Food for the Soul

Queer Mercado

¡Vámonos! Because in this podcast, you will be listening to LGBTQ+ vendors, artists, & creators that make up the Queer Mercado Community. You will get to hear their stories, motivations, and the many ways they contribute to their local communities. They are the magic of the Queer Mercado (QM).
Get ready to listen to the love, passion, and dedication behind the QM with your host Gaudencio Márquez.

In this episode, you will meet DeMarkus & Ko, cofounders of Soul Food Candle Company. They are a Black, LatinX & Queer owned company that hand pours soy candles. Listen to these vendors speak about building a brand of tradición while challenging the binary through the art of candle-making.

Thank you for listening!

This podcast has been made possible by the incredible leadership of our producer Xavier Mejia, our sponsors, Kaiser Permanente, REACH LA & a list of community backers, which you will see in the show notes.
Queer Mercado Theme Song:
El Mercado by Hector Jose Ortiz and Rachael Rodriguez
Read about the Queer Mercado here
Email: [e-mail]
Follow us on Instagram @thequeermercado
To tip The Queer Mercado
To tip mejia.tv
Podcast Backers:
Jessica Ancona
Amy Yeager
Rachel Barbosa
Ximena Martin
Aaron Saenz
Melissa DeSimone
Michelle Rodriquez
Victoria Martinez
Chris Garcia and Mick Ramos-Garcia
Law Office of Mario Trujillo
Marisa Mejia
Annie Martinez
Arturo Aviña
Mario Montez
Monique Manning
Jackie Varela
Robbin Huntingdale
Mario Ceballos
THANK YOU!!!!
For those who haven’t experienced the QM, we are a permanent market in EAST LA that happens every 3rd Saturday (10 - 4 pm) at the Hilda Solis Learning Academy. We are a vendor community composed of LGBTQ + artists, creators & business owners where we not only celebrate our cultura & our queerness, but we are also here to uplift and create economic opportunities for each other.