Mujeres del Mercado

Lina Juárez is the co-owner of Joe's Sports World, which opened at Mercado La Paloma in 2007. Before arriving at this milestone, due to her “Can-Do/Si Se Puede” attitude, Lina was able to overcome many of the obstacles that immigrants face when arriving in a new country.

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Lina was born in México City to a humble family that endured many difficulties; and that suffered further hardship when her father lost his long-time job. At age 16, she found the courage to make the perilous journey to the United States in hopes of earning enough money to send back home; and to search for her brother whom the family had lost contact with. Not having the financial means for the trip, Lina became indebted to the Coyote that helped her cross the Mexico/U.S. border.

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In Los Angeles, Lina was only given a cramped space on the floor to sleep on and would often go hungry for days at a time. When she finally connected with her brother Lina discovered that he lacked the means to help her and was forced to remain in her destitute living situation until her debt to the Coyote was paid off.  Refusing to give up, Lina worked tirelessly as a seamstress earning 5 cents per piece to pay off her debt.

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Lina’s hard work and perseverance eventually led her to Mercado La Paloma where she seized the opportunity to start a business that would allow her to give up working four different jobs and spend more time with her children while securing a better future for her family. In recent years, Lina was hard hit by her mother’s passing which took a heavy toll both emotionally and physically. Today she is proud to have overcome that dark period through practicing self-care, attending group exercise classes, and eating healthy.