Submitted by: Esther Bustamante Jacobson
My parents, Miguel and Carmen Bustamante, and their daughters, Alba Torres (b 1932) and Julieta Portillo (b 1935), had been going for some time to El Charro every Sunday at 2pm. I was born in 1942. Two years later I was allowed to attend the family weekly luncheon. I have great memories of El Charro, the restaurant itself, the layout, and Monica talking to us, hosting and cashiering. There was live music – I remember especially the marimba. The pictures hung on the walls are embedded in my mind’s eye: the charro dressed in black, the romantic Aztec pictures, the lace in the women’s dresses, the calendars. I ordered the same dish forever – rolled chicken tacos with beans and rice. You can always judge a Mexican restaurant by their beans and rice. Oh my! El Charro set a high standard! I thank you Carlotta for continuing the legacy. You are an honor to your family and our community! We love you.
BTW, a side story: regarding the building on Court where El Charro Café resides now, my parents and their first baby, Alba, lived there. It might have been a duplex at the time – 1932.
