![]() He’s from Tlacotepec de Benito Juárez, in the state of Puebla. Like Jiménez, Carrasco isn’t from Michoacán. He said people who travel the farthest are mostly Hispanic: "a lot of Mexicans, Central Americans, like people from El Salvador and Honduras," he said. “People say, ‘There’s a Michoacana?’ and get surprised,” said Carrasco, 38, referring to the fact there's not as many Michoacanas in New York City as in Los Angeles, Chicago or Mexico. It’s become an instant hit, attracting people from different parts of New York City and surrounding states: He said customers drive a few hours from as far as Pennsylvania, upstate New York and Connecticut to buy his products. He took the business concept to the Big Apple and opened up La Michoacana NYC in Brooklyn last year. Īlberto Lezama Carrasco, a New York City native, was on vacation in Los Angeles when he noticed there was an unusual amount of paleterías in the region - all with the namesake of Michoacana. Serena Maria Daniels wrote in Eater, “People use the phrase ‘La Michoacana’ as shorthand for a paletería or ice cream shop in much the same way that people use the brand name Kleenex to mean facial tissue.”įor more from NBC Latino, sign up for our weekly newsletter. In Mexico alone, it was estimated there were 30,000 paleterías over a decade ago there's even been legal disputes over the use of the name, as Eater reported in 2019.īut in her 2011 book “Paletas,” Mexican chef and food writer Fany Gerson, who owns La NewYorkina, a paletería in Brooklyn, wrote, “Arguing that La Michoacana is a brand, it’s like saying ice cream is a brand.” Paletas in a freezer at La Michoacana NYC. You can find a Michoacana paletería from coast to coast and in-between, including in the Midwest, where there’s a strong Latino presence. mainstream and are sold in general supermarkets like Walmart, Smart & Final and Costco, among others. Paletas with the name "Michoacana" have reached the U.S. My objective was to bring the typical products of my country,” Jimenez said. “When I first named the shop 'La Michoacana Plus,' I was trying to find a name that historically represented the genesis of the paletas of Mexico. He was born in Nochistlán, in the state of Zacatecas, and was raised in Toluca. Like many other paleta shop owners across the U.S., though, Jiménez doesn’t hail from Michoacán. Jiménez and many others in the paleta business are banking on the Michoacán name’s instant recognition and the storied history behind it: Despite some debate and varying claims, the Mexican state is known as the birthplace of paletas and one of its towns, Tocumbo, has a giant paleta monument and hosts a weeklong yearly paleta festival. ![]() Courtesy Ruben Jiménez A mariachi band completes the opening of La Michoacana Plus in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. “La Michoacana is now a differentiator to recognize Mexico and its popsicles and ice cream.” The opening of La Michoacana Plus in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. “If we opened in Dubai, I believe we can open in any part of the world,” said Jiménez, who currently lives in Bakersfield, California, and whose business now has over 5,000 employees.
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