Remembering Jerry Lopez: The Heart of Albert Street

Tonight, we pause to remember a man whose presence was as much a part of Albert Street as the morning sun. For nearly thirty years, Jerry Lopez sat behind his fruit stand, not just selling produce, but sharing warm smiles and friendly conversations with everyone who passed by. On Monday night, Jerry’s life ended suddenly, near the very spot that had become his second home. News Five’s Paul Lopez brings us the story of a beloved vendor whose kindness and legacy will never be forgotten.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

For three decades, Jerry Lopez stood as a familiar face and a fixture in the life of downtown Belize City. His fruit stand on Albert Street was not like any other business. It was a meeting point, a place where strangers became friends and Jerry was at the center of it all. Today, a memorial shrine sits at the location in honor of his life and legacy.

 

Jerry Lopez, Albert Street Vendor

“Right now it is the plum season on right now. After plum it is the custard apple and sour sap. We usually mix those in milk and sell them in cups. Craboo season coming up after that. I sell all the fruits, once the customers they want it and I could put my hands on it, I go an get it.”

 

 

 

 

That was an interview we did with Jerry back in 2021, when businesses were feeling the squeeze from the COVID-19 pandemic. Times were tough, but Jerry never backed down. Day after day, he showed up at the same spot, offering his colorful spread of fruits, and his trademark smile. But, on Monday night, Jerry collapsed and died of natural causes just steps away from his stand. His sudden passing has left a void in the heart of the city and tears running down the faces of those who called him friend, like Cindy.

 

 

 

 

Cindy Joseph, Friend of Deceased

“Very, very emotional, could not believe this would happen. We became friends a couple of years ago, like in 2018, 2019, and we start to go out together and people would say we have relationship, but it is nothing like that. He was just like a big brother to me and I use to look up to him. Even if I needed a shoulder, he would always be there for me.”

 

 

 

 

Joseph says she only started selling her powder buns on Albert Street because Jerry encouraged her to take the leap. For the past couple of years, they’ve shared that space side by side. And long before Jerry, his father was here too, selling fruits in the very same area back in the seventies, right in front of what was then the Palace Theater. For the Lopez family, this corner has been a tradition spanning generations. Today, Cassius Lopez, took over the fruit stand after losing his brother, but he’s still weighing whether to make it his own.

 

 

 

 

Cassius Lopez, Brother of Deceased

“I am older than Jerry, he is fifty-two and we use to be out here with my dad when he was in front of the Palace Theater and that is every since we were kids. He is fifty-two, so at least over forty-something years. When we use to go to school we use to have to come out here with my father and do what we had to do, we use to hate it, but that was the only choice. So Jerry took it over, and to me Jerry was like the face because everybody knows him. He looked like my dad, he big like my dad.”

 

 

 

Jerry’s warm personality made him a downtown icon. He greeted everyone with a smile, often asking about their families, their day, giving his produce away to school children passing by and sometimes even sharing a joke or two. His longtime friend, Eric Jones, works inside Mikado Store and was with him only moments before his untimely passing.

 

 

 

 

Eric Jones, Friend of Deceased

“Me and he just mih the talk, me, he and a taxi man, because he and a taxi man just the pack up his things to go home and he hail me and say Yorke let the guys haul down the side trackers. So I gone for the man to take down the side trackers and I checked the lock and when I done check them, by the time I walked upstairs and come back they said the man drop down in the drain, and that thing made me cry because I just mih the talk to ah, me and the taxi man. As he come dah work, Yorke I want this, I want that, that is why I cry and feel it because dah mih good bally. I didn’t know that would catch him, but that is life right.”

 

 

Prime Minister John Briceño took to social media to share heartfelt condolences with Jerry’s family, reflecting on a recent encounter caught on video. And tonight, the Belize City Council is also paying tribute, saying Jerry’s impact went far beyond selling fruit, he helped shape the very character of Albert Street.

 

 

 

 

 

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor, Belize City

“This is truly a difficult moment for our city, our council, for all of those who really knew Jerry as a person, not only as a small business owner but for what we like to consider here at the council as the social fabric of our city. He was almost synonymous with downtown. When you think downtown you think about Jerry. So Jerry was an will remain a special part of us here at the council.”

 

 

 

Jerry Lopez leaves behind a son whose high school graduation he recently celebrated with great pride. On social media, some have even suggested renaming King Street in his honor. It may never happen, but it shows just how deeply he touched those around him. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.