How one market ignited a flame for East L.A.’s queer and trans community

Diana Diaz is the daughter of immigrant street vendors.

Growing up in East Los Angeles’s City Terrace, Diaz was instantly submerged in the world of vending. Her parents were able to afford life in L.A. working as vendors, and they began teaching her everything about the trade from a young age, from sales to manufacturing clothing and handbags.

Diaz grew up surrounded by a community of vendors who quickly became her friends and second family. She was fully enraptured with the art of vending.

While working as a school counselor, Diaz started making and selling her own handbags at different markets. Diaz’s handbag business continued to evolve, and she quickly realized she wanted more from the vending circuit.

Rather than selling throughout L.A., Diaz wanted to create a pop-up opportunity closer to home, where the community could be at the forefront.

“I started craving that old community, the family feeling,” Diaz said. “I decided instead of popping up all over L.A., to create a pop-up close to my home, in my community, with my friends and also with the queer community in mind.”

During her time as a counselor, Diaz often worked with queer and trans youth. Stranded in a very prevalent heteronormative, machismo culture, she saw how some of her students struggled for acceptance. The lack of community, resources and support for these students inspired Diaz to push for a market where the LGBTQ community could thrive.

Diaz was inspired to create a space where East L.A.’s queer and trans community could thrive, where her students could be welcomed and accepted.

In July 2021, Diaz founded The Queer Mercado, a monthly open market operated by the community, where creatives can sell their wares, food vendors can serve up fresh treats, performers can showcase their talents and attendees can shop in a safe environment.

Happening the third Saturday of every month, the mercado offers a unique opportunity for East L.A.’s queer and trans community to come together.

In East L.A., a private lot sits across from the Hilda L. Solis Learning Academy. Nothing more than barren pavement, the lot provides exclusive parking for the school’s inhabitants.

A chain link fence dots its perimeter, a thin strip of dying grass separates it from the sidewalk and the 710 Freeway towers above its western border. Cars rush through the nearby intersection of East Cesar Chavez and North Humphreys Avenue, as people pay no mind to the lot when they walk past.

In every way it's just an ordinary L.A. parking lot, practically empty outside of school hours and blending in with its surroundings—but there’s more to this lot than meets the eye.

In April 2021, Diaz created a different pop-up market called The Goddess Mercado, which caters to women vendors. The Los Angeles Unified School District allowed her to use the lot.

She scouted several other spots to host The Queer Mercado, without success, so she took matters into her own hands and called the school district.

“When I called LAUSD… I asked, ‘Can I start our market? I'm going to call it The Queer Mercado, it's going to cater to LGBT youth, vendors,’” Diaz said. “Their immediate response was, ‘It's about time. We'll help you. Any obstacles you have, we’ll help you get through it.’”

Diaz had to figure out how to pay for the event. As a new organizer trying to create such a large space for queer and trans vendors, Diaz asked the district to fund the mercado. She promised to donate portions of the funds back to the school, and in return she could use the parking lot.

Now, once every month, the unsuspecting lot is transformed into a celebration of queer and trans creativity. Vendors from all over L.A. join together to offer a range of products, setting up stalls along the vast parking lot.

While the collaboration has treated them well, Diaz said it's time for the mercado to expand beyond the school lot.

On Dec. 10, The Queer Mercado and The Goddess Mercado will join together for a unified holidays-themed mercado at East L.A.’s Civic Center. With a much larger space, Diaz is hopeful the mercado’s expansion will bring more opportunities for everyone involved.

“This next site is so beautiful, it's so magical,” Diaz said. “People are going to be able to take their blankets and lounge and spend the whole day and just get some sun. I'm so excited about that—We needed that.”

Balancing time between the mercado and her son was one of the hardest challenges Diaz faced. While the mercado brings joy and celebration for the community, she said it’s also a full-time job.

Now, with an invitation to hold the mercado in the Civic Center, Diaz said the community's involvement and support of the market allows it to continue growing beyond her expectations.

Even though missing out of family time is difficult, Diaz said her son understands the work she’s doing is important. When asked if she would change anything, Diaz said she wished she would’ve done it all sooner.

What began as a small group of 40 different vendors has blossomed into a coalition of more than 115 selling their merchandise at The Queer Mercado. Diaz said they’ve also cultivated a network of more than 1,000 vendors who've “walked through the gates and shopped [at the mercado] and supported us.”

Vendors are able to apply for a spot in the mercado every month, and if chosen there is a $65 fee to participate. Queer and trans people have first-preference, Diaz said, because the mercado is a space for their longevity.

No two vendors are exactly alike, and each brings something different to the table that diversifies the mercado’s overall selection. From Día de los Muertos-themed planters to brightly colored wax candles shaped as human figures, attendees have a wide range of merchandise to choose from.

Co-collaborators and husbands Salvador Cortez and Rafael Hernandez have been vending at the mercado since its second month. The couple sell a multitude of items, including crystals and jewelry, but their planters are perhaps the most captivating within their stall.

The planters are shaped like a person’s head, but each one features a colorful makeup job hand painted by the couple. Hernandez takes care of the eyeshadow and Cortez creates the outlines and stencil-like brows. Together, the two create end products that are heavily inspired by what Cortez described as “chola” and drag looks.

Each planter embodies a different girl.

They’ve even created custom works, such as a Dodgers-themed planter and several inspired by specific drag queens.

Cortez said they began vending at other mercados in Hollywood and Burbank, but The Queer Mercado offers a different environment where vendors and vendees alike can find pride within.

“We just feel safe and proud,” Cortez said. “It's nice to see all other queer vendors. We support each other and like my husband always says, it feels like a mini pride here where all of us can come together and support each other as partners and community.”

During the pandemic, husbands Ko and DeMarkus Trinidad-Williams began experimenting with candle making as a form of therapy. Nearly three years later, they’ve built a loyal following for their business, Soul Food Candle Co.

Through their custom candles, the couple seek to spark “nostalgia and provide representation for the communities they belong to, as well as other communities of color and queerness.”

Ko and DeMarkus, who uses they/them pronouns, have been with the mercado since its “infancy,” and have watched it evolve firsthand. DeMarkus said they’ve been embraced by the community.

“I was one of the first Puerto Rican queer vendors here, and Ko was one of the first Black vendors here,” DeMarkus said. “To be able to bring those intersections here at The Queer Mercado, being able to represent Black and Caribbean culture is beautiful in the Latin community because they do intersect at times and we're just so excited to be a part of that representation for other folks."

Ko said part of that growth comes from within the mercado itself. As more vendors of varying backgrounds are welcomed into the family, the mercado’s reach grows and expands. He said they’re letting people know about the mercado and encouraging people to show up.

As the mercado continues to grow, the couple said they’re excited to be a part of its future.

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An assortment of cermaic bowls created by Adrian Rodriguez. While she's not taking care of her father, she likes to spend her time creating dynamic pottery. (Colton Lucas)

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A pair of earrings made from vintage miniture Barbie Dolls. Angelica Figueroa runs The Fig Design House where she creates an assortment of quirky jewery and accessories. (Colton Lucas)

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Human form candles on display at a stall selling an assortment of wax candles and candle melts. Several stalls at The Queer Mercado often sell these types of display candles. (Colton Lucas)

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A stall selling 3D printed planters offers an assortmnt of different sizes, shapes and colors. (Colton Lucas)

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Golden bamboo earrings on display at Soul Food Candle Co.'s stall. These earrings were made popular by Black and Brown women and fem-presenting people in the 80's, and have since remained a cultural staple. (Colton Lucas)

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An assortment of pins displaying pride flags on display at a stall. (Colton Lucas)

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Various crystals on display and sold by Not Your Basic Brujo Apothercary, which specializes in modern adaptations of classic curandero folk medicine materials. (Colton Lucas)

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Two posters depicting the original patents for douching devices and anal dilators is on display at Homo AF's stall. The business sells an assortment of queer and trans paraphanlia. (Colton Lucas)

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Angelica Figueroa has been selling handcrafted jewelry at the mercado for six months. Her work ranges from acrylic earrings in the shapes of pop culture iconography to miniature old-school Barbie dolls dangling from earring posts.

While the mercado isn’t the only pop-up she’s participated in, Figueroa said she dedicates her time selling in markets that are inclusive of her own identities—the mercado just happens to be “one of the best markets” she’s been a part of.

Having a space dedicated for queer and trans people, especially people of color, provides a welcoming approach to vending, especially for those who often aren’t afforded the opportunity.

“I feel like our voices sometimes are not heard as loud or not represented as much, and this market just covers such a broad range of vendors,” Figueroa said. “It's really inspiring and empowering and we're just all supportive of each other.”

One and a half years after Diaz fought to create the mercado, it’s now become a cultural hub for East L.A.’s LGBTQ community. Friendships, relationships, hook ups, and even several engagements have stemmed from the mercado.

For the queer and trans Latinx community in East L.A., but especially for the students who didn't have a mercado of their own, Diaz said this market is for them.

"I see how our community can evolve and start creating more opportunities for the current residents," Diaz said. "verybody fears gentrification because we haven't created enough opportunities for the youth. When we create opportunities for the youth, they don't leave. They fight hard to stay... that's what happened to me."

Diaz is a leader within her community, fighting to create a better environment for queer and trans youth. As more of the community begins to accept the mercado's mission, and as more students start to recieve more acceptance, Diaz said her own mission to build a stronger community will only continue to grow.

Through The Queer Mercado, Diaz hopes the community will continue to evolve and become more accepting. While there’s still plenty of work to be done, she’s committed to keeping up the good fight.

“A lot of the vendors have shared with me that they've gone to other spaces where it's not strictly queer and they feel like they have to be careful,” Diaz said. “The importance is to feel safe, to feel like you're in a community, to feel like you belong.”