Hidden Gems: Meet Brenda Garcia of Huesos Xocolatl

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Garcia.

Hi Brenda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Brenda Garcia I am a mother of two beautiful girls and founder of Huesos Xocolatl. I am an indigenous zapoteca that was born and raised in Los Angeles. My family is from Oaxaca from a Pueblo called San Marcos Tlapazola. Like most first generation when it came to school being out on vacation my mother would send me to Oaxaca since my mother couldn’t go. I grew up watching my grandmother and aunts cook traditional Oaxacan food. In 2016 while I was visiting my grandmother in Oaxaca I decided to become vegan. But after a while I missed traditional Oaxacan food but most of all I missed eating tamales. Eating tamales once a year was not enough for me, so towards the end of 2022 I decided to start selling traditional vegan tamales oaxaqueños. I would set up outside Whole Foods in Downtown LA and sell my vegan tamales. I wanted to share traditional food that brought me so much joy. After many tries in testing out different oils for my masa in order to substitute the lard that is commonly used in order to make tamales, I finally figured it out. It took me about a year to learned how to get the masa and my tamales the way I wanted them. In 2023 I did my first pop up and received so much love from the community it inspired me to keep going. In 2024 I decided that I was going to start doing pop ups every weekend, and even though at the beginning it was kind of hard being consistent with my pop-ups I have definitely gotten better at managing my time. I do get ask a lot why the name Huesos Xocolatl. Well huesos because my childhood nickname is Xchuta which is Zapotec dialect for bones or huesos in Spanish and xocolatl because during the colder days I like to make traditional Oaxacan hot chocolate which is made from cacao. It really has been an honor to nourish my community and share traditional ancestral food with everyone. Even though I still have a long way to go and so much more to learn. Through tamales I been able to find my identity, learned so much about myself and my roots. I feel very grateful to be able to keep traditional food alive and share with the community that eating healthy can also be delicious.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a first generation I did not feel like I belonged neither here in LA nor in Oaxaca. It was a battle learning to understand that they are both part of me. I was also thought to work hard, the longer you work for someone the better it looks on you. But I didn’t want to work for someone else for the rest of my life. I wanted to be able to earn an income by doing something that I love. I also felt very blinded not really knowing what I’ was doing. I still do which can make things feel scary and uncertain when starting a small business. But I have learned to trust and believe in myself and that it’s okay to reach out for help.

We’ve been impressed with Huesos Xocolatl , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I make and specialize in making traditional vegan tamales oaxaqueños inspired by my oaxacan roots. For example I have a tamal with beans and hoja santa, chepil, mole and oaxacan horchata. I also like to add spirulina to our green salsa with soy chicken. My most popular tamales is our mole oaxaqueño with soy chicken and green salsa with soy chicken. I used both corn husk and banana leaf for my tamales. All the nostalgic traditional flavors are there except that everything is vegan, no animals are ever harm. I feel very grateful that both vegans and non vegans love our tamales.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The community has been my biggest mentor. By their kind words and inspiration, strangers believing so much in me and my food makes me believe in myself. Also selling along side other small business is so inspiring and wonderful. I have also been welcomed by other organizers like Mid city Mercado. Seeing how much love they pour into their community is very uplifting and inspiring.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @huesosxocolatl  https://www.instagram.com/huesosxocolatl