Que Viva La Amistad: A Conversation with Valentina Pozo of Tumbao

Tumbao is a boutique and community space on New York’s Lower East Side, home to the largest curation of Latin American fashion in the world.

Founded by Valentina Pozo, Tumbao began as a series of pop-ups and grew into a full retail space built around its tagline, “Que viva la amistad,” or long live friendship, a philosophy that shapes everything from the designers on their racks to the salsa nights, live music, and gatherings that fill the space after hours.

I already knew that I wanted to do experiential retail, in part because it was something I was learning about in fashion podcasts and articles that I was reading, and also because I knew it was something that was missing for me at the time, when I was going into stores. Our first event was a book launch + photo exhibition + drag performance, and I feel like that explosion set the tone for the years to come. Those events gave Tumbao its spirit. I love that people don't just come here to shop—they come to spend time with friends, discover artists, dance, or meet someone new.

The biggest ingredient has always been good collaborators. During our pop ups we loved opening up the space as a blank canvas and seeing what happens when creative people come together. Those collaborations have also grown into projects like our podcast, where we get to sit down with many of the artists and designers in our community and share their stories in a more personal way.

COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE TUMBAO ARCHIVE? WHAT DREW YOU TO CREATING AN ARCHIVAL BOOK, AND WHAT KINDS OF IMAGES, WORK, AND MEMORABILIA LIVE INSIDE IT?

Documenting the process is something I learned as a photographer, and because Tumbao started as a series of pop-ups, I always felt the need to keep a record of everything we were building. That idea also grew through our monthly vlogs, where we document life at the store—the people we meet, the events we host, and our customers' incredible outfits. Documenting and cataloging something says “this is important”, “this means something”.

The Tumbao Archive is the next step in that idea. It's a physical archive we're currently building inside the store: a collection of binders dedicated to our designers, collaborators, and projects. We want it to hold photographs, sketches, swatches, interviews, stories, and memorabilia that tell the story behind the people we work with. We've already started building binders around projects like our podcast conversations with designers—including our upcoming episode with Sabrina Ol—and I hope it becomes something people can explore, learn from, and contribute to over time.

YOU CARRY DESIGNERS FROM ACROSS LATIN AMERICA, THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, HONDURAS, COLOMBIA, AND MORE, WHILE BEING ROOTED IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE OF MANHATTAN. HOW DO YOU FIND AND CURATE SO MUCH TALENT AND BRING IT INTO YOUR SPACE? WHAT HAS IT FELT LIKE TO BUILD THE LARGEST CURATION OF LATIN AMERICAN FASHION IN THE WORLD FROM THE GROUND UP, AND HOW DO YOU SEE IT GROWING?

In the beginning it was honestly just Instagram. I'd spend hours finding designers I admired and cold message them about this little project I was trying to build. Today we're lucky that many designers reach out to us first, and our own community is constantly introducing us to new artists. It's become this really beautiful exchange.

Building the largest curation of Latin American fashion in the world feels surreal. More than anything, it feels like a reflection of how much talent exists across our countries and the diaspora. However I have always been careful about using latam as a “sticker” that we can just slap onto our marketing. Even though all of our designers are latino, it’s the quality of the design that I am most proud of. I think that all of our brands are worth investing in, not because they are latin american, but because the designers are some of the best independent brands in the world.

IF YOU COULD SHARE A MEZCAL WITH ANYONE, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

My brother Nico. He likes mezcal!

Follow Tumbao on Instagram.

Discover Tumbao on Substack.

Listen to the Tumbao Podcast on Youtube or Spotify.

Photos by Valentina Pozo.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE TUMBAO? WHAT MADRE YOU WANT TO BUILD THE SPACE AND THIS COMMUNITY?

As soon as I moved to New York, I started working in retail. I worked at small boutiques and had to do a lot of different things at each one. After covid, I had the opportunity to take over a retail space at a really great price, month to month. I didn't really know what I wanted to build, but I knew I had to take advantage of that opportunity. So I invited some of the brands that I had worked with previously to sell their pieces there, and little by little I met new designers. Looking back, I think the people I've met along the way are the real backbone of the project. Their trust gave me a reason to keep building.

YOUR TAGLINE IS "QUE VIVA LA AMISTAD", OR LONG LIVE FRIENDSHIP. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BUILD A RETAIL SPACE AROUND FRIENDSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS, AND HOW DOES THAT VALUE SHOW UP IN THE WAY YOU RUN YOUR STORE, SELECT YOUR DESIGNERS, AND OPEN YOUR DOORS?

Friendship has been everything for Tumbao. Those relationships have carried the project from the very beginning—they helped us build the store, spread the word, and even bought some of the very first pieces we ever sold. I think that love and trust became part of the identity of the space. It's something you can feel when you walk in, in the way our team welcomes people, in the designers we work with, and even in the mix of pieces we choose. We want the store to feel warm and like it has real roots. Of course it’s also important to remember that professional relationships require a lot of care and hard work. It’s difficult to find the balance between the two worlds, but it has created long term connections with our designers, collaborators and team.

YOU'VE HOSTED MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVENTS IN THE TUMBAO SPACE, FROM SALSA NIGHTS AND INTIMATE GATHERINGS, TO POP-UPS THAT END IN LIVE MUSIC AND A ROOM FULL OF GUESTS DANCING TOGETHER. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO HOST THESE GATHERINGS, AND WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER IN CELEBRATION?