Xavier Lopez
Appearances
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
It's my park. It's a couple of blocks away from where I grew up in Queens.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
Yeah, I think that's probably an accurate assessment. I feel like that's just Queens generally. There's just like a lot of great food here. And I feel like partially it's because there's like a lot of immigrants here. Like nearly half of the people in Queens are immigrants from more than 120 countries. And you can see some of that represented here at the park.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
I see a lot of Latinos and Asian folks who make the park their community and people of all ages. Older folks that come here to feed the animals and the young people that come here to just like hang out. They're throughout the park having barbecues with families or picnics with their friends.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
Yeah, there's like a lot of Ecuadorian immigrants here, like me. You know, I came here back in 2002. And back then there was already a small Ecuadorian population here. But in the last couple of years, New York has seen one of the biggest Ecuadorian populations in the U.S. And it's mostly here in Queens. Right now, we're at the Ecuadorian Festival.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
This is a festival that happens every year or so in August around Ecuadorian Independence Day.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
Luis's cousin is tall. He wears glasses and his hair is spiked in a way that makes you feel like he's taller, too. Luis is shy, but his cousin is such a hype man. And they have this dynamic. Think Richie and Carmi in The Bear vibes, but it's about selling helados at the Ecuadorian festival.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
Exactly. cousin, Primo. And his primo keeps pushing Luis to talk to us while pointing an alado at him the entire time.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
about how the situation in Ecuador, it's gotten pretty violent.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
He crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and turned himself in, said he needed asylum.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
This is a place where immigrants from all over the world come to get some fresh air and to relax and to really just have fun, you know?
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
owing a lot of money, basically to a cartel. And those are not people you want to owe money to.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
So Luis, he gets a job in construction, but he also decides to do street vending gigs. The clock is ticking. Every penny and every second counts.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
Atomic Habits by James Clear, a motivational speaker from Ohio. Build better habits, eat healthier, and take more risks. Be more open. Be more of a businessman. Grow as a person. Challenge yourself.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
Still, he says, when he got here, he kind of froze up. Like, you've got to stand here amidst hundreds of people, really loud music blaring, other vendors yelling over you.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
I gotta keep going. I gotta fight. I gotta go back home for my dad one day. I gotta keep going.
Up First from NPR
A Sunday in the Park
It's so nice out today. I'm just, I'm really glad we got to do this today.