Parasol, 2023 -
Parasols from various locations in Los Angeles: Long Beach Boulevard west and east exit ( I-105 freeway) in Lynwood and Wilmington Avenue west exit (west I-105 freeway) in Watts
81 inches by 71 inches
Street vendors, or more commonly referred to as Vendedores and Vendedoras, are staples of street culture in Los Angeles. Vendedores are identified by colorful sun-bleached parasols. In Chinatown, vendors sell items such as baseball caps, seasonal fruits, flowers, keychains, and prepared foods.
Historically, Mexican and Chinese immigrants were the first people to begin street vending in California around the mid 1800s. Since as early as 1870, the state of California has tried to restrict vending. In 2018, the state of California passed the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, which decriminalized the practice of street vending and prohibits law enforcement from regulating these businesses. [1] Despite these new laws street vendors still face racial violence and are subject to the environmental threats of the freeways and roads they sell on. The parasols not only register the color-effacing power of sunlight but simultaneously absorb the particles of pollution that surround their businesses.
While their parasols may block out the intense Los Angeles sun, they do little to protect vendors from the air pollution produced by vehicles on the road. Since June of 2025, the very identifiable parasol has made undocumented workers more susceptible to abduction by Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE).
1. “Bill Text - SB-946 Sidewalk Vendors.” 2017. Ca.gov. 2017. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB946.
Parasols from various locations in Los Angeles: Long Beach Boulevard west and east exit ( I-105 freeway) in Lynwood and Wilmington Avenue west exit (west I-105 freeway) in Watts
81 inches by 71 inches
Street vendors, or more commonly referred to as Vendedores and Vendedoras, are staples of street culture in Los Angeles. Vendedores are identified by colorful sun-bleached parasols. In Chinatown, vendors sell items such as baseball caps, seasonal fruits, flowers, keychains, and prepared foods.
Historically, Mexican and Chinese immigrants were the first people to begin street vending in California around the mid 1800s. Since as early as 1870, the state of California has tried to restrict vending. In 2018, the state of California passed the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, which decriminalized the practice of street vending and prohibits law enforcement from regulating these businesses. [1] Despite these new laws street vendors still face racial violence and are subject to the environmental threats of the freeways and roads they sell on. The parasols not only register the color-effacing power of sunlight but simultaneously absorb the particles of pollution that surround their businesses.
While their parasols may block out the intense Los Angeles sun, they do little to protect vendors from the air pollution produced by vehicles on the road. Since June of 2025, the very identifiable parasol has made undocumented workers more susceptible to abduction by Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE).
1. “Bill Text - SB-946 Sidewalk Vendors.” 2017. Ca.gov. 2017. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB946.