A Bowl of Menudo and a Squeeze of Generosity

J
A Bowl of Menudo and
a Squeeze of Generosity
By Jaime Ruiz
“house prisoner” for the duration of the
war at their home on Cruces Street.
Cousin Eleanor Madrigal Urrea visited the De La Torre home during this
period. The Mexican community, she
says, knew of Elsie’s plight as well as
the Hamamotos’. The family, including
George Sr. and Eleanor’s father Felipe
Madrigal sent goods and food to the
Hamamotos while they were interned
at Poston, Arizona.
God and Baseball
From canning company to Mexican cuisine powerhouse,
George De La Torre, Jr. put Wilmington on the map.
Photos courtesy of Juanita Foods. Graphic:Matt Highland.
dustrial Park, the reception area of
Banning’s Landing is dedicated “for his
life-long service and commitment to the
Wilmington community. His leadership
and dedication were catalysts for the
development of this Banning Landing
Center, and the creation of the statue of
Wilmington pioneer Phineas Banning,
‘the Father of the Los Angeles Harbor.’”
There are rumors of a plaza or
school, perhaps the new one on Avalon
Boulevard, being named in his honor.
On May 2, the Mayor’s office is
having a tree-planting ceremony in
Wilmington on his behalf.
Family and Cannery
Sr. married Elsie Hamamoto in Mexico
due to California’s anti-miscegenation
laws. Depending on the decade, Mexicans were designated as “Caucasians”,
and according to state law “Caucasians”
could not marry “Asian races.”
A year later, “Lad,” “Laddie” or
“Laddie Boy,” as his family affectionately knew him, was born. His father
gave him that nickname based on a cartoon character at the time, similar to
Dennis the Menace. His nickname was
shortened over time to Laddie then finally Lad. According to both sides of
the family, the Hamamotos were initially opposed to the couple’s union, but
only until George was born.
When the fevered hysteria of war
descended on the United States during
World War II, the U.S. government
stripped Japanese-Americans of their
property and civil rights by forcing them
into internment camps–euphemistically
called “war relocation camps.” These
events struck the De La Torre household
hard. George, during one of our talks,
recalled memories from that time.
“I know this sounds like a mystery
novel. He took my mother and I in the
dead of night to relatives in Los Angeles and we stayed there for a period of
time,” George explained. The family
returned to Wilmington weeks later, but
George’s mother remained virtually a
May 1 - 7, 2009
The few times that I spoke with Mr.
De La Torre, he was always friendly and
formal, yet very open and sensitive.
During our last conversation in October, we talked about my research of
Mexicans in the Los Angeles Harbor
and the passing of his cousin and my
father-in-law Quirino Manzo, known as
“Big Q” on the docks.
He was deeply anguished about
being notified late and missing the funeral. We ended up having an extended
conversation about the family history
and his fascinating life. This talk, along
with interviews with family members,
allowed me to capture some of his experiences.
Born to a Japanese American
mother and a Mexican American father,
Mr. De La Torre yearned to know more
about his own family’s origins. From
his two aunts, Manuela De La Torre and
Chizue Ouchi, Mr. De La Torre learned
how his parents ended up together in
the Los Angeles Harbor.
From the outskirts of Hiroshima,
Japan and Durango, Mexico, two
worlds came together in Wilmington.
In 1914, Quirino and Hilaria De La
Torre and their children immigrated
across the United States, first through
El Paso-the Ellis Island for Mexican
immigrants-and on to railroad contract
labor in Arizona. The family followed
railroad work to Needles, San Bernardino, and ultimately the lumberyards
and canneries in the harbor. Born in
Gomez Palacio Durango, George De La
Torre Sr. was the youngest.
About the same time, the
Hamamotos arrived in California. Elsie
Hamamoto, George Jr.’s mother, is the
second of three sisters. The Hamamotos
initially had a barbershop. Then they
operated a bathhouse in downtown Los
Angeles. In the early 1930s, the
Hamamotos ran a store on L Street and
Wilson in Wilmington, catering largely
to Mexican clientele, including the De
La Torre family.
In early 1934, George De La Torre,
George recalled happier times after
the war ended. He served as an altar boy
at Holy Family Church Sunday mornings, and on Sunday afternoons, he
served as a batboy for the Wilmington
Merchants–a semi-professional baseball
team his father managed.
“I recall as a young boy that he
[my father] would take me after
church and we’d go out early to the
ball park every Sunday. We would
drag the field, water the field, line
the field, ” George explained.
Like the baseball field built
from scratch, his father and cousin
Albert Guerrero built the Harbor
Canning Company in 1946.
“They bought a small piece of
land. I could remember them digging the ditches for the foundation.
I recall handing up the one by sixes.
It was an attempt to start a canning
industry away from the waterfront.”
The De La Torre’s extended
family, many of whom also lived on
Cruces Street, were the main source
of labor early on. “Big Q” worked
there during the summers and after
school as a teenager. His brothers,
sisters, mother, aunts and other
cousins also worked at the cannery.
It was “quite a family affair,” De La
Torre once quipped.
The family business initially
specialized in the catches of
sportsfishermen. It wasn’t until
1950 that they began experimenting with canning menudo at the sugDe La Torre/ to p. 26
7
The newspaper you actually read
ohn’s Hairstyling, a Wilmington barbershop on Pacific
Coast Highway, was abuzz
the last Saturday of February.
The town’s most revered native son
George De La Torre Jr. had passed
away. Some longtime customers recounted fond memories of the civic and
business leader. Others spoke in awe of
the memorial service that spanned two
days, involving hundreds of community
and family members and two busloads
of workers who took part in a rosary
and church ceremony at Mary Star. Mr.
De La Torre was buried at Green Hills
with the Port of Los Angeles Honor
Guard playing taps, followed by a luncheon and fireboat salute at Banning’s
Landing.
Mr. De La Torre, who was born on
February 21, 1935, died on his birthday from a heart attack. His family history and life story embody many classic American themes of immigration,
intermarriage, discrimination, hard
work, baseball, family enterprise, and
adversity bearing fruit in the form of
community philanthropy.
Born and raised from humble beginnings in eastside Wilmington, to a
Mexican-American father and Japanese-American mother, Mr. De La
Torre built a business empire on Mexican cuisine known as Juanita’s Foods,
consumers’ undisputed choice for
menudo. De La Torre made Wilmington
the soup’s capital of the world.
Even so, the titles “employer” or
“responsible businessman” don’t quite
capture the essence of a man who not
only dedicated his life to creating a successful business, but someone who gave
back time and time again to the community he grew up in, touching the lives
of so many.
“George gave an enormous amount
of his time and talents to help improve
the Wilmington community, and supported numerous non-profits” Councilwoman Janice Hahn said. “He was especially supportive of programs that
involved young people.”
Mr. De La Torre had a unique relationship with the workers as well. The
outpouring of emotions at the funeral
revealed the closeness. He reputedly
knew the nicknames of all of his workers and was noted for his desire to do
good by them.
Herb Perez, Vice President of the
western region of the United Industrial
Workers, described Mr. De La Torre as
“very professional and courteous. From
the union side, he was not only reasonable, but in some areas very generous.
As far as him directing the company,
he was always concerned about the
workers there. He was very close to the
workers.”
“On behalf of Juanita’s employees,”
Leo Medina, a 34-year veteran worker
at Juanita Foods, told the family at the
rosary, “we want you to know how
deeply George’s loss is felt. He will be
remembered, respected and admired by
everyone who knew him.”
For his work on the Wilmington
Community Advisory Committee and
the development of the Wilmington In-
gestion of Ruth Guerrero, wife of the co-owner.
After graduating from high school in 1953,
George played shortstop on the baseball teams at
Harbor College and Fresno State. He served two
years in the army, playing football and baseball.
At Long Beach State he was the “49er” athlete of
the year.
In 1957, he made the life-changing decision
to attend a dance in San Pedro. There he met Lydia
“Lee” Hernandez and recalled how they “spent
the rest of the night dancing and having a good
time.” They were married July 26, 1958 at Holy
Trinity Church in San Pedro. For their honeymoon,
they toured northern California, from Yosemite to
San Francisco, on down the coastline.
George continued working in the cannery
while he pursued a degree in business. However,
family obligations forced him to quit school, a few
credits shy of graduating.
Although his success did not rest on the degree, he was always disappointed he didn’t finish
school. He continued to encourage education for
his children and grandchildren.
His children later worked part-time in the company as teenagers. According to Mrs. De La Torre,
“That was the rule. They had to finish school before they came in to work full-time.”
George took over the business in 1968 when
his father passed away. In the late 1970s, he made
a bold decision to get out of the fish canning business entirely. The marketing and canning of
menudo, like packaged tortillas and canned refried
beans, was quite revolutionary for the times.
Juanita’s Foods, as the company renamed itself in
1986, set the standard for marketing and canning
menudo and created a consumer base within Los
Angeles. Today, menudo from Wilmington can be
found in Mexico and Latin America.
De La Torre found it problematic that no one
could recall the exact day or month of the
company’s less-than-auspicious beginning in
1946. In his classic style of mixing business and
family, De La Torre had the lawyers draw up the
papers on September 9, 1986.
“That’s the day that my daughter got married,”
George explained. “I wanted to make sure someone would recall the day we changed the name.”
For a moment in the 1990s, the family-run company in Wilmington was in jeopardy. Excessive
bureaucratic city fees and the opportunity to sell to
a large corporation made for uncertain times.
As he would say, “When a negative happens,
turn it into a positive.” Through his political connections and business skills, he kept the company
in Wilmington, providing good union jobs to 120
employees. No politician, neither Mayor Bradley
nor Mayor Riordan, dared make a tour of the Harbor Area without stopping through the cannery.
What he valued most, however, was the fact
that his daughter Gina and sons Mark and Aaron
chose to become part of the family business.
Mark and Aaron were named co-CEOs in
2007. The company is in capable, secure, thirdgeneration hands.
Wilmington Philanthropy
Through the success of the company, his philanthropy showed.
Name a non-profit in Wilmington that provides
social activities for youth and you will find the
De La Torre stamp. Like other eastside youngsters, he walked across the street and took advantage of the after-school and summertime activities of the Mahar House, where he learned leadership and responsibility. He experienced snow for
the first time on a trip to Big Bear. Along with his
best friend Gabriel Mendoza, George played sports
on the Mahar Vultures team.
Most importantly, he learned that social activities like the ones available to him are crucial
opportunities for youth development.
“Had it not been for the Mahar House,” he
recalled, “I’m not sure what would’ve happened
to our youth. Since I was born and raised in
Wilmington, I provide services to the youth. I
know what it’s like to get that help. And we’re
able to give that type of assistance.”
Some of the sponsorships include
Banning High School, YMCA and the Boys
and Girls Club. He donated menudo to
Wilmington seniors for fundraising as well
as troops serving abroad.
Despite the family’s request that, in
lieu of flowers, donations be made to the
Boys and Girls Club, Mary Star overflowed
with sympathy arrangements. As Mr. De
La Torre might say, “There’s still time to
donate.”
Each year, the De La Torre family
reunion brings hundreds of descendents
of George, Francisca (“Pancha”),
Manuela, and Maria to gether for a picnic.
Mr. De La Torre marveled at how four
immigrant children, caught up in the wake
of dispossession, violence, and chaos of the
Mexican Revolution, could create this
ever-growing family tree in the United
States.
This year the family picnic will remember
that marvelous person.
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area
De La Torre
Heading the Family Business
May 1 - 7, 2009
from p. 7
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