Felipe was pushing his cart filled with a mishmash of plastic bottles and metal cans. He comes from the state of Guerrero in Mexico, “el estado de la revolucion”, he proudly said. I asked him if he could sing as well and Felipe started to chant his favorite ranchera ballade and impersonated his idol, Vincente Fernandez. Cars were honking while waiting at the light and passersby were applauding him.

After saying goodbye to Felipe and walking a few blocks, I could still hear his voice echoing underneath the elevated train tracks. It makes me happy to meet jovial people like Felipe.