In El Monte, a longtime florist says immigration raids and economic fear have emptied shops, reshaping daily life for Latino small businesses.
More than two years ago, Margarita López eagerly looked forward to the celebrations of the year—birthdays, weddings, graduations, and especially Valentine’s Day. Now things have changed.
“Everyone says this year is going to be very bad—the nearby businesses, the ones that sell at the Flower Market downtown. For about two years now, we’ve barely been able to cover expenses. When we can’t even make rent, we’ll have to close,” says Margarita López, owner of Monica’s Flowers, located in El Monte.
It has been 25 years since she and her husband, full of hope, took over the flower shop. Its former owner was transferring it, and they decided to take the risk.
“I didn’t know anything about flowers, arrangements, or how to preserve them. I learned everything little by little. Now, being in the flower shop makes me happy. When I talk with my husband, I tell him, ‘What was all that effort, all that work, all that time dedicated for?’ We know the imminent danger of closing could come at any moment,” she says.
Since Donald Trump’s arrival to the presidency, the country in general—and California in particular—has suffered an economic crisis, mainly due to immigration raids that have affected a large part of society. Both California and Los Angeles have large Latino and immigrant populations that have been severely affected in their jobs and purchasing power.
“Before, our customers would prepare to bring flowers to their girlfriends, for birthdays. But now that’s not happening. They prefer to spend their money on clothes or food. That’s the sad reality. We have a lot of competition—before the raids there were many street vendors who competed with us; now the little markets sell flowers too. We can’t compete with that. Also, people don’t want to pay taxes; they think it’s money for us. They don’t understand that we have to report it as part of our sales,” adds the Guadalajara, Mexico native.
They have tried to adjust to the challenges they face. They’ve made changes to their catalog, created special arrangements they didn’t sell before, started using text messaging to communicate with customers, and are launching a social media campaign.
“We won’t give up that easily. We’ll keep fighting,” she adds.
Margarita is not someone who gives up easily. She grew up in a very large family—seven siblings in total, along with seven cousins who grew up with them.
“We were very poor, but we got ahead; we were very happy. I can’t complain. I’m ready to fight—I’ve always worked. My husband is the same. We’ll fight, but we also have to accept when things no longer work. With great pain and sadness, we’ll have to accept it,” she adds.
Now, as she says, what she has left “is to entrust herself to God.”
Margarita says this crisis is worse than the pandemic.
“During the pandemic, people received money. They could buy things. On the days we were allowed to open, like Mother’s Day, we sold everything. Now we just wait,” she adds. “There are terrible days and better ones. We’ve gotten used to that. For this Valentine’s Day, we ask God that things go well, but it falls on a weekend, and that’s not good. We’ll see if people are wrong and it’s not as bad as they say—I still hope that’s the case.”
Monica’s Flowers
11850 E. Valley Blvd. Suite 122, El Monte CA 91732
