This Sunday afternoon, it almost feels like a small Colombian village. The Spanish-speaking mass is barely over in this Parisian church when a car pulls up near the square. A couple comes out and opens the trunk, filled with food curiosities: empanadas (salty turnovers, stuffed with meat and vegetables), piece of queso (cheese buns)… Diana and Nelson (the first names have been changed) are Colombians in their fifties, still faithful to their jobs.
As the faithful leave the mass, a queue forms behind the vehicle. Everyone comes looking for a cafecito (“little cafe”) and a pasteleria (“patisserie”) to eat on the spot, as well as dishes to take home. Everyone knows each other and gathers around the couple. Like many of their clients, Diana and Nelson left Colombia for Spain in the 2000s to find a better life. But the financial crisis of 2008 hit their host country hard. They moved to Paris in 2012. Quickly, they began to deliver to homes and sell their homemade dishes in front of churches frequented by their compatriots.
We speak Spanish here. Most customers are Colombian, but there are also Peruvians, Ecuadorians, and a few French. “We are loyal to them because it’s food that we don’t see here. But it’s also a way of forming community with Latinos. By buying their kitchen, we support them”, explains Carmen, 39 years old. First fang in a piece of quesodesigned to be eaten on the go, on the street or at home. We would take more, but in less than twenty minutes, the crates are empty – frustrating. A new client comes along. Nelson makes contact: “We have nothing left! Where are you from ? » The young man proudly replies that he is Venezuelan.
The street economy
Diana and Nelson work underground. In France, non-sedentary sale, known as “unpacking”, is regulated. They incur a fine of 15,000 euros (article L.310-5 commercial code). Along with many other street vendors present in major French cities, they are the representatives of an authentic street food culture, directly imported from countries where setting up a wobbly stall on a street corner or on the side of a road of tradition. This is the case for all the countries of Latin America, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, for example.
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