The Reyes Family · Saguaro Sands
Three generations under one roof.
Hector Reyes Sr. signed the lease in ’92. His mother sold tamales. His son Hector Jr. took over in 2014. His daughter Lupe runs operations. His grandson Diego does the website and the social. Most of the kids work the floor at some point — usually by their teens, sometimes earlier if there’s no school that day.
Maria Reyes — “Abuela”
Founder, 1992–2018 · in memoriam
Maria came to Vegas from Sonora in 1968 with three kids and a tamale recipe her own grandmother wrote on a sheet of butcher paper. The first thing sold at Saguaro Sands was a pork tamale, $1.50, wrapped in foil. She was at her cart every single Saturday from June 1992 through October 2018. The Sabor Latino booth is named for her. Granddaughter Esme runs it now.
Hector Reyes Jr.
Owner · second generation
Took over from his father in 2014. Grew up on the floor — first job at twelve was running a hose and squeegee across the parking lot before opening. Holds a B.S. from UNLV in business and a Ph.D. in “how to talk to a vendor at 7am on a Saturday.” Around the building every day we’re open, usually in a denim shirt with the Saguaro Sands patch on the pocket.
Lupe Reyes-Bell
Operations · second generation
Hector’s younger sister. Runs the floor day-to-day — vendor onboarding, booth assignments, the booth-fix-it queue. She has signed in every vendor here since 2010. Knows every booth number by heart. Asks new applicants what their grandmother makes. Has never not had an answer to a vendor problem within the same day.
Diego Reyes
Marketing & Digital · third generation
Hector Jr.’s oldest. 26. Graduated UNLV in 2022 with a marketing degree and a plan to move to Austin. Came home for the holidays and ended up rebuilding the website (this one) and the floor-plan app. Runs the Instagram. Posts a “vendor of the week” every Wednesday. Tells everyone he’s “just helping out” but his desk is right next to his aunt’s.
“My grandmother said the only thing that survives three generations is something the second generation didn’t try to make better. So I try not to.”
Hector Reyes Jr.