LA PULGA LIVES IN US
By Roberto Gonzalez
The Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association (BFMVA) was established in 2020 when the Bumb family—the landowners of the 60.7 acres occupied by the 65-year-old San José Flea Market—introduced a rezoning plan to the city. Their proposal would convert the land into a mixed-use commercial and residential development, eliminating the space that has long been home to 450 small business owners and over 1,000 employees who depend on La Pulga for their livelihood.
The BFMVA was born from resistance—
Resistance to displacement.
Resistance to the erasure of a community of entrepreneurs.
Resistance to the loss of a way of life.
La Pulga de San José is home.
It’s where my family and I belong. It’s where my parents, aunts, and uncles built their businesses; creating opportunities for our family and many others. It’s also where my primos and I grew up; racing down every street, playing in the arcade, sliding down the playground, sometimes even scrapping in the dirt. The memories made here are countless, not just for me, but for San José natives and visitors from across the Bay Area and beyond.
That’s why this fight means so much.
The BFMVA has become the voice for vendors, advocating to preserve the flea market’s cultural and economic legacy. Our mission is clear:
Ensure the survival of small businesses in their culturally relevant market spaces.
Preserve a vital economic engine—La Pulga generates $9 million in annual operating income and $42.5 million in sales—by supporting East San José families.
Guarantee that the vendors and workers have a seat at the table in making decisions that impact their future.
We’ve organized protests, marches, and even a hunger strike, all to capture the attention of San José’s elected officials and our broader community. These actions were never for spectacle; they were acts of survival. Throughout this journey, what moved me most was seeing how our activism resonated, not just with the vendors but with the often-invisible community that comes to La Pulga—people who find belonging here.
I threw myself fully into this work. We pushed ourselves to the edge, leaping without knowing where we’d land. One of our mentors, Chava Bustamante, reminded us from the start:
