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Meet farmer Tovias Magana
Originally from the state of Michoacán in west-central Mexico, Tovias came to the United States to live with an aunt in the Yakima Valley in 1977. After working with several valley farmers as a seasonal laborer, he purchased his own land. Now he owns 16 acres and leases another 29 at a total of four locations.
Tovias starts each year at Pike Place Market with his fresh asparagus, just as he has since first coming to the Market in 1996. Prefer thin or thick stalks? He has both. As the growing season expands with the warming weather, his Magaña Farm sells here during more days of the week as he has more to offer.
Look for sweet onions, cucumbers, peas (English and Sugar Snap), garlic, tomatoes, cherries, peaches and apples. Tovias is growing more varieties of produce, too-he hopes to bring 100 varieties of sweet and hot peppers to the Market.
Since the farm is truly a family affair, shoppers have had a chance to watch the Magaña children grow up through the years. Tovias's son Junior has gone from tagging along with dad, to working at Pike Place Market on weekends while Tovias's daughters work at other local markets. Daughter Esmeralda manages much of the business dealings.
While the American Dream has provided a good living for Tovias and his family, Tovias still is strongly connected to Michoacán, where he occasionally visits his parents and relatives. He recently bought a home there that's just 20 minutes from the Pacific Ocean. In fact, Tovias jokingly says that when he retires, he'd like to be a "snowbird," spending summers in the Yakima Valley and winters in Mexico. |
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