was, actually my mom, I mean, let me give my mom a shout out because my mom always told me, since I was in middle school, education, education, education. And so for the longest time, I was going to be a lawyer. That was the goal. And then God redirected me into public health. And, I remember when I applied for my doctorate, I was like, okay, Lord, I’m applying to one school. One school. Only. If I get into the school. Okay, then I know that you are on this path, if not pos tion, and I got into the school. No. So I still am so surprised. You say all your you got to do. If God say is this is the path or are you better taken? So I took it and it took seven years. It took seven years. But if you ask, you know, here we are. It was a long process. You can ask my husband. It didn’t happen that. But it was. It was a big honor. And, you know, be able to say Torah in front of you. And our kids are. Thank you, thank you. It was really well deserved.

Anjelica Cazares: Okay. So I do want to I do want to shout out if I was to look for you. Where can I find you, like on LinkedIn or Instagram? And then if I want to participate in the nonprofit, where can I find you?

Dr. Paulina Sosa Quintanilla: Yeah. Great question. So we are everywhere. We’re on Facebook. We’re on Instagram. So it’s at light voces. And then we of course have our website. So website is Latinx voces.org. And we also do our LinkedIn. We’re, we’re starting up the LinkedIn. But you can also contact me directly at my email. So peaceful sad Latinx explosive dawg. And you know, we’re always open for collaboration with love to see how we can continue to partner. That’s what we’re about. We’re about working together.

Anjelica Cazares: Perfect. When? Upon that. Thank you so much. Thank you. We have Rosalba with us and she’s going to tell us her story.

Rosalba Diaz: Hi, everyone. Rosa Diaz from the collectors. I have a booth at the Harlem Gin Bazaar with number 14. And I do hello Kitty. Obviously, we do the traditional red and white. We do the pink. So I’m a pink girl. Definitely. Hello Kitty and Francis. My vibe. I do have some beautiful little collections of purses as well. Lots of beautiful replicas. Because who wants to pay that kind of price, right? Just saying, I love that.

Anjelica Cazares: How did you get started? How long have you been in business?

Rosalba Diaz: So I started in December. I actually am semi-retired and I was bored. I figured, okay, this is a time to do things I like. I like. Okay, so there it is. Yeah. So it doesn’t even feel like work. It does not. I have so much. I have a great little vibe. I hope you have a chance to come by and look at me. Definitely.

Anjelica Cazares: We’re going to go stop because it’s really tiny, but it’s full of so much impact of the colors, obviously of the rainbow, you that you have pinks and purples and blues, because we have hello Kitty and friends and it’s a it’s kaleidoscope of colors and the energy is the same. So the energy is always happy. Good vibes, wellness, encouragement because we all get depleted. So we need a little change. So I I’m I’m that little spot. Yeah. Is that is this your first business.

Rosalba Diaz: I actually was in the esthetic business in the past and makeup artistry and a lot of creative directing and just coming up with concepts of color and images. So I love, for example, these items here. So I wanted to do my version of it with using hello Kitty as my, launching pad, I guess. Yeah. So December. So that’s new, very new, very new. So come out support small business. That’s so important. Thank you. Yes.

Anjelica Cazares: But, what has been like the biggest challenge would you say you’ve had?

Rosalba Diaz: I think the biggest challenge. I’m gonna be completely transparent and just clear. It’s a safe space. Yes. A lot of people come in with the misconception that the bazaar is either a flea market or a museum, and that doesn’t help us because they think we’re selling things that are used. Yes, we have pre-loved items, but very few. It’s not our forte. Everything is new. We buy it in very much, you know, lower price so that we can give that lower price to the customer. So we tend to have really good prices compared to the original store, which is nice. Number one. Number two, it’s used as a museum. And to cool off so people come in just to cool off, walk around, spend an hour and don’t buy anything. And that’s very sad for the ones who didn’t make the sale that you know what I’m saying? Yeah, it comes down to the nitty gritty, the horrible dollar. But we need that dollar to pay rent.

Anjelica Cazares: Yeah. No I understand. So what would you say to someone that wants to get started like any advice.

Rosalba Diaz: Oh my god it’s so much fun to start. The way I started is one of the vendors there invited me when I told her, hey I have a lot of things that I want to sell, but I don’t know where to start. And she’s like, rent a booth, duh. Yeah, I didn’t know you can rent it by the day. I was like, what? No commitment? Yes. That’s me. So we kind of laughed that. I’ve never heard of that. It’s amazing. It’s a tiny little spot. It’s the size you want. I believe I paid $20. I got a Saturday and you get Sunday for free. That’s so cool. Came in, brought my stuff, tested it out. I it was ballistic. I sold so much that day. I literally made rent. I was like, whoa, I think you’re like, this is yeah, this is this is nice. Yeah. The good thing, too, I had a very good omen is when I walked into the spot, they offered, it was already pink and black. So I’m like, yeah. And that was a sign. Thank you. Exactly. So I think renting it for one day and testing it out, you’re going to notice the community there is fantastic. Very supportive. We all kind of backed each other up. We got to go to lunch. Okay. I’ll watch your store. Oh, I’ve made a sale. Here’s your money. I actually bought something from and someone was covering it. I was like, hey, you know. Yeah. And she helped me out. So. Yeah.

Anjelica Cazares: Very cool. I see, I see that I know I was not like that. Yeah. So I find that amazing. And the community is the one that sold me. Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Well, do you know what are the hours?

Rosalba Diaz: So right now, today’s our Monday. So we’re Thursday through Sunday. Okay. Thursday through Saturday is 10 to 7. Generally, unless we have sundown, which is this Saturday we’ll be there till ten. So it’s 10 to 10. The Saturdays for sundown and Sundays is a little more relaxed. It’s noon to five okay. And then we’re off closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Yeah.

Anjelica Cazares: So Harlingen Bazaar, it’s a lot of small businesses. Tons of stuff to check out. I already bought some stuff, but I told Anjelica we’re going back. It’s so nice to meet like this. Thank you so much for the time. Yeah. So support small business. It’s so important to meet my guys. See you guys soon. Take care. Bye bye, miss quality. That. But is. That. And like this. This is an anti. It’s called referring to the further this goes together. It’s a combination of the anti. Quite nice. Crystals. And I also do a lot of sewing. I also so a decals on jeans and handbags. I also utilize paint.

Anjelica Cazares: Yeah. And you were telling me a little bit about the name and what it means. Can you tell us again? Okay.

Rosalba Diaz: There’s a store in tumble, Texas called birds of a feather. And, that’s my cousin. And, we also open one here in Harlingen. It’s called Three Birds of a feather, which it was my cousin, my sister and myself. It was the three birds were us. And, the feather is our granddaddy.

Anjelica Cazares: Yeah. I think that’s so beautiful. How long have you been in business?

Rosalba Diaz: Off and on since, 2017.

Anjelica Cazares: Okay. What’s your favorite thing about it?

Rosalba Diaz: You get to meet a lot of different individuals. You make a lot of friends. Because you’re coming on a decade. Right? And a lot of our customers, we have returned customers. And so therefore, you get to meet a lot of different people of different cultures and, you know. Different backgrounds.

Anjelica Cazares: What wanted, you know, made you, you know, started. This must be an entrepreneur because it’s not easy.

Rosalba Diaz: No, it’s not easy, but, I enjoy it. I, I like I love to show, I love to create. So that’s basically how I started. And then I incorporated the antique merchandise and everything else that comes with it. I do a lot of shabby chic items as well.

Anjelica Cazares: If you could give someone wanting to start a business, any advice? What would straight?

Rosalba Diaz: Go. If it’s in your heart, do it. You’re going to enjoy it. You know it. It can be very profitable as well, you know? It’s very fulfilling. Yeah, yeah.

Anjelica Cazares: Let’s see if you had to, you know, pick one thing that you don’t like about it. Let’s be transparent. What would that be?

Rosalba Diaz: Pretty much in the location that we’re currently in, which is the Harlingen Bazaar. A lot of, there are certain customers that come in and say, oh, well, this is a flea market. It’s not anything close to being a flea market. We take a lot of pride in our products, a lot of us do a lot of creations, and a lot of our merchandise is new. And, you know, it’s it’s not a it’s not a flea market.

Anjelica Cazares: Yeah, yeah. No, it. Have you been there the whole time.

Rosalba Diaz: But I have been there yet. No. Okay. I’ve been in different locations. I’ve been here a year and a half.

Anjelica Cazares: Okay. What do you what? You enjoy it, though? I mean, is it just kind of educating people that this is not, you know, yes. They’re not going to come in here and lowball us on our prices.

Rosalba Diaz: Our prices are prices. Right. And and, because, yeah, I went in there and I, I can’t wait to go back because I only got to see a few things. But you helped me and you were wonderful, but you were actually helping. It was someone else’s booth. But you you stepped in and helped me out.

Anjelica Cazares: Great customer service. You guys need to check them out. The Harlingen Bazaar and the hours again. What are the hours there?

Rosalba Diaz: Thursday through Saturday from 10 to 7. And on Sundays is 12 to 5. And we also have Sundowns Art night and we remain open till ten. Yeah. And these are specialty items. It is not like a traditional bazaar is it is these are these are these are handcrafted. These are artisan, you know. So come and see the beautiful work that they make. Yes. We do have a lot of talented people there if I, if I can. Yeah I have something I currently had four boots and I’m incorporating now a fifth booth which I’m going to add a little mini tea room mini tea room.

Anjelica Cazares: Oh I love completely. Yes. Yeah. I, you know, I’m always looking for one that’s so cool that you’re going to put one in there. Yeah. So because we are doing a tour of Texas and we’re in Harlingen and so we want to hear from you, you know Harlingen. What what kind of, you know, issues are you facing? What what’s positive? What are some negatives? What can you tell us about living? How long have you lived here in Harlingen?

Rosalba Diaz: I, I’ve, I don’t live in Harlingen, okay? I actually live in Brownsville. I commute every day.

Anjelica Cazares: How far is that commute?

Rosalba Diaz: It’s like 30 to 45 minutes from the location that I live. And it depends sometimes because I live close to, space-x.

Anjelica Cazares: Really? Yes. How’s that?

Rosalba Diaz: It’s awesome. Especially on the, you know. Yeah. When the things take. Oh yeah, when they go off and then you can see them coming down, you know, it’s it’s really exciting. It’s something totally new that we have here in the Valley. I mean, I know that that, he came in, like, what, 6 or 7 years ago. But if you ever get the chance to drive out there, it’s a different world altogether that I think that is one of the best opportunities that we’ve received here in Brownsville. I know that a lot of people feel well, you know, because of the environment.

Anjelica Cazares: But you haven’t had any negatives. You know.

Rosalba Diaz: Unfortunately. I have not. I live 16 miles from it. And, whenever the space shuttle goes up and it comes down, a lot of people say that their windows rattle. I have heard windows rattle, but it’s never woken me up. And a lot of people say, well, they hear it all the way in other areas. I’m sure it has something to do with maybe where the where after it launches and comes back down, maybe the area that it lands.

Anjelica Cazares: Yeah, that’s. Basically in my home area. Yeah. And had any I’m sure it’s brought jobs and things like that. Oh definitely. Yeah. As a small business owner, how do you feel in South Texas? Do you feel that that you guys are supported?

Rosalba Diaz: Yes we are. I have had, opportunities where, individuals that are not from this area that have, come to work like, and Space-X and then the other the oil field that they’re, that they’re building, a lot of them, they come out here and, you know, they don’t try to, you know, they’re pretty good and they’re pretty good about the prices. They don’t they don’t try to say, oh, no. Yeah. Let me go down a bit. No. Yeah. They’re really, really good. So we appreciate them. Yeah. That’s another good thing, you know that that, I’m not sure who controls the oil or who’s the one that that owns that, but hey, I appreciate it.

Anjelica Cazares: Yeah. So nice to meet you. And so, so glad to hear, your story and. Yeah. So please support small business. It’s so important. And thank you so much.

Rosalba Diaz: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Anjelica Cazares: Gabby. Who are you and what do you do?

Gabby: Well, I’m the owner of a little anime shop here inside the Harlingen Bazaar. We’ve been open since 2024 and been in the Orange zone since February 2025. The little the little anime shop.

Anjelica Cazares: What do you have? What kind of what kind of items do you have there?

Gabby: Like its namesake? We sell anime merch. It says figures, plushies, keychains, acrylic displays and buttons.

Anjelica Cazares: And why anime?

Gabby: I’ve always loved anime. I just I ever since I was little.

Anjelica Cazares: Okay, okay. What about anime? Is it that you love? I’m nosy. Yeah, I’m really nosy. Yeah. Yes, I am just. Sorry. No, no, no. Go for it. Go for it. What about anime? Is it that you love? What is it about anime? I know you liked it as a little girl growing up. Is it?