Sparks flew over the weekend when an ice cream cart vendor crashed a Dia de los Muertos event in Oceanside. Footage of the confrontation already has over 1 million views on Instagram.
Friends of Oceanside member Cathy Nykiel showed little patience for ice cream vendor Jose Felix when he and another cart vendor rolled into a Dia de los Muertos event in Oceanside on Sunday. They were hoping to capitalize on the crowd but they were, in no uncertain terms, shown the door.
“She was screaming at me so loud and so aggressive,” Felix told NBC 7 on Wednesday. Felix has been running Caballos Ice Cream, based in Escondido, for the last seven years.
It's unclear why Nykiel wanted Felix gone, but in the video she could be heard yelling, "I paid for this event," as she tries to push his cart away.
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Before the confrontation, Felix said he was welcomed by patrons and even greeted by security, but Nykiel behaved much differently toward him.
“We’re not hurting anybody and just trying to make a living, you know?” Felix said.
The video went viral. The scolding eclipsed the whole event.
In part of a statement on its website the Friends of Oceanside Dia de los Muertos, the group that organized the event, wrote, “We recognize that we made a mistake in our handling of the situation, and we take full responsibility for our actions. Rest assured that lessons have been learned from this incident.”
Nykiel released a lengthy statement, identifying herself as a volunteer.
“I take full responsibility for my actions at the Festival yesterday and am extremely remorseful and embarrassed. I am very sorry for how this affected the festival guests," she wrote.
Felix said he is willing to accept the apology as long as it is sincere.
“I hope they were giving that apology from the heart and not only because they were caught on camera," he said.
Main Street Oceanside Chief Operating Officer Gumaro Escarcega is taking action.
This is part of a statement he released Wednesday night:
“While the event was not organized by Main Street Oceanside, our employee Cathy Nykiel engaged in inexcusable behavior. This behavior has prompted Main Street Oceanside to suspend Cathey without pay pending investigation.”
The conflict between cart vendors and those trying to maintain the order of commerce is a county-wide problem and not easily solved in the street.
A rally in support of street vendors is planned at the Oceanside Public Library on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
