Mexican Shaved Ice Vendor Raspados El Chilango Has Kept Hollywood Cool for 17 Years | Eater LA
"At the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue a compact, wiry vendor, Daniel Velázquez, has built a cult following over more than 17 years by focusing on concentrated flavor combinations made with real fruit rather than generic syrups. All good raspados here "start with the jarabes (syrups) and a big block of ice," and the construction—the speed with which the vendor pours chunky fruit syrup over cylinders of hand-shaved snow dressed with lechera, Tajín, or squirts of lime—directly shapes the final result. Velázquez spends hours vigorously shaving snowy ice from a step ladder that looms over the three-foot frozen block; on his head a wide bandana captures beads of sweat. The fruits for the syrups are sourced from Downtown’s Seventh Street Produce Market and displayed in plastic grip jars packed to capacity with nance, guanábana, pineapple, strawberry, and coconut, among others. Raspados begin with swirls of lechera inside a clear plastic cup before ice is packed in and generously covered in a syrup; a second flavor follows as a hand-shaped bullet of ice heaped with overflowing fruit-laden syrup and crowned with chopped fruits, and finally it’s dressed through the hole at the center of the plastic dome lid with some Tajín, a squirt of lime, or a spot of El Cherito chamoy sauce if requested. Customer Juan Vega, a regular of 15 years, says, “I like coconut and strawberry, or coconut and walnut.” Spicy diablitos with tamarind syrup and mangonadas made with mango, Tajín, and chamoy are among the more beloved offerings; sizes are $5 for a small, $6 for a medium, and $7 for a large, and the cart typically draws the longest lines on spring and summer afternoons. In late June a video shot outside the nearby strip mall parking lot racked up nearly 6 million views on the vendor’s TikTok account after a security guard allegedly threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Velázquez temporarily shut down on July 1 amid a sudden surge in ICE activity in the area, warning followers, “Some women reached out to us here where we sell, and thanks to them, we were warned and we were able to escape. Stay Alert!” The cart has since returned to its corner but Velázquez says he is opening day by day and insists, “I know my rights and don’t cause anyone problems, so I’m not going anywhere.”" - Bill Esparza
