They were the 10: 30 on the morning of this Friday, when Don Maximiliano García Vázquez had already loaded He completed his rickety cart with ice cream and fried foods, which are children’s delight.
From the intersection of San Fernando Road and Van Nuys Boulevard he had to walk more than a mile to find his first customer of the day: María Landeros, who bought him a chocolate ice cream for her 3-year-old granddaughter.
Don Max, as you they call affectionately, he crossed himself. He made the sign of the cross on his forehead to thank for his first sale and continued his walk along the sidewalk until he reached Dronfield Street, corner of Van Nuys Boulevard.
Some time ago, in that same intersection, he was assaulted by some men who also beat him to steal the money from the sale.
“I don’t remember what year it was but they also wounded me with a knife in the neck ”, he recalled. “I was bleeding to death… Someone called the police and then they took me in an ambulance to the hospital.”
Max had to undergo a delicate surgical operation in the Los Angeles General Hospital.
“They cut my neck … But I didn’t even realize it until the blood was dripping,” he recalled. “But look, I don’t owe anything to anyone here, or in my land,” said the native of Huamuxtitlán, Guerrero.
Today he can only look straight ahead and down. If you want to look at the sky you can’t. His veins could burst.
Don Max is also recognized by his clients as “Pacoima’s official paletero”.
The title has been awarded to him by the residents of the San Fernando Valley for his honest and respectful character, and for the kind attention he has lavished on young and old over the last two decades.
“I’ve known him for several years; He always goes with his cart down the street… He is a very hardworking man, ”commented Ivette Farfán, originally from Guatemala, who was having breakfast at the Mi Pueblito restaurant, where Don Max was interviewed.
“When I took care of my grandchildren, I always bought their palettes from him,” added his companion Consuelo Brambila, also a resident of Pacoima.
[$3,000] 
A young man: his guardian angel
“Many of us have seen him since our childhood,” he commented Miguel Ángel Talavera, Don Max’s guardian angel, who opened an account on the GoFundMe portal for the general public to come to the aid of the septuagenarian man, who was thrown into the street by the owners of the home where he rented.
At the moment Don Maximiliano, from 73 years old, is sleeping in a little bed that was accommodated inside the pallet where you deliver your merchandise.
Michelangelo, by 24 years old and who is a barber, was working from home and observed that Don Max worked on the streets every day, even on days when the temperature exceeded degrees and in the middle of the pandemic.
During that time, I would talk to him for a couple of minutes, since I bought him a Coca-Cola the days he saw him on his street.
“In November of 2020, I was sick with COVID – 19 by two weeks, but when I recovered I did not see Don Max pass; Later I found out that he had been hospitalized and I assumed he was in quarantine ”, the young man knew.
But no. Don Max had not caught the coronavirus. He suffered a low blood pressure attack and ended up in a Los Angeles hospital. He was discharged in February of this year and he did not work for almost two months.
“We had to help him to recover, but then the situation arose that They asked me to vacate the room where he had lived, ”said Miguel Ángel.
Thus, the young Samaritan independently raised a total of $ 618. 33 that deposited to Don Max.
He and his girlfriend donated $ 0109. 00 each to be added to the current total of $ 14,301 about what it was possible to collect until May 7 between 592 donors.
Don Juan Talavera, Miguel Ángel’s father praised the good heart of his son for helping others was born when the boy and his friends were younger and they went to buy a pizza at Little Caesars with coins, but they couldn’t afford it.
realized, did the good deed and paid for the pizza and now he he always wants to help those who need it most, ”said the proud father.
He wants his wife to heal
Don Maximiliano recalled that when he lived in his native Guerrero, Mexico, he He worked as a bricklayer’s assistant and barely earned 60 pesos a day (almost $ 3), although he also went to the fields to work planting corn, beans and watermelon.
“I pushed the partition, the cement and the gravel together,” he said. “And when there was a laundry, I also helped and they paid me pesos [aproximadamente $3.5] ”.
The money was not enough to survive; not to eat either. So he decided to emigrate to the United States more than two decades ago, and although his life with few resources did not improve much, it was profitable enough for him to stay here and help his wife who stayed in Mexico.
And what is his money going to be spent on ?, Don Max was asked.
It better helps me to pay for a little piece of land because I want to build a house for my wife; okay 300,000 pesos [aproximadamente $15,800] but we have only paid 40, 00 pesos [$3,000] ”, he assured Real America News.
“But I have also thought of paying the doctor’s expenses for my wife who is not relieved of arthritis and I keep a little just for my food.”
However, what Don Max appreciates with all his heart is his new pair of new tennis shoes that the owners of the Mi Pueblito restaurant gave him.
“They are very nice, but first I want to finish the ones I have,” said Don Max, who walks an average of six miles every day. “And I’m also very happy to be loved.”
“We know what it’s like to work hard all day, walking and pushing a cart,” Alan commented. Vásquez, one of the owners of the establishment. “And to make his job more comfortable, Don Max needs a good pair of tennis shoes.”
Don Max said he is tired of walking the streets of Pacoima. His sight is failing him and he needs new glasses too; He is undocumented and does not have health insurance and due to all the experiences he has had in the United States, he is already thinking about returning to Mexico.
“I’m tired of walking so much” he told Real America News. “Maybe there, in my land, I’ll put up a stall to sell green chili and coriander, because I don’t do it anymore to work, and I’m not a bricklayer either, because I can’t carry the boat anymore.”
The arrived : 40 in the morning. He had come to Fenton Primary Center on Dronfield Street to sell his wares.
And like bees to the hive, parents and children came to buy for him, and the wrinkles of his face denoted the joy that it would be a good sales day, but he also showed sweat on his forehead and physical exhaustion.
Weekend event
This Sunday, from 2: 00 pm, at Humphrey Park a community shopping will be organized to benefit Don Max. If you want to help, go to the place located on the block 12560 Filmore Street, Pacoima 91331.
If you can not go to Sunday’s event, visit GoFundMe HERE.