1 week ago
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KERMAN, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A household successful Kerman has brought the sweetness of authentic Mexican paletas to the assemblage for implicit a decade, and now, crossed 2 generations.
Martin Enriquez says his appreciation and emotion for crystal pick started erstwhile helium was conscionable a boy.
"At the property of 13, erstwhile I was successful school, I wanted to marque immoderate other money," Martin said. "So past I went and met up with the proprietor of a paleteria. He gave jobs to kids."
Martin earned wealth selling paletas arsenic helium went to school, and eventually, helium besides earned a assistance to survey successful Mexico City. Martin earned his degree, Mexico's equivalent to a Bachelor's successful Animal Science, and came to the Central Valley to enactment with cattle.
After immoderate time, Martin says his caput would drift to a young miss helium knew arsenic a lad successful Mexico.
"I was 12, and she was ten. It was. And, San Miguel del Alto, Jalisco," Martin said. "I decided to spell backmost to Mexico."
Martin says helium and his present wife, Rocio, reconnected aft years, and aft 3 days, they joined and returned to the Central Valley.
Martin and Rocio came backmost successful 1993 and started a family. Martin says his woman has been his biggest protagonist successful each of his wildest pursuits.
"We decided to commencement immoderate ventures. One was owning our ain dairy, 2007," Martin said.
The Eriquez household besides started milking their dairy cows to marque food and selling that food to restaurants.
But Martin says nary substance wherever their adventures took them, helium and Rocio were ever renting from someone. That is, until Martin went backmost to his roots arsenic a paleta vendor, opening up Fruta Fresca successful Kerman successful 2012.
"We started with conscionable this room. We were reselling crystal pick from immoderate different makers," Enriquez said. "Our extremity was to marque our processing country and commencement making our ain products implicit here. So I mean, that mode we cognize that we could power quality."
For years, Martin continued to enactment with dairy cattle portion helium and Rocio worked successful the paleteria. In 2021, his eldest daughter, Yazmine, decided it was clip to articulation the household business.
"I worked with Guess for astir 9 years. Then I moved to Sacramento for a mates of years - I worked arsenic a marque influencer for the brand," Yazmine said. "In 2021, I decided it was clip to assistance retired with the household concern again."
Yazmine says the pandemic changed the retail scenery significantly, but the existent crushed she chose to instrumentality to Kerman was that she missed her home.
"I missed my family. So I wanted to beryllium close," Yazmine said. "My parents were getting older, and they needed immoderate assistance with the shop. So I decided it was clip to travel beryllium a paletera."
After years of enactment successful retail, Yazmine says making paletas did not travel easy.
"I wanted them to look identical each time, and I would outcry a lot," Yazmine said. "I was going done my closet and I recovered a brace of jeans with the tag connected it that said, 'No 2 items volition beryllium the same. Just owed to the quality of the fabric.' It benignant of clicked that it was a acquisition successful perfectionism."
Now, Yazmine says she conscionable focuses connected ensuring the prime of her paletas. She says she besides uses her paleta-making arsenic a originative outlet and a mode to observe and stock her heritage.
"This year, we made a Hot Cheetos Paleta, due to the fact that we had a five-year-old who requested it," Yazmine said. "My parents ever instilled successful america to observe the information that we're Mexican, to 'never shy distant from it.' Mexico is simply a feeling. To perceive radical travel successful present and say, 'I consciousness similar I'm successful Mexico eating crystal cream,' that's 1 of the biggest compliments I consciousness similar we receive."
Martin says the occurrence of his family's tiny concern is impervious that thing is imaginable done hard work, religion and perseverance.
"If you conscionable springiness idiosyncratic a chance, each idiosyncratic has unlimited potential," Martin said.
