6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JUNE 1-7, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 Guadalupe Lopez can still picture the sacks and boxes of products transported from Oaxaca to her aunt’s living room in Seaside. Floor space would be taken by stacks of tortillas, chapulines, quesillo cheese and other goods. She also watched the toll of a childhood ailment as it tugged on the older woman’s body. “I remember seeing my aunt walk with a limp, then a cane, then crutches and now a wheelchair,” Lopez notes. Her aunt is Minerva Hernández, owner of El Milagro Restaurant, with locations in Seaside and Salinas. She is a woman always moving forward, no matter the confrontations of life. When she opened El Milagro on Broadway Avenue with no understanding of the restaurant business (admitting she didn’t even know how to pay vendors or employees) everyone—including her landlord—doubted her decision. “Give me a chance to show you that the mind is greater than the body,” was Hernández’s response. It’s a phrase that applies to her life. Stricken with polio at 3 years old in her native Mexico, Hernández faced both discrimination and pity as a child. With her family convinced she could never live on her own, Hernández ventured north of the border—lying to her parents that she was after better medical care, instead seeking independence. Although she struggled to walk and had no transportation other than buses, she took custodial work at a hotel in Carmel and cleaned houses. When friends started a restaurant called El Pastorcito in Seaside, Hernández asked why the menu was slanted toward north of the border tastes. They told her Oaxacan dishes would never sell. At the time there were few shops in Seaside selling items from the region. Convinced that demand was there, however, she urged a friend who planned to visit Oaxaca to bring back a list of items. “I sold them in one day,” Hernández recalls. That began a regular trail of goods hauled by car from southern Mexico to Seaside and the cluttered living room of Lopez’s memory. It led to a store on Fremont in Seaside—her first official business. But before all of that, Hernández slept in a garage and pedaled items door to door. She was also raising a son, born in 1993. One day he returned from school and told her the class had been asked to share their parents’ occupation. He wanted to know if he could say that his mother sold items from a garage. “I told myself no—I’m not going to be in the garage,” Hernández says. Hernández took over a large shop and in addition to clothes, she began selling the crafts and food brought from Oaxaca—until the health department found out. Unable to pay the rent with just the receipts from crafts and clothing, Hernández returned to selling food door to door. At the same time, she made an effort to learn the rules for importing goods and the local permitting process, which led to another obstacle: Seaside had never drafted a code for a business selling clothing and decor as well as food. Eventually every wrinkle was ironed out and goods were shipped. “I thanked God when we saw the tortillas had arrived,” she says. Hernández opened El Milagro restaurant 15 years ago in April, starting with her mother’s recipes. The name translates as “The Miracle”—but the fates were not through with her just yet. When the pandemic swept across the world, Hernández became very sick from Covid. Her mother and brother both died from the virus. She was severely shaken, to the point that Hernández asked God how it was possible that she would not be allowed to enjoy success and share it with her family. Nothing had ever stopped Hernández. But the death of loved ones had come close. One day, however, a word of inspiration from her son brought her spirits back. “That day I moved forward,” she says. “You have to move forward.” Hernández’s niece recalls the bags and boxes and the loss of mobility. She remains in awe of the woman’s strength. “As an adult, I now wonder how she was able to overcome all the adversity and become the businesswoman she is now,” Lopez says. Celia Jiménez contributed to this story. Going Strong Minerva Hernández has never allowed disability— or anything else—to get in the way. By Dave Faries When Minerva Hernández visited a U.S. doctor for polio treatment with only $250 in her pocket, she was told the surgery would never happen. “At that point, I decided to fight against the tide,” she says. “The mind is greater than the body.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Local People, Local Bank Banking is better when it’s locally sourced. You receive personal attention from local experts, access to decision makers, and exceptional customer service. If you’d like some fresh ideas on how to grow your business, contact us. Our team is ready to serve you.
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