I invite you to close your eyes and reminisce alongside me. It’s been a long, warm day of kindergarten and you’re exhausted. The only thing that will keep you going in this last hour of school is the thought of a mouth-watering treat. A treat that awaits you, and the rest of the school, right outside the gates of this institution. The last bell of the school day rings, you rush to the exit gates, find your mom, and then see him with all the treasure you’ve ever desired. El paletero (the ice cream man) and his cart of treats ranging from popsicles, chips, snow cones, and, your favorite, elote loco (crazy corn), stand before you. You beg your mom to buy you some corn and urge her to say yes before a line longer than the school day forms. She agrees, with a reminder that this can’t be an everyday purchase, and you celebrate with glee as you get in line. Once you get to the front, you ask the paletero for your mom’s order of a vanilla minuta (snow cone) and your order of an elote loco with everything on it. The joy this corn brings on your walk home is unlike any other you’ve experienced.
Nowadays, I rarely have the experience of purchasing a treat from a paletero or getting my hands on an elote loco. This is, in part, because I now live somewhere that paleteros don’t frequent. Paleteros tend to work in predominantly Latine communities, including parts of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Austin. In addition, I’ve also noticed a decrease in the amount of paleteros overall. This may be due to increases in harassment and violence towards street vendors both from citizens and law enforcement. Being a paletero is a very difficult job. On top of the safety concerns, paleteros have to push around a very heavy cart for long distances, many times under scorching heat. It’s important that paleteros are fairly compensated for their work and treated with respect. They are crucial to Latine culture in the United States. On top of making cultural treats accessible, they are key to street vendor culture, where goods are sold on a very community level. Street vendors are community members who are selling mostly independently to other community members, so this food feels like a community collaboration. In times when I’m not able to participate in this collaboration, I like to honor my past and my community street vendors by making my own elote loco, and I’d love to share the recipe with you so that we can yet again reminisce alongside each other.
What you will need:
- Sweet corn on the cob
- Butter
- Mayo
- Cotija Cheese
- Chili Powder
- Garlic and Onion Powder
How to make Elote Loco:
- Remove your corn from the husk and make sure all of the corn silk is removed as well
- Boil water in a pot with garlic and onion powder
- Once the water has come to a boil, place the corn in the water for about 10 minutes
- Check the corn after 10 minutes, stab it with a fork and if it feels soft, remove the corn from the pot
- For this step, choose how much of each ingredient you would like based on your own flavor palette and dietary needs or restrictions. Start by spreading butter all over the corn. Then spread mayo. Put cotija cheese all over the corn and top it off with chili powder. If you would like, you can use smashed pieces of spicy chips instead of chili powder.
- Enjoy in honor of our paleteros!
Stephanie Mata Granados OC ’26 is passionate about creamy soups, spicy chips, and a really good BLT sandwich. They enjoy sous-chefing and are ecstatic to cook more in their life!
