Young entrepreneur started Agüitas Eva to help family’s medical bills, celebrates Hispanic roots

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Just as Fall arrived, so did Hispanic Heritage Month. But there are plenty of refreshing drinks with latin roots to keep you in the summer spirit! It’s called agua fresca, translating to “fresh water”. Nattalie Estrada, founder of Agüitas Eva, brought this popular Mexican drink to Southeast Milwaukee.

While most teenagers are worrying about school, friends, or what college they'll go to... Nattalie Estrada was focused on her family. She says her father was going through kidney disease and would have to go through dialysis, “our medical expenses were off the roof so I wanted to do something to help my parents out. I saw my parents were struggling so I knew I had to start my business for them.”

At 17 years old, Estrada became an entrepreneur, starting Agüitas Eva. “At first, I was like, oh my god what did I get myself into? I was stressed... I feel like it did make me mature at a young age and now I'm so thankful I started it because I helped my parents through it,” explained Estrada.

Thanks to Estrada’s entrepreneurship at a young age, she was able to help her father receive his double transplant in April of 2021 and had a successful recovery, “we’re extremely grateful for everyone that helped us. The business is a big reason he kept going.”

Now that her main goal of helping her family is completed, she says she’ll continue to sell aguas frescas, a popular mexican beverage. She describes the drink as “flavored fruit water” with her best-selling flavors including watermelon, mango, orange, and horchata. The drink is something you can have alongside a meal, on a hot day, or just to enjoy!

Over the past three years, Estrada went from selling it outside her home to big events all over Milwaukee, and to a wide demographic.She encourages everyone to try something new and she said oftentimes when a client tries a new flavor, “they’re hooked”.

“I really love when people show their support because it shows we actually made it, we actually made it and we grew! We grew as a business!” shared Estrada.

Starting a business that focuses so strongly on her Hispanic roots, Estrada says, makes her feel even more connected to her heritage and feel proud to be herself.

You can find Aguitas Eva and where she’ll be selling her aguas frescas next on Instagram.

This is just one of several Hispanic Heritage Month Stories CBS 58 and our sister station Telemundo Wisconsin will be running from September 15 to October 15. Be sure to tune in for more of our Hometown stories!