A community store in Bushwick sells clothing and artisan products from indigenous populations in Mexico in an attempt to preserve the culture of these communities.
This is Ti Toro Miko, located in Bushwick. The store bears the same name as a song composed by the father of Saúl Quizet, an indigenous immigrant from the Guerrero area of Mexico, who a couple of years ago decided to sell the clothes that his family’s community produces.
Quizet arrives early to accommodate the merchandise. He, along with other people, has alternate jobs to be able to maintain the business, which during the pandemic has seen a decrease in its sales of up to 70%. Despite this, Quizet ensures that the store’s goal is not just to make money.
“This work does not precisely have to generate money, but to strengthen that family bond and look, encourage it to happen with different countrymen who live here,” he says.
In Ti Toro Miko you can find from traditional clothing of indigenous women from Guerrero, to alebrijes and decorative figures made by hand.
Saúl says that this is a way for his countrymen not to lose their identity. “It is a very beautiful way of remembering and resisting in this great city with our customs, our roots,” he says.
During the beginning of the pandemic, they donated about two thousand embroidered masks to help their neighbors in different parts of Brooklyn.
The store shares space with the Thousand Worlds Bookstore on Linden Street.
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