![Leah Gallegos](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e1fbc4f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080x1350+0+0/resize/1200x1500!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcd%2F7c%2F558957f746c09e7e32143e4a3f8d%2Fleahgallegos-milosangeles.jpg)
Mi Los Angeles: Leah Gallegos of People’s Yoga shares her 5 favorite Latino-owned businesses in L.A.
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Leah Gallegos, co-founder of People’s Yoga, will always be grateful for how her neighborhood was as a kid.
“If you’ve been to the recent Highland Park, that’s not the Highland Park I grew up,” she said, adding that her childhood was filled with memories of seeing the same street vendors and running into her neighbors at the park. Reflecting on her early experiences in the northeast neighborhood, she says she realizes it’s where she first felt the importance of community.
In ‘Mi Los Angeles’ we ask influential L.A. Latinos to share their favorite Latino-owned businesses. Find new ideas on where to go while supporting local businesses.
“I took my first Chicano studies class at [East Los Angeles College]. We read ‘The House on Mango Street’ and I felt seen,” Gallegos, 39, said. “Later I joined a group that would become Las Cafeteras and we became very inspired by the Las Zapatistas movement about building autonomy and collective community-centered spaces.”
She took what she learned as a member of the band and focused her efforts on bridging the gap between her community and a practice that helped her: yoga.
Stand-up comedian Jose Velasquez, a.k.a. Hoozay, talks Salvadoran heritage and his five favorite Latino-owned businesses in Southern California.
Located in East L.A., People’s Yoga serves a community that didn’t have access to the meditative practice previously. The studio, celebrating its 10-year anniversary this month, is paying homage to its beginnings as a pop-up. Throughout June and July, People’s Yoga is going on tour and holding classes at various studios around the city.
As a part of our “Mi Los Angeles” series, we asked Gallegos to share some of her favorite Latino-owned businesses.
“Many of us were inspired by the neighborhoods that raised us. Whether it be with food, plants, yoga, apparel. We can now give back to these neighborhoods and keep this momentum of innovation going,” said Gallegos.
Here are her picks.
![De Los jumpy gif](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ff23775/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x316+0+43/resize/510x161!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F67%2F43%2F5c1835a44e1fb3a8bcd255708139%2Fde-los-final.gif)
Mi Los Angeles
In ‘Mi Los Angeles’ we ask influential L.A. Latinos to share their favorite Latino-owned businesses. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go and what to eat all while supporting local businesses and organizations.
Read the full series here.
![Jocelyn Ramirez poses for a portrait](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/215bcf7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2982x3728+2522+0/resize/376x470!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F31%2Fed%2Fb85677504423831522e4b65c8cd3%2Fla-photos-1staff-637705-la-fo-101-jocelyn-ramirez-205-1.jpg)
Todo Verde
![Cindy Montenegro reads to children at "Lil' Libros" at the Los Angeles Times Latinidad Stage during the LA Times Festival of Books, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on Saturday April 20, 2024.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cb1f21e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1574x1968+685+0/resize/376x470!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F67%2Fdd%2F2a8375dd41028b085c2a8c7c2b1e%2Fla-de-los-festival-books-2024-14.jpg)
Lil' Libros
![Oeste, a homegoods and lifestyle store, is located on the 5800 block of E. Beverly Blvd, in East Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. The store has hand-poured aromatic candles, Latin American cuisine cookb ooks and a variety of other home items.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/eb90f51/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3072x3840+1344+0/resize/376x470!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8f%2F5c%2F7f3db2f449fe8ffd511bfeab9aea%2F1374567-la-de-los-gift-guide-2023-oeste-3.jpg)
Oeste
![Lime, strawberry and orange sherbet ice cream at Que Delicious](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1880e67/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2918x3648+602+0/resize/376x470!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F64%2F58%2F8fd5c59f44ba90b41bfb3d457973%2F1449626-five-favorite-latino-owned-businesses-mdb-milosaangeles15.jpg)
Que Delicious
![Kat Galindo hands a ice expresso to Nathan at Cafe Santo](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ce39e20/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2675x3344+740+0/resize/376x470!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9a%2Fd2%2F5b411bc349cd9f7811d3e818532a%2F1449626-five-favorite-latino-owned-businesses-mdb-milosaangeles03a.jpg)
Cafe Santo
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