Chicago’s winter season, at least astronomically, came to a close with the March equinox a few weeks ago.
All the same, Raul Vega will let it run a few more weeks through the month of April before he closes his Inka Hands shop located at the north end of the Harlem Irving Plaza in Norridge. You never know when someone might need a warm poncho or handmade llama wool sweater, given the vagaries of Chicago’s weather.
Vega started coming to Chicago from Ecuador about 15 years ago, splitting his time between inside locales like Harlem Irving during the winter months, and then moving outside, hawking items at street fairs and summer festivals when the warmer weather arrives.
Q. How did you get into this?
A. My father traveled in Ecuador, selling. Later, we traveled to Europe making the same thing. And we go there, and after that we tried here.
Q. You have a wide selection?
A. I have products from Ecuador, from Peru, from Mexico — and Nepal or Thailand. I mix it up.
Q. Your most popular items?
A. The ponchos and the llama sweater. They like the colors and everything, but when they try it they say it is so warm; it feels very soft.
Q. When is the busiest part of your season?
A. December. Before Christmas is busy, busy, busy.
Q. Where do you go after Inka Hands closes?
A. I start to do some festivals outside. Sometimes, some flea markets if I don’t have festivals. But most of the [selling] is all at the street festivals.
Q. You’re not alone from Ecuador?
A. Some friends live in the town — we know each other from our town. We have a small community, we can say maybe 40 or 50 families.
Q. The town you’re from in Ecuador?
A. Cotacachi (famous for leather goods and handcrafts). It’s not too big, maybe 10,000 people.
Q. What do you miss about home?
A. I miss the traditional foods. (Cuy, roasted guinea pig, is a delicacy.)
Q. Your group, the Quechua people, are one of the indigenous people of South America, with ties to the Incas. Do your customers ask you about your country, origins?
A. Sometimes they say, “You are Native American.” I say, “No, I’m native from South America, from Ecuador.”
We are all native Americans because all the continent is America. We are all brothers, and we are all natives, indigenous.
