Maná Donating to Local Organizations to Support Street Vendors in L.A.

We love seeing Latinx celebrities giving back to the communities that nurtured them and made them successful, especially to those who are a part of the culture like street vendors. Street vendors have been the targets of harassment, violence, and city policing for years. Earlier this month, six street vendors lost their carts in the destructive 1-10 Freeway fire in Los Angeles as a result of alleged arson. In the wake of tragic news affecting beloved street vendors, the Latinx community always steps up. It was recently announced that the beloved Mexican rock band Maná will be donating to Community Power Collective and the L.A. Street Vendor Campaign to help street vendors in celebration of their two sold-out shows at The Forum later this week as part of their L.A. residency. Their donation will support street vendors who are applying to the health department to get a permit to legally sell food and other wares, L.A. Taco reported.

“Everywhere we go, MANÁ will continue to support our people and their dreams,” Maná frontman and lead singer Fher Olvera told L.A. TACO. “We are proud to support Los Angeles food vendors by helping with the development of these carts that we hope will allow them to work, share our culture, and support their families with dignity and without fear of being criminalized. Street food vendors are hardworking, entrepreneurial, and make it work with what they have. This spirit, esas ganas reminds us of our journey as a band and of the best of Mexico.”

Maná is one of the most successful Latin American bands in history with four Grammys and eight Latin Grammy awards and, with over 40 million albums sold worldwide. Originally formed in 1981, the band has a long history of social and political activism, supporting causes to benefit the environment, human rights, Indigenous sovereignty, and Puerto Rican independence. So it’s no surprise that they will be supporting Community Power Collective and L.A. Street Vendor Campaign this winter. Both are vendor-led organizations that formed in 2008 to address harassment that vendors were facing simply for doing their work.

Their efforts eventually led to the passing of the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, which made vending legal in L.A. and the rest of California in 2018, promising a beacon of hope and change for vendors everywhere. But despite the strides being made, the financial burden still keeps many from being able to obtain permits. Only 204 of about 10,000 vendors who have applied for permits have received them from the health department since the law passed and vendors still face harassment, which is what makes Maná’s donation that much more significant.

On top of the donation, they will be collaborating with Ernesto Yerena, a local artist, to create an exclusive band T-shirt that will be sold online, with all proceeds being donated to Community Power Collective and L.A. Street Vendor Campaign. Street vendors are also being invited to attend both of Maná’s concert dates at the Forum.

Maná will perform two sold-out shows at the Forum in Inglewood, California on November 25th and 26th as part of their México Lindo y Querido Tour.