[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF ROSA PORTO

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 18, 2019

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy 
of Rosa Porto, who passed away on December 13, 2019, at the age of 89. 
She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, and lived a joyous life 
filled with the love of family and friends. To the people of Southern 
California, she was also the beloved founder of Porto's Bakery.
  Rosa was born in Cuba, and as a young girl, the kitchen was her 
favorite place to be. Her mother, who came from the Galicia region of 
Spain, created many sweet treats, and the kitchen was always filled 
with scents of cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla.
  Rosa's life took an unexpected turn when the Portos' attempt to leave 
Cuba resulted in her being fired from her job, and her husband, Raul 
Sr., being sent to a labor camp. In 1960, in search of a way to support 
her family, Rosa turned her passion for baking into an underground 
business by selling cakes to her friends and neighbors out of her 
home's small kitchen. Before she knew it, she had built her business 
into a thriving enterprise with a loyal customer base.
  In 1971, Rosa and her family were finally able to emigrate to the 
United States, and they arrived in California with little more than 
Rosa's exceptional baking skills, Raul Sr.'s strong work ethic, and 
their dream to build a better life in America.
  Soon afterwards, Rosa began baking and selling cakes to friends and 
family who had heard about the fabulous cakes she had baked in Cuba. In 
just a couple of years, Rosa built a new base of devoted customers, and 
it was common to see buyers lined up outside her little home to pick up 
their orders.
  By 1976, Rosa's home could no longer accommodate the increased 
demand, and she opened Porto's Bakery, a small 300-square-foot business 
on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles's Echo Park neighborhood. Raul Sr. 
would help when he was not working at another local bakery, and after 
several years, he was able to join Rosa as her business continued to 
grow.
  Rosa's three children, Beatriz, Raul Jr., and Margarita, also helped 
at the bakery after school and on weekends. The children were greatly 
inspired by their mother's love of preparing the delicious foods she 
served, and they took on larger roles in the business after they 
graduated from college.
  As Porto's has grown, it has remained faithful to Rosa's motto that 
``quality is the number one ingredient in everything we do.'' From its 
beginning in Echo Park, Porto's grew to a 2,000-square-foot facility in 
Glendale, and then one twice the size a few years later. In the 1990s, 
with the effort of the entire Porto family, their business expanded to 
a 20,000-square-foot facility, and later added a cafe.
  While Porto's began as a bakery that only sold cakes and Cuban 
pastries, its menu has evolved and expanded to feature a broad array of 
international sweet and savory items, including such signature items as 
Cheese Rolls, Refugiados (guava and cheese strudels), and the famous 
Potato Balls.
  Today, Porto's serves thousands of customers and employs hundreds of 
team members at five Southern California locations, including Downey in 
my 40th District, as well as in Glendale, Burbank, Buena Park, and West 
Covina.
  Rosa Porto will be missed by Angelenos of all ages and from all walks 
of life, but we know her gracious and gentle spirit will live on, both 
in the family she loved and in the culinary legacy she leaves behind. 
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in sending our deepest 
condolences to Rosa's family, including her husband Raul Sr.; their 
daughters Beatriz and Margarita; their son Raul Jr.; and their seven 
grandchildren.

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