Top Story
100% Latino -owned & -operated
History
In 1794, Francisco
Marin -- a Spaniard
-- became the first
Hispanic resident of
Hawaii.  
Francisco Marin
planted the first
pineapple in the
kingdom of Hawaii
on January 2, 1813.
    By José Villa, Senior Editor
           HONOLULU, Hawaii --When you walk in the Tin Can Mailman shop, located on Nuuanu Avenue in Chinatown, you are sure to be
    transported back in time. The walls and shelves double as collages of 1950s, 60s, and Hawaiiana art and antiques. The store is so
    cozy you feel you “can sit down and have a cup of coffee,” as a shopper looking for tusks put it. He did not find the tusks there, but he
    was gladly directed to where he might.

    The flirty stares from the pin-up posters, warm colors
    from lamps and glassware, and the paradisiacal
    beach scenes in books and ephemera contribute to
    the pleasant atmosphere, but the friendly attention of
    owner Raul Sanchez really makes you feel welcome.
    He and his partner Christopher Oswalt operated the
    business on Kauai for 7 years. And after being in
    Honolulu only three months, the store was voted the
    “Best Antique Shop in Honolulu” by Honolulu
    Magazine.

    You could say that Sanchez, with his tattoos, retro
    glass frames and punk hair-do, is not your average
    guy in the street. But expressing his uniqueness and
    individuality as a person is something he embraces,
    though he acknowledges that it was  difficult
    expressing those characteristics as a Latino growing
    up in the California 80s’ scene.

    He was born in Mexicali, Mexico, but moved with his
    family to East Los Angeles when he was 8eightyears
    old. As a teenager, he found it difficult to fit in. He said:
    “I was a weird kid surrounded by gangs.” According to
    his peers, he wasn’t “good enough” for having been
    born south of the border.

    He was constantly criticized by family members for not
    listening to Spanish music and lacking pride in his
    Mexican heritage. And he did not look forward to
    visiting his grandmother’s ranch in Mexico where one
    of the few things for him to do was to face his fear for
    snakes, as they sometimes curled on the burners of
    the stove.

    Art is what ultimately reconciled Sanchez with his Latino identity. The music of the Spaniard group Alaska y Dinarama made him realize
    he was “not the only (Latino) out there” with an affinity for all things punk. He also discovered Frida Kahlo’s paintings. He did research
    on Kahlo and found her passion for Mexican folklore contagious. He was instantly filled with admiration toward the Mexican artist’s
    “suffering and the way she expressed herself in her paintings.”

    “I think she was the first female artist to sell a painting for more than a million dollars,” he said proudly. Before he realized it, his kitchen
    had become a memorial of Kahlo with pictures and paintings his family and friends would give him.

    Sanchez now considers himself a fan of Mexican art, literature, history and culture, which he describes as colorful. “Who else would
    think of celebrating the dead?” he said referring to the “Day of the Dead,” a reverent and often humorous celebration of the inevitability of
    death, the brevity of life, and our longevity in memories. “I just don’t think there is much to fear about death.”

    A self-proclaimed amateur photographer, Sanchez has started a couple of projects. One of them is to publish a book of photographs of
    Hawaii’s abandoned cemeteries. The other one took a little bit more determination. As an adult, Sanchez lost his reluctance to visit
    Mexico, and set off to document his hometown with a camera. “Nothing has changed,” he said. But his perspective has.

    “It was humbling to realize how poor some people are and still everyone is… happy. It reinforced the idea to treat people the same; that
    they are not any different. It was an awakening moment,” said Sanchez.

    As for the future of Tin Can Mailman, the only certain thing is that it will keep delivering a glimpse to the past and meeting the demand of
    many nostalgic customers.“People have a fond memory of something and they want to have it,” said Sanchez. “And at that point,”
    interrupted a customer, “no price matters.”
Median Income          
                    $67,000

Own home:        45%

Own 1 or more
vehicles:            92%

Commute to work:    
                          82%
Hawaii Hispanic
Community
Statistics:
Latino-owned business voted “Best Antique Shop in Honolulu”
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