Pocha and Proud: Pilsen Shop Owner Cynthia Soto Talks ’90s Nostalgia, Spanglish Culture, and Fighting Gender Norms
Cynthia Soto wants your pets to look cute and stylish, and she’s doing it at Pocha Shop Artesanal (located at 1956 W. Cermak Rd.) by using her favorite parts of both her cultures. Although Soto was born in Chicago, much of her family’s roots are in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, which is where she met her best friend and business partner, Jessamyn Carrasco Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who now lives in Guadalajara and runs her own pet clothing shop, creates many of their shops’ designs by using camabaya, a traditional fabric that originated in Mexico.
Other designs at Pocha Shop range from Chicago sports teams jerseys, Bad Bunny and Selena Quintanilla lyrics, Mexican candy logos, and various original designs on raincoats, dresses, sweaters, harnesses, graphic tees, bandanas, and other accessories for cats and dogs of all sizes. Soto also sells “hooman” accessories such as scrunchies, hoodies, purses, scarves, headbands, keychains, and masks.
She officially opened her storefront in March and has been interviewed by local news outlets such as Block Club Chi, CBS, WGN, and Univision so far. Yet she remains humble and still in a starry-eyed daze about her own success, as well as the outpour of support she’s received since the launch of Pocha Shop. Soto talked with Modern Brown Girl on a cozy Sunday night via Zoom to share more about the backstory of Pocha Shop (the brand name derives from the term “pocha” that’s used for Chicanas who mainly speak Spanglish), the pop culture that inspired her, and the people who encouraged her to step outside of her comfort zone.
How do you identify yourself? Latina, Latinx, Chicana?
I didn’t know how to identify myself growing up. I feel like [women of color] like us didn’t know what to say growing up. But now I identify more with my Latino, Mexican, Chicano sides. I know people are also comfortable with saying Latinx, and I’m comfortable with that, with all [those terms].
How has being a part of the LGBTQ community shaped who you are today?
Being Mexican and part of the LGBTQ community has definitely been a struggle. I don't speak to a lot of my family because of it and I've received rude stares and remarks.
It has definitely made me stronger and not care about other people's opinions or comments. I have learned to follow my heart and make decisions that make me happy instead of trying to please everyone else. I love including LGBTQ aspects into our clothes such as rainbows, or sayings like "I love my two mommies." We want to be very inclusive, [and] I want my store to be sort of a safe space. I plan to join the LGBTQ business program, and hopefully, I can work with other companies that share the same values.
What else would you say influences your identity overall?
[Identity] is not really black and white. I love my Mexican culture and everything it comes with, but there are still a few [issues] that we can fix and breakthrough, that we can educate others about. I always try to do, for example, [designs] like my face masks that I did for Women’s History Month—they say “Me Vale” and “Calladita No More.” Men can’t just treat us a certain way because [they] think it’s right. I have that battle with my father all the time. [I’ll tell him], “You’re gonna respect me and other women. That’s not the right way to think.” And he’ll say “OK, I’m sorry.”
It’s about asserting yourself and owning your power.
Yes, definitely!
How was Pocha Shop created?
I met my best friend, Jessamyn, in Mexico when I lived there for about five years. She went to design school when I met her, and her dream since then was to open a pet clothing store. Now that we’re older, she was able to open her shop and she started exactly how I started—doing pop-ups, doing mercados, outdoor markets. She was able to open her storefront, and then quarantine [happened] and she wasn’t selling and was having a really rough time [financially].
We were quarantined [in Chicago at the same time], and my mom said to me “Mija, you should partner together,” and that’s kind of how it started. I spoke to Jessamyn and told her about it, and she almost cried and said it’s amazing that I wanted to move forward with something so big. And I said, “Of course! I love you, I believe in you and I believe in this brand. I believe that we can build something together and I would love to work with you.” I asked her if I drew the designs, would she make them for me? And she said, “Anything you want, I can do for you.” So, I wanted to incorporate my pocha-ness into it, you know? Both the Latino/Mexican culture with Chicago culture and make it a different design for everybody here [in the US].
Does her shop have the same name?
Her shop is called Benito Moda, in Guadalajara, Mexico.
How often do you see each other?
Honestly, not a whole ton [in person] because I don’t have a lot of family in Guadalajara. But we talk every other day.
Who runs the social media accounts?
My girlfriend runs the website because I am not computer savvy at all. We moved to Mexico because of financial reasons, so I couldn’t afford a laptop for a long time. I am learning, obviously, but she helps me with that because I’m still very lost. I do everything else—Instagram, Facebook [marketing]. I’ve been trying to do TikToks but they’re very confusing.
Where else does your creative inspiration come from?
On the dog-end, my three dogs, definitely! My firstborn is Olivia, and then her daughter is Violeta. And then we recently adopted a third one named Matilda. They’re all Chihuahuas. I look at them and ask, “What do I want you to wear that can be cute and related to my culture?”
I also look back to my childhood for inspiration. For Halloween, I made [Mexican TV show characters] El Chavo del Ocho y La Chilindrina dog costumes. I remember going into my abuela’s kitchen in Mexico and seeing it on TV, and I had never seen it before, so they explained it and then I watched it all the time! I also look at old pictures or go to the little candy stores in Mexico. I still have these t-shirts [with the logo for the Mexican candy] Dragonzitos, which is a little pouch of sal, azúcar y chile.
I’ve never heard of those! Where can I buy them?
I had to go to Mexico to buy them! I went to Dulcelandia [in Chicago] and they don’t have them. It’s old school.
Just like your Selena Quintanilla “bidi bidi bark bark” design.
Yes, I love Selena! Growing up, I listened to a lot of Britney Spears. But then I heard Christina Aguilera’s Spanish song [“Ven Conmigo”] and I was like “What?! There’s someone out there that’s famous [in America] that’s singing Spanish?!” That happened when I heard Selena, también. As a child singing in my room, I identified with them, so they play a big role today in my designs and what I want to make.
Did you study fashion design or art?
No. I was always artistic, but I never went to school for any of that. My mom ran an in-home daycare [that I attended] since I was two, and she always had arts and crafts that I would do. But I would have loved [going to art school]. I went to Morton East High School in Cicero, and then Saint Augustine College.
As a young entrepreneur/woman of color, what are your goals?
For now, my goal is to continue working with Pocha Shop and to continue inspiring and teaching other people about our culture, because I felt like I needed that a lot growing up. I want other little girls and women to see me and say, “If she can do it, I can do it, too.” Another goal is to uplift Pocha Shop and to have it continue to prosper and hopefully grow and keep designing new stuff for people.
What made you choose Pilsen for the location of Pocha Shop?
We grew up in Cicero up until we lived in Mexico when I was 17. [After coming back to Chicago] I tried living with my dad but it didn’t work out; I tried moving up north but I didn’t like it. I didn't feel a sense of community. That’s when the opportunity to move to Pilsen happened, and ever since I moved here I’ve loved it. I feel comfortable, I feel like I can go out and have brunch and dinner nearby, or go shopping. I love it. I live close to the store, and I rent it with my nail tech because the rent is too high. I’ve known her for a few years now, she’s best friends with my mom. She teaches classes in the other part of the store for other Latina nail techs.
Have you seen any issues of gentrification in Pilsen?
A lot of people that move here want to learn about the [Mexican] culture. They’re open to it, they love the culture. It’s people like that who are coming into the community and you can’t be mad at that--they want to hear you, they want to [know] more. If [any neighbor] has a question about the Mexican culture, I’ll talk about it and vice versa. I love learning about other cultures, too.
What else do you want for Pocha Shop?
I don’t know what I want yet, everything has been moving so fast. Just the fact that people come to the store, to me, is a huge step. At the grand opening, I was like, “What if nobody comes?” And thankfully we had a line outside! Since I started out doing pop-ups at Harrison Park and got invitations to go to more pop-ups, those really helped me, so I want to organize pop-ups at the storefront. It’s not a big storefront, but I want to help others get recognized. I want to start out with having women-owned businesses.
How was the grand opening?
It had a really good turnout! ESDC [Economic Strategies Development Center] came out and gave us a ribbon and those big scissors, which was really nice. I really appreciate them. They’ve helped me out throughout this whole journey. A lot of friends and family came, so we had a line outside of the story for a good amount of time. A bunch of doggies stopped by and I met a ton of people, new customers, and everybody was super nice. They mentioned the interviews [I did], that they saw me on Facebook and Instagram and they wished me luck.
How did ESDC find out about you?
I sought them out at the end of summer in 2020. They’re part of the Latino community, and they’ve been a huge help. Any questions you have—legal concerns, licensing—they walk you through it. That made it a lot easier for me to move forward.
What do you do to decompress your mental health?
I like [being out], so if I want to relax I like going out to dinner. With COVID it’s really hard to go out, so I’ve been at home, hanging out and relaxing with my girlfriend. I don’t need anybody or anything else, just relaxing with her and doing things at home. It doesn’t have to be big.
What would you say to any woman that has a vision for a business but doesn’t know where to start?
Definitely Google “free help nearby for growing a business,” or search for your Chamber of Commerce in your neighborhood. They will connect you to [the right] people. And don’t be afraid to learn new things. There aren't enough women of color having their own businesses, but we are more than capable of doing it and prospering. I want to be very conscious of where I buy stuff, and if I can buy a woman of color-owned business, I will definitely [support them]!
Dulce is an educator, writer, daughter of Mexican immigrants, lightworker, and bruja from Chicago. She believes that you can find magic within yourself at all times, and her life mission is to stay centered in love. Follow her adventures on Instagram at @writtenbydulce.