An all-women family has brought Peru to Old Sacramento. See their store’s authentic collection

A new Peruvian store has come to Old Sacramento and touts an authentic collection of clothing, foods and crafts.

Mi Tiendita Munaycha opened earlier this year under Jessy Luzmila Flores Cárdenas and her four daughters, who range in age from 14 to 27.

The all-women-owned-and-operated business highlights the culture and merchandise of the coastal South American country, where Cárdenas spent the first three decades of her life.

“This is the best way to show my country,” said Flores Cárdenas, who is 55. “I want everyone to know how beautiful my country is.”

Items for sale at the store, which occupies less than 400 square feet of space, include ponchos, backpacks, t-shirts, jewelry, artisan crafts, hats and stuffed llamas, a best seller.

Shelves of spices, tea, desserts and the well-known Peruvian soda Inca Kola line the walls of the store. Shoppers can also find dried purple corn, which is used to make chicha morada, one of the national drinks of Peru.

Flores Cárdenas imports all her products from Peru about every two months, depending on demand.

She said Sacramento’s Peruvian community is small, but growing. Only an estimated 710,000 Hispanics of Peruvian origin live in the United States, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center analysis.

Flores Cárdenas sees her store as a reminder of home for local Peruvians and a welcoming force for others to her culture. The store name is even a reference to her country. “Munaycha” means “beautiful” in Quechua, the language of the Peruvian Andes, while “mi tiendita” means “my little shop” in Spanish.

“There’s not as many Peruvians as there are Mexicans in Sacramento,” Flores Cárdenas said. “But we exist, and it’s important for them to know that they can find their products here.”

The lifelong journey to opening the business

For Flores Cárdenas, Mi Tiendita Munaycha is a culmination of a lifelong dream.

She was born in Huachos, a rural Peruvian pueblo about five hours away from the country’s capital of Lima. The youngest of nine children, Flores Cárdenas spent much of her childhood with her mother who always encouraged her children to “find life.”

While her father was away working in the fields, her mother would set up stands to sell foods and crafts for extra cash. Then, on the weekends, Flores Cárdenas and her mother would head off to the nearby larger cities to trade products.

“That’s what she taught me, to always have the spirit of an entrepreneur,” Flores Cárdenas said.

Flores Cárdenas took that mindset with her as she grew older and moved to Lima to study accounting. In her 20s, she opened a shoe business and worked with a pharmaceutical distributor. She had to close the business after becoming pregnant with her first child.

Then, in 2001, she went searching for the “American Dream” in Sacramento. But with limited English fluency, Flores Cárdenas spent the next few years bouncing around jobs at coffee shops and fast food restaurants.

She improved her English skills during those years, and eventually spearheaded a cleaning business with more than 40 clients and an event planning operation. Setbacks for both businesses stemmed from the 2008 financial recession and a divorce.

Flores Cárdenas said the idea to finally open a Peruvian store came late last year from a family member.

“It was like a light bulb clicked in my head,” she said. In the coming years, she hopes to expand her business to a larger location or to multiple sites.

Sacramento’s growing Peruvian community

Mi Tiendita Munaycha, located at 1115 Front St., Suite 4, adds to Sacramento’s developing Peruvian community.

The store is the city’s second Peruvian-centric store. Around the corner is Peruvian Crafts, a gift shop that has been around since 1987. Chicha Peruvian Kitchen & Cafe, the region’s second Peruvian restaurant, opened last October.

Flores Cárdenas has also been part of Club Perú de Sacramento, a nonprofit organization whose membership is open to all Peruvians and Spanish-speaking people. She credits the organization for creating opportunities for the Peruvian community to come together and preserve their traditions.

“Thanks to it, we don’t miss our country as much,” she said.

Mi Tiendita Munaycha is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m to 5 p.m. on Sunday.