International Markets in Fresno

The San Joaquin Valley is known as the “nation’s salad bowl” and of course because of its fertile alluvial soil it serves as the breadbasket realm for the country. The valley’s agriculture workforce have attacked immigrants in different periods in history such as during the Dust Bowl years. According to Barbara Hernandez from the New York Times “Some of the newest immigrants in the San Joaquin Valley are the Hmongs, who fought alongside Americans during the Vietnam War, many arriving in the 1980s from refugee camps in Thailand”.  As the immigrants land in the offshore they brought with them not only their native customs such as the languages and religion practices, but also they carried on their authentic and traditional gastronomy recipes. As the results of this new wave of immigrants they lay ground for the establishment of a series of international markets across the valley in cities such as in Fresno.

Strolling along the aisles of these authentic markets one can observed a variety of foreign products such as canned foods and many other supplies of many colors. The existence of these markets enables the immigrants to continue flourishing their native way of cook and eat along with the new generations. 

During my visit to two of the markets in Fresno I was surprised for the amount of products on display that was imported abroad. My first stop was at the Royal Indian Market where I was greeted by one of the employee, later on I learned that it was the daughter of the business owner. She welcomed my friend and I by saying “Please feel free to ask any question”. The warm welcoming expression from employee really defined my visit into this non-traditional supermarket. I assumed that back in India greeting customers is something very usual especially when one wants to catch the attention of customers. I’m an immigrant myself from Oaxaca, Mexico and as part of an indigenous tribe we traded our goods in the open plazas through the barter system and greeting our customers to become acquaintance is part of the exchange process.

 I also visited the Asian Supermarket and the first thing I noticed when I entered inside the store was that there were conversation going on among the customers and the stocking person in Hmong. The group seemed to me talking not about products, but some type of random conversation. In the Asian market I was able to observe not only more handicraft products, but also more fresh vegetables and meats whereas in the Indian market it was more of canned foods and preserved products. Moreover, the Indian market included some products imported from England, thus, many product’s label was bilingual both in Hindi and English, whereas the Asian market I did not saw any English on the labels. In the clothing section in the Asian Market I saw a young lady sewing a traditional Hmong dress, so I asked her if all clothing products  was made locally or if it was imported, and she informed that most of it is imported, but often customer order a customized dress. The Indian market also distinguished itself from the Asian market by having a shelf full of newspaper related to news development in India and locally.    

 The fate of these businesses are certainly belongs to the immigrant community who want to  preserved and promote their cultural and tradition amongst the younger generation within their families and to the public in general. The international markets in the valley are truly a landmark for those interested individuals who want to celebrate the cultural diversity in our region and it’s certainly a piece of home for many immigrants who shops in this markets for products otherwise won’t obtainable.