Maria Elena Lorenzo

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Maria Elena Lorenzo

Occupation	Cook, restaurant owner

Maria Elena Lorenzo is an Afro-Mexican cook specializing in native cuisine from Costa Chica of Guerrero, Mexico. She is most known for her restaurant Tamales Y Elena Antojitos, heralded as the first Guerrero-style Afro-Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles.

Early life and career

Maria was born in Costa Chica of Guerrero, Mexico, a predominantly Afro-Mexican community. In 1992, Lorenzo and her husband Juan Irra moved to Los Angeles, California.^[1]

After coming to the U.S., Maria and Juan began to cook and sell their native Afro-Mexican style tamales from a small cart in the Watts neighborhood of Bell Gardens, California.^[1]^[2]^[3] Maria started off selling her tamales at the local Grape Street Elementary School and the Imperial courts housing projects, where her and her family resided.^[1] In 2007, Maria upgraded to a food truck which continued to serve the Watts neighborhood with an expanded menu.^[3]^[1]

In July 2020, Maria opened a restaurant called Tamales Y Elena Antojitos, specializing in Guerrero-style cuisine passed down through the Lorenzo family. Maria and her five daughters all work to cook and run the restaurant alongside the food truck, while Juan Irra helps supply restaurant goods.^[3]^[1] Tamales Y Elena Antojitos is most known for their tamales and moles, but also serves other traditional Guerrero-style food such as pozole, elopozole with elote, lengua stew, and chilate.^[1]^[3] It is heralded as the first Guerrero-style Afro-Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles.^[4]^[3]

In 2022, Lorenzo's Tamales Elena y Antojitos was featured in the Netflix series Taco Chronicles.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "It took nearly 30 years, but these 5 siblings and their parents opened a new restaurant together". Whittier Daily News. 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
^ Peterson, Lucas Kwan (December 15, 2020). "Off Menu: Exploring Afro-Mexican cuisine at Tamales Elena in Bell Gardens". Los Angeles Times.(subscription required)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Esparza, Bill (2020-07-10). "LA's First Afro-Mexican Restaurant Serves Guerrero-Style Pozoles, Tamales, and Guisados". Eater LA. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
^ Stuart, Gwynedd (2020-08-25). "Tamales Elena y Antojitos Brings Afro-Mexican Cuisine to the L.A. Area". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
^ "Welcome to the Visit California Homepage". www.visitcalifornia.com. 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-01-05.

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