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It’s around 9 a.m., and Daniel Santiago is getting ready for what he hopes is a hot day.
The lobby of Paletería Yayo in Lincoln Village is taken up by rows of freezers filled with paletas, bolis and other frozen treats. Santiago stocks his cart, along with Takis, Doritos and other salty snacks to balance out the sweet.
His is one of more than a dozen carts being loaded this morning, each plastered with tempting pictures of their wares. A soccer match plays from a small mounted TV, but it’s scarcely heard through the opening and closing of freezer doors and the crinkling of plastic wrappers.
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Santiago is one of Milwaukee’s legion of paleteros – street vendors who walk neighborhoods selling the Mexican-style popsicles.
Before venturing out for the day, he checks the little bell on his cart, the siren call of his trade.
“When Hispanic and Latin people hear the bells of the paleteros, they feel comfortable. It’s like a slice of home,” says Rene Adan, owner of Paletería Yayo.
Adan has worked in Milwaukee’s paleterías for over 20 years. Before starting his own business in 2008, he and his brother worked for Paletería la Michoacana, one of Milwaukee’s original shops. During that time, he honed the craft of making paleta.
Paletas are distinct from traditional American popsicles or ice cream in many ways, chief among them being the main ingredient: fresh fruit. Instead of milk and sugar, paleta showcases fruits and other ingredients of Mexico, like coconut, lime, mango, strawberry and pineapple. On the South Side, paleterías can be found in almost every neighborhood.
But much of the paleta business runs through paleteros like Santiago. On some days, he may wheel his cart just a few blocks down the street. On others, he may push it into the back of a truck bound for Sheboygan, Waukegan, Green Bay or even Chicago. Wherever he goes, Santiago relishes his ability to spread joy.
“We are giving the kids happiness,” he says through a translator. “Sometimes they are frustrated or stressed, and when we arrive with our paleta, they are immediately excited.”
Paleteros work long, physically demanding days, especially in the summer. But Santiago wouldn’t trade it for anything. “My favorite part of summer is being able to do all of my work outside,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll stay in the same spot for hours; the kids just keep coming!”
Don’t hear the paletero bells in your neighborhood? Paleteria Yayo welcomes visitors to its location at 1727 W. Lincoln Ave.
