For Jasmine Julie Maldonado, entrepreneurship is an act of preservation. The first-generation Chicana founder of Persona the Shop and president of MidCity Mercado has turned a small corner of West Adams into a thriving ecosystem of creativity, commerce, and cultural pride.
Her story begins with her mother, María, a single immigrant woman who built Mariscos María’s from a food truck into a beloved local landmark. Out of that same spirit of persistence, Maldonado created MidCity Mercado: a monthly marketplace that gathers over 30 Black, Brown, and immigrant-owned businesses between the restaurant and her shop. However, MidCity Mercado is more than a market. It’s a reminder that culture is strongest when it’s rooted in community.
Through fashion, storytelling, and public space, Maldonado uplifts the voices that built Los Angeles while confronting the forces of displacement that threaten to erase them. Her work centers on representation and visibility, but also continuity; the idea that entrepreneurship can be a bridge between generations.
“My wave is rooted in divine guidance and the ancestral power that carries me forward,” she says. “Honor your passion, create from the heart, and trust the process. Our DNA carries power.”
For Maldonado, every rack of clothes, every vendor tent, and every conversation at the Mercado is a way to keep culture alive and to remind others that sharing your light can inspire generations to come.
