This week some of us have snuck over the border— to Canada, and more specifically Vancouver, for the first time ever. To our surprise we’ve observed quite a bit of Spanish being thrown around the place. In fact, our first day in town we stumbled into a clothing boutique called El Kartel that turns out to be half-owned by a Mexican dude (along with a Canadian) as witnessed by the pre-requisite Lucha Libre mural on the wall. We spoke to manager Daniel Gonzalez, a native Chilango whose own clothing label Damage is sold in-store (click to enlarge the pic at left with his polka dot t-shirts), about how he came to reside in the Great White North and what kind of Latino population exists in Vancouver. The interview is after the jump:

Guanabee: So most Americans don’t think of Canada as a place where a lot of Latinos live. How did you get here?
Gonzalez: I was managing a clothing store with my friend in Mexico City and his friends in L.A. had a clothing store and encouraged him to make a move up north. We didn’t want to compete with them so we came up here instead. That was 2003.

Guanabee: Why not go to New York, or some other American city?
Gonzalez: Frankly, I don’t want to live there because Americans are really arrogant. They look down on other cultures.

Guanabee: What are Canadians like?
Gonzalez: Very laid back. They like everybody.

Guanabee: Speaking of weather, are you freezing your ass off up here in the winter?
Gonzalez: It’s not so bad in Vancouver. It’s the warmest part of Canada. The worst part is the rain. It rains a lot.

Guanabee: And it’s easier to come here than the States?
Gonzalez: Yeah. You just show up at the Canadian airport and they give you a visa.

Guanabee: So they treat you the same way they treat us?
Gonzalez: Yes.

Guanabee: Hmmm…We’re suddenly embarrassed that we expected them to give you a harder time.
Gonazalez: Ha.

Guanabee: But are there many Latinos who live here full time?
Gonzalez: That’s something I’ve been noticing more of in the last year. I think it’s because the word is getting out in Mexico that it’s easier to come here than the States. They seem to be mostly from Guadalajara.

Guanabee: So Mexicans can come on “vacation” and then stay?
Gonzalez: Yeah and Canadians are realistic about the fact that Canadian natives don’t want to do labor jobs. They know the country needs the extra workforce, so they let immigrants walk right in.

Guanabee: Fascinating concept.
Gonzalez: With the 2010 Winter Olympics coming to Whistler (and Vancouver), there are a ton of Chinese investors who want to spruce up their properties. They own half of the city. And I don’t think those guys really care if their laborers have work visas or not.

Guanabee: I’ll let you in on a little secret: American investors don’t care, either.
Gonzalez: Yeah, probably not.

El Kartel Website
Damage Website