Xpresion Cultural Brings Latin Roots to the Bay Area

Originally posted in 2021.

Nestled amongst the empty crevices of The Shops of Tanforan, located near the food court and nail shop is a store that houses treasures from Latin America and the Southern Shores abroad. Xpresion Cultural is a place that has a bit of everything: jewelry, home decorations, art, clothing, and spiritual items. What sets it apart from the stores in the San Bruno area is that it caters to Latin culture and to the creators who made the products. Eighty percent of the crystals come from Peru, the crystal wrapped jewelry is made by Rocio Bautista the co-owner, the ponchos hail from Ecuador, and other items are from Mexico and other countries. Bautista and her husband Alejandro Angeles run the store with the hope to stay there longer than a season than initially planned.

Store front of Expresion Cultural across from Hot Topic in Tanforan. Photo by Laurel B. Lujan

Before Covid-19 hit the San Francisco Bay Area, Xpresion Cultural inhabited a store space in the mall for the winter season to sell their goods to the public. The plan was as scheduled to move onto the following vendor events, such as festivals and fairs for the summer and fall but now they are playing it by ear. "We tried in different malls, and this is the mall we have chosen to use because of the accessibility to be a pop-up just for the season," explained Bautista. The store temporarily closed for at least three months, leaving Bautista and Angeles no choice but to comply and hope for the best.

Like many small business owners across the country, they applied for several Covid-19 grants for financial support. Yet, they were not approved due to not doing payroll even though she and her husband comply with taxes and other business regulations. Intending to stay in business and to take a risk to make a living, they were able to make a deal with the mall landlord, "We did a deal with the company (The Shops of Tanforan) to be here for one year if there was a better price for doing the contract and they did it," Bautista elaborated. They were able to pay the same amount to lease for a year compared to three months which is economical for them and to the suppliers who rely on them for a living to sell their art (creations). She feels lucky in these times because she knows of other businesses that have closed due to rental agreements and not being able to make rent with no sales due to the confinement period. Bautista's work as a vendor began as a generational tradition that progressed from her grandparents who hail from Ecuador. Her grandparents would purchase household items such as salt, cereal, and milk from the city which was a three-day journey from the countryside crossing the mountains, and then they would sell or trade the products with the locals for food. Her father specifically was a businessman who always tried to do more by incorporating the family art and selling it.

Rocio Bautista the co-owner, with her husband Alejandro Angeles sell ponchos which hail from Ecuador, and other items are from Mexico and other countries. Photo by Laurel B. Lujan

Eventually, the business grew to where Bautista, Angeles, and most of her family members work together by selling their art and creations via vending and now Xpresion Cultural. Angeles, who hails from Mexico, joined Bautista to be a vendor after a career as a construction worker to sell things that exhibit their cultures. Both of them perfected their skills of vending by learning from their friends who had similar ventures and were kind to show them the ropes.

Thirty percent of the items in the store are made by her family, such as her father making the ponchos. "It's a whole community, and in Mexico, it is the same because we know a lot of artists," Bautista said. "We talk with them about designs and work together." There are many ethnic stores located in the Bay Area sell groceries, particular household items from their country of origin, and some religious/spiritual items. Bautista believes her shop is unique because there's a cultural connection to the products, giving a spiritual solace for those who wish to bridge their roots. Xpresion Cultural offers handmade clothing, art, and spiritual/religious tools despite the cultural difference in America. Mercedes Tiujillo, an employee of the shop, feels the quality is priceless due to the locations the store items come from, "I call this store international because we have other countries too," she said.

Ponchos made by Bautista's family.

"We bring them (products) from South America and Central America because we have things from Guatemala and Costa Rica too." Tiujillo observes that the customers who come into the store for the first time tend to spend at least 15 or 20 minutes looking around because they have never seen these kind of products in one place and from various Latin countries. A few customers who frequently bring their friends to Xpresion Cultural, sisters Denise and Michelle Espino, couldn't agree more. "I actually discovered the store with my friend Carla," Michelle stated while shopping. "We stumbled upon it, and I have also brought other friends here, and they've really just liked the authenticity of the products and all of that." With the evolving views of religion and spirituality amongst people, intentional shopping is used to connect to their roots and obtain community awareness about their support economically.

Some of the products sold at Xpresion Cultural from Bautista's home country and other Latin American countries. Photo by Laurel B. Lujan 2021.

Based on the article, "Can Spirituality Exist Without God? A Growing Number of Americans Say Yes" by Robin Young of the WBUR official news website, there are more than a quarter of Americans identify as spiritual but not religious. As Young writes in the article, part of being spiritual is how people "interact with others, with living more contemplatively, and with appreciating nature and the natural world." Denise Espino clarified that Xpresion Cultural is one of the businesses she loves to shop at due to it being aligned to her beliefs. "I feel comfortable personally for the culture, it's something I've always been a part of and it's just nice to communicate with other people that are interested and practice the same things as me. It seems more personal to me. It's also nice to support our small businesses as well," said Denise.

Sisters Denise and Michelle Espino shopping for spiritual supplies and jewelry. Photo by Laurel B. Lujan, 2021.

Bautista explained that in her experience on why it can be hard to sell her items, especially the clothes and shoes, is due to cultural differences and biases. She is an indigenous Ecuadorian who takes pride in her culture and loves to showcase items that are not only Latin but with heavy indigenous influence. "With young people or even Latin people who live here, there is judgement if you wear certain dresses," she elaborated. "There is a bias and people will ask if you're Indian but what does it matter, we're all Latin or whatever country we come from."

With the current and aftereffects of the pandemic, there is a heavy focus on making a living and attempting to support the artists that sell their work to people like Bautista and Angeles.

It is not always about the money but the community, the personal services and communication that these mom-and-pop shops provide. "We really like the service; we always get good advice on how to clean our crystals and (give) valuable information and products that otherwise will be hard to find," Denise said. "I don't really like buying these types of products online because you don't really know if they're actual crystals or they are fake. I prefer supporting my communities who are actually invested and interested in helping others learning on how to use these products."

Crystals and jewelry handmade and purchased from her local community.

According to a Statistica report, there were 150 million Prime members in 2019 in the U.S. compared to the total of the 200 million people who are Prime members. According to the report, the top three reasons people love Amazon were fast and free shipping and that they have a large variety of products. The sisters do agree that small businesses can sell their products on Amazon and possibly thrive. Still, there is a lack of personal connection, as stated previously. There is also the acknowledgment that the lack of an online presence can affect mom and pop shops since many people moved to mostly online shopping due to the pandemic last year.

Photo by Laurel B. Lujan

Bautista related to this, saying it takes time and energy to learn many new skills to be consistent in the participation of social media. This includes updating and uploading photos, prices and dealing with a new branch of customer service that is filled with questions about product availability and having to explain that the products sold at Xpresion Cultural are limited due to being handcrafted and vintage and Covid-19 influencing the supply chain. With closed borders and restricted items people can bring back, Xpresion Cultural must deal with what they have, as Tiujillo explained. "I just think it's important to research and look up these small businesses through social media or Instagram. You can really look and find these products that will support small businesses and give genuine advice," Michelle Espino stated in why Amazon should be the second choice in shopping options. Bautista also has her feelings about more prominent companies, especially regarding the quality of the products despite the variety. She recalled how a few times she had bought a few things from the websites and was disappointed by their quality.

She and her husband hope to keep using their physical shop to support the artists who contribute their high-quality work and who rely on them to pay their bills despite the change of the economic setting. With their platform to showcase different Latin Cultures such as Ecuador, El Salvador to Costa Rico, Bautista and Angeles expect that opening more places due to vaccination will bring more business.