Merced Sanchez is a street vendor from Santa Clara, a town an hour and a half from Puebla, she had a government administrative job before migrating 20 years ago. She comes from a family of vendors–her mother would make and sell mole and her grandparents had a stall at the La Merced market in Mexico City. 

Merced was one of the main organizers of the 10 year campaign to legalize street vending in Los Angeles County, an area home to over 50,000 vendors. Merced describes her fight in the campaign: “I feel very proud because it was a challenge for me. It was a challenge to hear that they didn’t want us, that we weren’t worth anything, but we did it. We made history and my granddaughter knows who I am. The greatest proof I have is that they sat me in front of legislators in Sacramento” where the governor signed legislation legalizing sidewalk vending statewide.