By Vanessa Rancano


Local food entrepreneur Tina Ramos, aka Tina Tamale, hopes to expand her mobile food business with a recently purchased pushcart - specifically, Elizabeth August’s Guerilla Grub cart. 

(Editor's note: This is the fifth in a series of short pieces about what Thanksgiving means to some Oakland leaders and personalities.)

What are the holidays like for your family?

Traditional holidays have always been an extremely busy time for my family. We have owned our shop, La Borinqueña Mex-icatessen http://tamalegirl.com, for three generations means we work longer and harder hours this time of year. Providing traditional Mexican comfort foods like tamales to other families is something we start planning for in the summer months. My mother, Nati Ramos, was born in West Oakland and raised her children with mixed cultural heritage. What does that mean? I am thankful we are truly a Mexican-American family with a strong work ethic living my non-English speaking, Mexican born Grandma Rosa’s American dream of owning an independent business.