Culture Night Market

The dearth of live gatherings ever since the pandemic began in 2020 left many San Jose business owners and small vendors with few options for selling their wares. Fortunately, Brandon “BQ” Quintanilla is someone who sees new opportunities at every turn, and is not afraid to take on a challenge. So, it was in the midst of lockdown that BQ first brought Culture Night Market to life—an event designed to empower urban culture and art along with local entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Born and raised in San Jose, BQ started playing football as part of the Pop Warner Little Scholars program. “That’s how I really understood community at a young age,” BQ recalled. “There’s a lot of stuff that happened throughout that time period. A lot of kids grew up in, like, gang-related situations. But I think football was…the most positive outlet [we had].”

He continued playing football while attending Oak Grove High School with a group of close friends that he credits as having a significant influence on his life, “We were so diverse, and I feel like our culture in San Jose is what separates us from most of the world. I kid you not—two of my best friends were Nigerian. One was Hondureño, I’m Nicaragüense, my boy is from Sierra Leone, another guy was white, the other dude was Vietnamese, but we were family. And I really felt like the rest of the world doesn’t really see that.”

BQ went on to play football at De Anza College. After an Achilles injury left him on the bench, he wasn’t sure where to take his next step. It wasn’t until attending a sneaker convention that inspiration struck to start his own venture. “I told myself, ‘Holy shit, these guys are making ten thousand dollars a day... these kids figured something out,’ ” he said. “I love fashion, I love hip-hop, I love culture, period.” BQ founded EMLN Exclusive in 2015, which provides services from promoting independent streetwear brands to making unique content with local artists who highlight urban culture.

In 2020, BQ and his girlfriend brainstormed creative ways to find work and help others who were struggling when the idea of the Culture Night Market first came to them. BQ took off running after that. “I had a lot of experience at this point now; like, I’d done already four or five different types of events: themed for the culture stuff, themed more for, like, networking, all types of stuff,” said BQ. While some of his events went really well, some failed dramatically.

Written by Michelle Runde Photography by Peter Salcido

Brandon “BQ” Quintanilla

Tony Moralez | Carman Gaines (Local Color) | Bertrand “Patron” Paule | Andy René Tran | Benjamin Medina| Brandon Quintanilla| Elizabeth Moreno | Keenan Jones | Jose Bonjourno | Edwin Moreno | Christian Moreno

“We were so diverse, and I feel like our culture in San Jose is what separates us from most of the world.”

–Brandon “BQ” Quintanilla

But with Culture Night Market, he felt confident because he realized it wasn’t about making money. This time, many people were combating the pandemic by starting brands and businesses, so he knew the demand would be high for Culture Night Market. Working out of a shared office space provided by the non-profit organization Local Color, BQ networked with fellow entrepreneurs and leveraged his connections. “I already had a network of vendors, so when this event opportunity presented itself, I was just like, ‘I’m gonna just call my folks,’ ”said BQ.

After finding a downtown location and booking hip-hop artists, the first ever Culture Night Market took place in October 2020 and was a great success. “People realized that we had a lot of vendors and that we were one of the only [groups] doing events during the pandemic,” recalled BQ.

The first few events were “guerilla style,” BQ admitted, but they had hundreds of vendors and a huge turnout. Despite requiring masks, having insurance, and working as best they could within local health guidelines, the city eventually paused events until further permits were obtained—each with substantial fees. Although they thought this was the end for the Culture Night Market, BQ and his girlfriend decided to keep going. “I took the challenge because I realized, like, if I fold, we’re just going to be like everybody else,” said BQ.

After jumping through what seemed to be endless hoops, the Culture Night Market reopened in 2021. Given the Culture Night Market’s unique connection to hip-hop and urban culture, BQ is especially proud to have overcome the numerous hurdles. “If the culture can have a place in a city, we’re going to be doing the things that we want to do,” BQ recalled telling himself at that time. “So if the only obstacle is to go legitimate, then let’s just go legitimate.”

Since then, the Culture Night Market has continued to grow and host events in the Nile Parking Lot in Downtown San Jose and on Colorado Avenue in South San Jose. While he hopes to make it more self-sustaining one day—to allow himself to step back—BQ is happy to continue to put in the work to make it grow with new vendors and happy patrons alike. C