Recently someone asked me about what exactly the children sell. Most of their customers buy cigarettes one at a time, and the kids light them for their customers. They also sell lollipops (like tootsie pops) — mostly to other children or their parents; they have an array of gum and packs of Halls (for a sore throat). In the picture, the strap (that their mother made) covers the cigarettes on the top row.
I also noticed that while sometimes people will thank them as part of the transaction, they never say a word. They also don’t really interact with people, unless they need a light. People take the cigarettes, pick up the gum, hand them a coin; they are like a counter at a convenience store.
The Little Businessman and Co. wear their own boxes for at least eight hours a night and they lug them the long distance to and from the zocalo.
Sales are slow right now. From what I can observe, they get about a half-dozen customers each; that’s less than 60 pesos, fewer than five dollars a night, before accounting for the cost of the original inventory.
