Some North County street vendors protested the treatment of an ice cream vendor who was thrown out of a Dia de los Muertos event in Oceanside event Sunday.
The confrontation was posted on Instagram and went viral.
“I wasn’t licensed or permitted, that doesn’t mean she can do that to me,“ vendor Jose Felix said.
Felix and another cart vendor rolled into the Dia de los Muertos event unlicensed, without permits or paying the fee to be there.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Friends of Oceanside member Cathy Nykiel showed Felix the door, and was heard on the video yelling, "I paid for this event! Me" as she pushed his cart away.
Felix returned to the same corner Thursday night with his cart and another 75 street vendors and supporters.
”It stood out for her because of the disconnect she has of the culture. I think that disconnect promoted her disrespect of how she was going to treat him," community advocate Juanito Xochipilli Conoro said.
Vendors and supporters were there for more than just their respect. They want better access, more affordability and a more streamlined permit process.
Organizers were expecting Oceanside elected officials. Instead, they got several community advocates like the North County Justice Coalition and the Human Rights Council of Oceanside.
In the backdrop of the demonstration is the Sunset Market. It’s open to licensed vendors every Thursday. Vendors have to pay a fee, they have to have a business license and permit to put up a booth. On that side of the street you will get a much different opinion about what went on Sunday.
“They’re not vendors, they’re scabs. They come in for free. They don’t want to pay what we pay. They don’t want to do it the legal way and we have to,” Sunset Market vendor Andrea De Baay said.
DeBaay makes jewelry, hats and hanging art. She passed on the opportunity to sell at Sund's event because it was out of her price range.
“I did not want to do that. It's $250. It's a lot of money and I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it,“ De Baay said.
Nykiel published a lengthy apology for her actions Sunday and is currently on unpaid leave while the incident is investigated by the Main Street Oceanside organization.
Vendors at the market are sticking up for her.
“For people to have death threats against her and threatening to come to her house and egg it for the next week, every day and threatening her family, it is unbelievable,” De Baay said.
What led up to the confrontation wasn't recorded. Vendors NBC 7 spoke with said Felix was told a half-dozen times, and at other events before it, that he couldn’t sell ice cream without the proper permits.
Felix said it happened only once before.
“That’s not the way they have to talk to me because I am a human. I am not a thing that you can just push away," Felix said.
What happens next is anybody’s guess but judging by the outrage on both sides, this is not over.
The next major Main Street Oceanside event is Small Business Saturday scheduled for Nov. 25.
