Mini bean tamales are only a few of the Guatemalan foods that Maria, a street vendor who works in LA’s Little Central America near downtown Los Angeles, brings every night to sell to hungry Angelenos. 

“Here I have a business selling food typical of Guatemala,” Maria proudly said.

But Maria is not just cooking to support herself, she works hard to send the money she makes back home to Quetzaltenango, a large city in Guatemala.

“It’s a bit for my family here. And also, for my family in Guatemala,” she said.

Her family in Guatemala needs the support due to the violent conditions in her homeland, the same violence that forced Maria to flee.

“Over there right now it is very dangerous due to gangsters and thieves,” Maria said. “All of that doesn’t allow you to work or live comfortably. Because the gangs force you to pay them - extortion.”

While Maria desires to support them, her food business barely allows her to support herself. She lives in a small space and says she’s just thankful to be safe.

“In this country I am comfortable. God has established me in a comfy little space, where I live alone,” she said.

Maria is one of nearly 3,000 Guatemalans living in California, and many in Los Angeles face similar financial hardships.

While she appreciates the opportunity to work, she says the money she makes is still not enough.

“It is insufficient. It is only to sustain us. That’s how it is.”

But, she says the struggle won’t stop her, because it’s her love for her family that motivates her.

“I miss everything. The cornfields. The zucchini. And most of all my mom, my family.”

And like so many others in her shoes, Maria will keep cooking. Because her dream is not just for a better life of her own in America, but also for a better and safer life for her family back home.