This is a cream that my mom swears by. She came to the United States in 1972, when she was 12, from Manta, Ecuador. Everyone in my family uses this cream, and it can be found in all of their medicine cabinets. Anytime someone gets sick, or has an ailment of any kind my mother says, "did you put Mentol Chino on it?" I've nicknamed it devil cream because it burns your nose and chest a little bit (and it can be painful if you get any of it in your eyes!) I've also given it to friends and family to use. When they ask what it is like I say Vicks on steroids, but they all say that the Mentol Chino helps them get over colds and other sicknesses. Also, anytime someone comes from Ecuador to New York they have boxes of the Mentol Chino because relatives here request it over other Ecuadorian products. 

– Jenny Quirindongo

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant